GM or Ford rad?

[Redline240]

I'm too cheap to get a koyo or fluidyne alluminum rad for my car, so besides the obvious mounting issues is there any reason i couldn't use a alluminum rad from summit for ford's or GM's? Not exactly a KAT topic but this is the only section i post in and i don't know who the knowledgable guys are elsewhere...thanks!

Redline

[TrunkMonkey]

...so besides the obvious mounting issues is there any reason i couldn't use a alluminum rad from summit for ford's or GM's?

no. just get the dimensions of your radiator and try to find a close match with one from summit. i'll let you know ahead of time, most of the radiators that are close to the same length are too tall, and iirc very few (if any) have the inlet and outlet on the same side as the KA. of course with some modifying, you could probably make one of them work.

-demetrius

[TrunkMonkey]

silly me, i forgot that the fluidyne 94+ acura integra radiator is almost perfect for the S13. the only modification that's needed is to have two top brackets made. i'm not sure how much you're willing to spend, but the last time i priced it the acura's radiator it was up $100-$150 cheaper than the KA's at some places!

i'm sure this radiator could be modified to fit in an s14 too.

-demetrius

[sil80drifter]

Errr. I got myself a Ford Racing radiator on ebay this summer. the advertised dimensions are 16x28, but it's really 16x27, and fits perfectly if you trim your battery tray (assuming you have relocated your battery to the trunk, or have a shorter battery). It's literally the biggest radiator that the S13 240 can have. You will have to run an electric fan with it, but it won't be used much because the rad cools like no other . Also, the bottom inlet is on the opposite side of the stock one, so you go to Home Depot, buy an extension pipe, and some extra radiator hose bends from pep boys, an make your own crossover pipe. The rad is worth it in my opinion. It fits a huge amount of coolant, and cools as good as any Fluidyne and Koyo units, but it's bigger than them, so it cools even better. The end tanks are 3" wide! The core thickness is 2.25"! Find me another aluminum radiator with those dimensions for $250 shipped.Here's a link to the same one I've bought:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...33602

Yes it requires a little work to fit (the battery tray trim and the lower mounts you'll have to customize a bit) but it's worth it for $250 shipped, plus a few bucks for the custom stuff.

sil80