Radiators

[desertracer]

Wanted to get a few opinions on high quality racing radiators. We are looking to get a larger radiator complete with dual fans and shrouding. It will be fully custom dimensions to fit in the racecar. Want something that will keep a big v-8 cool in hot racing conditions. Somebody mentioned C&R but I am sure there are more.(contact info would be great) Are there any pros/cons to having an engine oil cooler built into it or a tranny oil cooler? Right now everything has its own separate cooler but we were thinking about consolidating, not sure if this is a good thing to do. Thanks

[dislocated1]

www.bekoradiator.com

[toddz]

Wanted to get a few opinions on high quality racing radiators. We are looking to get a larger radiator complete with dual fans and shrouding. It will be fully custom dimensions to fit in the racecar. Want something that will keep a big v-8 cool in hot racing conditions. Somebody mentioned C&R but I am sure there are more.(contact info would be great) Are there any pros/cons to having an engine oil cooler built into it or a tranny oil cooler? Right now everything has its own separate cooler but we were thinking about consolidating, not sure if this is a good thing to do. Thanks

I'm a big fan of the Ron Davis Radiators - made here locally in Phoenix. My good friend Doug Schulz is the general manager there - you can contact him via email at: doug@rondavisradiators.com or http://www.rondavisradiators.com/ is their website. A lot of racers use their product: Robby, Herbsts, a lot of the Geiser trucks, etc.

Todd Z.

[Dezertpilot]

Ron Davis is a really nice radiator as well as Fluidyne and PWR seems to make some really awesome products. I dont think you can go wrong with any of those 3 manufacturers.

[mfs]

call pwr they make so nice stuff alot of tt are running hes stuff 9512452900 talk to clint.

[14802]

I'm a big fan of the Ron Davis Radiators - made here locally in Phoenix. My good friend Doug Schulz is the general manager there - you can contact him via email at: doug@rondavisradiators.com or http://www.rondavisradiators.com/ is their website. A lot of racers use their product: Robby, Herbsts, a lot of the Geiser trucks, etc.

Todd Z.
I second his opinon...

[desertracer]

Any pros or cons for running oil coolers (tranny or engine oil) through the radiator? I am sure all these companies will have opinions.

[14802]

They seem to work well in a O.E.M. set-up. But in a race set-up probably not. The only reason is... 3 independent system working in the same enviorment. One has a problem. You end up working on both.....One has a problem,replace a oil cooler,tranny or a radiator). fill it up and go..just my 1/2 cent

[WoodyW]

Call Clint- PWR is in Elsinore, really easy to deal with- Custom stuff is no problem and they deliver on time. shrouded, fans, the works. I like it all seperate but some guys swear by the heat exchanger for engine oil....who knows, I just bend and weld stuff...

[Superfab]

The new Jimco cars are putting the trans and engine heat exchangers in the radiator. They use C&R stuff and they are about $2,000. I'm going to build my own stuff because I can get exactly what I want at the spur of the moment and save about a grand. The only thing I would definitely recomend is to use Spal fans. Best quality I've ever used and they have one for almost every application. A heat exchanger for engine oil helps engine life especially on aluminum block motors.

[DMSRACE]

Beko all the way...Johnny will build what ever style you would like and helps out alot of racers...

[Sandmaster]

Any pros or cons for running oil coolers (tranny or engine oil) through the radiator? I am sure all these companies will have opinions.

We use exclusively Ron Davis Radiators. On the cars that have a ton of sstuff on them, we always run a radiator/tranny/oil combo cooler. To date, we've never had an issue. Although anything is possible, we've always had great success with them.

[J.JOHNSON]

C & r radiators do not use any epoxy in the assembly, unlike most other brands. The advantage is that you hve a radiator that wont come apart over time from vibration,heat expansion cycles and suff. I have used many different brands of radiators in the past and now only use C & R. I dont like to workk on my stuff i the desert though.

[desertracer]

Something good to know about C&R, thanks again for all the info guys.

[toddz]

C & r radiators do not use any epoxy in the assembly, unlike most other brands. The advantage is that you hve a radiator that wont come apart over time from vibration,heat expansion cycles and suff. I have used many different brands of radiators in the past and now only use C & R. I dont like to workk on my stuff i the desert though.

Ron Davis doesn't use epoxy either, for the record.

Todd Z.

[marty jackson]

The new Jimco cars are putting the trans and engine heat exchangers in the radiator. They use C&R stuff and they are about $2,000. I'm going to build my own stuff because I can get exactly what I want at the spur of the moment and save about a grand. The only thing I would definitely recomend is to use Spal fans. Best quality I've ever used and they have one for almost every application. A heat exchanger for engine oil helps engine life especially on aluminum block motors.

Per your post you mentioned you were going to build your own radiators. Do you have a source for aluminum cores so you can fold up your own aluminum tanks and tig weld together?

[Chris_Wilson]

Re source for aluminum cores, try the junkyards! Lots of newer cars have really
nice aluminum radiator cores with plastic tanks on them. Fab up your own tanks,
tig them to the core and presto - a really bitchin radiator for dirt cheap.
Signed, low budget racing.

[johnnyweb]

which ever radiator you decide to use make shur it has proper air flow,shrouding and big fans. you could buy the biggest,badest,most expensive radiator and not engineer the install properly and its not going to cool good.

[desertracer]

The radiator will get as much air flow as possible, it is sitting in the rear window area of the car with free air coming in through the cockpit behind the drivers head. We want to get everything done by the company including the fan schrouds and dual spal fans which can bolt or be dzus onto the radiator.

[Superfab]

I buy new modine radiators ( the ones with plastic tanks ) and cut the tanks off. I use 2 row ones for cores. I match the size to the application and make them double pass. Also I make a custom shrowd for Spal fans to fit it so everything works as a package. This way the outlets and such are right where I want them. You have to sand the edges of the end pieces to get the dip braze off before welding. If you need to you can even cut the height down on a core to get the right finished size. You need to make a few filler pieces for the ends. Also, make sure to pressure test after welding the tanks on before you put the top and bottom caps in place. I make the cap pieces with extra flanges on them to attach the shrowd to. If you use floating nut plates to attach the fans they are easy to remove in the field. You can get Billet radiator necks or stamped ones. I found the catalogs on the Modine web site. Then you search for the core that is right for your application. Gives you the cross references as to what cars use what radiator. I have a bead roller for small tubing so I can properly do the ends of all the lines and fittings. Another thing is to use T-bolt clamps for hose clamps and silicone hose. You will never blow off a water line with this stuff.

[FABRICATOR]

Another thing that makes sano, easy and strong tanks is aluminum channel. Not the heavy forged stuff, but the thin extruded type.

Double pass should really only be used when necessary and when you have more than enough pump capacity. At the same rate of flow, it takes over 4 times the pressure to push the water through.

[Scott_F]

Good point FAB. I talked to a rad guy at the Expo yesterday about this and he said basically the same thing about double pass. He also mentioned a double pass tends to trap air bubbles under the divider plate, and stops the flow through the adjacent tubes, which reduces cooling. He suggested drilling a 1/8" hole in the divider plate to allow air bubbles to escape. He convinced me that single pass is the way to go.

[KitRacer]

I was thinking of using a scirocco radiator to cool my turbo Chevy ECOTEC motor. It works fine on my dads 4.3L V6 in a buggy, and its small and compact. Do these things come with the inlet and outlet on oposite sides? I dont think they can because they are double pass. Does anybody know anything about these radiators, and have any recomendations for or against them in stock or aftermarket form?

[KitRacer]

Does anyone have an opinion?