Koyo Aluminum Vs. Copper

[9240sx]

I upgrading my radiator and im stuck between the Koyo Aluminum and the Copper,which one is better for me..My car's a Bolt-on s13 at around 13psi..It gets up to 100* here in the summer..Im going to be running the stock fan clutch,and ducting..I have a front mount to..Thanks,

[Sil80315]

Uhh dude get the aluminum koyo..it doesn't conduct as much heat as a copper one does...didn't you learn what metals conduct heat better in school?

[ILikeMy240sx]

Copper conducts heat much better than aluminum BUT!!!! you can make more elaborate surface shapes with aluminum hence making a better radiator in the end.

[9240sx]

I found that cooling test with all the top radiators for the sr20det and the Koyo Copper beat the aluminum in every test..It beat most of the other radiator to..I think im going to go with the copper and a set of samco hoses..

[Sil80315]

I found that cooling test with all the top radiators for the sr20det and the Koyo Copper beat the aluminum in every test..It beat most of the other radiator to..I think im going to go with the copper and a set of samco hoses..

LOLZ? dude are you serious? I think your just going with copper cause its cheaper, aluminum will always dispers heat way faster then a copper radi would.

[9240sx]

So is that test fake and just trying to get people to buy the koyo copper or what??

[Sil80315]

Post the test.. last i knew the copper koyo was a slight better buy over the stock radi.. then next up is the aluminum.

Im not saying you couldn't go with a copper radi but to me and most people that run sr's wont recommend a copper radi.

[9240sx]

http://home.satx.rr.com/nissan...t.htm

[Jadesr20det]

Dude get the copper. I bought the copper and haven't regretted it yet track days, drag days etc and no issue. As long as its koyo ull be in good shape.

[hpmachine]

if you're running a/c get the aluminum

[Blown240sx]

Copper is much better cooling metal but the draw backs to copper are it will tarnish and will lose its cooling ability and will have to be cleaned and flushed more readaly than an Aluminum one and Copper is much more maluable and will bend easier.

[partymonster 975]

Get alum. Good reasons have been stated above on why but usually copper is cheaper and it does work so your call but I'm for alum.

[9240sx]

Im still stuck in between.. I like the price tag on the copper and the outcome with it on that cooling test..But i love the way the aluminum looks..LOL

Oh and my car dosent have A/C

[ILikeMy240sx]

oh another thing... Adding copper into a cooling loop with all aluminum will be more prone to rust in the cooling system.

[Blown240sx]

oh another thing... Adding copper into a cooling loop with all aluminum will be more prone to rust in the cooling system.

Well not rust but corrosion which I said above

[9240sx]

How does the stock fan shroud and fan fit with the aluimium koyo?

[S14-KOUKI-MONSTER]

Not sure about the shroud, but the flexalite model 220 fan fits perfectly over my koyo aluminum rad.

[s86d]

wow the heat transfer properties of copper are MUCH higher than aluminum (for both heating and COOLING) the copper wins hands down.

the aluminum is the cheaper one its just that all us fanboys like shiny stuff on our car so it wins the market scheme. If there was a ka copper I would buy it but there is only a sr copper koyo.

[homeslicej2]

Moral of the story.

Copper radiators do conduct heat better and disperse it better than aluminum. However, the lead soldering used to join the copper core piping in the rad is as we all know, a piss-poor conductor of heat and makes the copper rad less efficient at conducting and dispersing heat than an all aluminum rad. Go with the alum one. If you get the copper it may work fine, but if not then you either have to spend more money on other cooling accessories or buy an alum one, so save yourself the trouble and money and buy the alum one. Oh yeah, the others are right when they say that the copper one will be more prone to corrosion and need flushing more regularly to maintain efficiency.

[Ohio_S13]

I hate to tell you what to do with your car, but you should really consider the aluminum radiator, because when you look at it your going to have to flush your coolant a lot more with the copper radiator. When you add that up (time/money) that is going to equal the aluminum radiator.

Besides the aluminum Koyo rad is HUGE, I have one with some FAL fans and I don't think you will have any problems overheating unless you are running hard at the track on a hot day (but everyone else will have problems aswell).

Very informative article I didn't know about the altima fan.