So I really hate to create another thread about who is using what radiator type and what fan types but I just thought I'd ask a question that will help end other radiator and fan setup threads/questions.

My question is, will using an S14 KA - DE radiator + RB25 clutch fan on Mckinney mounts be adequate cooling?

Obviously the clutch fan pulls plenty of air but in terms of cooling capacity and hose placement how is the S14 DE radiator?
Like an idiot I didn't research enough before buying my radiator and so I took what I thought was the most common way and just bought a Koyo thick as hell radiator. Then planned on buying e-fans, but kept reading and it seems the new consensus is to use some form of stock radiator and clutch fan.

Thoughts?

-Eric

If your running. A koyo 3" Rad you'll be good.
Run two pusher fans at least 1300 cfm if I remember correctly.
But you really need to SEARCH
there's a badass cooling thread out there

if you run the stock clutch fan you'll need to run a modified fan shroud to effectively pull the air in. plenty of RB swaps around are running stock radiators either from an rb or ka while using the clutch fan with shroud with no problems.

before i sold my rb20 coupe i pulled my koyo out and swapped in a stock ka radiator with no issues while using the same hoses.

This is what I did as I hate replacing fan clutches when they decide to suddenly go bad...

big-radiator-with-flex-a-lite-pullers-a ... 28461.html

i have a mishimoto rad, with pullers fans, you only need fans when your car is not moving. Pullers on a thermo switch should be MORE than enough for anything you throw at them UNLESS its a circuit or lemans car lol

Sil240 - Haha I've done quite a bit of searching and there are about two or three good radiator/cooling threads out there but I couldn't pull from anyone of them if the S14 DE stock radiator had enough capacity for cooling vs say an R33 radiator.

amorasin - In a lot of the threads I've found I've seen people not even using a shroud and still acclaiming the cooling properties of a clutch fan so that's why I'd like to do it and if I could use a S14 DE radiator I can just modify the shroud from my SOHC and/or buy a new one for that radiator.

Baseline is that I would rather spend the 300ish dollars on a new clutch and flywheel resurfacing than on fans and a controller for the Koyo radiator I have now so I wanted to get a straight forward answer on whether it would be worth my time to buy a S14 DE radiator and use the clutch fan that I already have.

Thanks for your guys' help!

If your running the STOCK KA Rad going into summer your not going to be happy.
People have done them but the RB needs more capacity
Just buy a nice thick Rad and a good set of pushers with a thermostat or fan controller.

DONE!!!

Sil240 wrote:If your running the STOCK KA Rad going into summer your not going to be happy.
People have done them but the RB needs more capacity
Just buy a nice thick Rad and a good set of pushers with a thermostat or fan controller.

DONE!!!

man i want to upgrade to a thick rad but lack of funds keep me from doin it.. but so far i been running the ka radiator for year n half with two pusher fans n i havent had any problems yet.... but i also have the cooling panels.....dont know if that make a big diffrence or not.... n also i dont drift i just daily drive mine, that may have something to do with also..... just go head n upgrade if u can..

The cooling panels make the biggest difference.
A stock KA-DE radiator should be adequate as long as your not continuously beating on it. If you do decide to upgrade radiators, just look for a drop-in KA-DE radiator and save yourself a lot of headaches.

Also, as important as the cooling panels are, a stand-alone coolant temp gauge is just as important. Don't rely on the stock cluster gauge.

i have a CX racing radiator and dual E fans (one puller one pusher) and it will overheat in seattle summers with the AC on, without ac it doesnt...

Im going to switch back to stock radiator and put the factory clutch fan on i think, i bought an R32 shroud new for 36 bucks shipped..

Nothing beats a shrouded clutch fan

O.P. LMK how it goes i have the same mounts/ setup as you

flaterate- you in the north? I'm in seattle as well and when i had my koyo and two pullers wired to a switch I never had problems.

Just for reference I own both a Koyo and an alluminum radiator of same dimensions from an unknown jdm brand that i got off my clip and the weights are ridiculously different. The koyo is definetly way lighter if you wanna lower some front end weight.

Make sure you put on a RELAY!!!

Don't use a switch get a thermostat or a DIF controller.
Then you won't have to worry about turning it on and off.

a few tips:
i would overheat in the summer going over passes with the DE radiator and dual FALS
you can use a fan clutch from 91 pathfinder (the clutch mechanism itself, not sure on the blades) for a replacement RB fan clutch will see how it works this summer with no shrouding and a high mount. so far so good.

ALWAYS relay isolate. if you don't know how i just got rid of my efans and can sell you my old thermostat/relay system and label the wires for you.

Hey thanks for all of the input guys, especially replies like Tenchuu's. Experience like that gives me a good idea of what I'm in for considering the terrain around Montana, where I'm from. That being said I'm still unsure of what my best option is.

l0nestar - The cooling panels really make that big of a difference? And by a upgrade to a drop in KA-DE radiator do you mean something that is the same size as stock? I only ask because for example the Koyo upgrade is the same thickness and possibly even the same radiator as the current Koyo I have.

The car is and will be my daily driver with occasional autocrossing as there isn't much for drift events around here.

flatrate - Yeah I'll keep this post updated with pictures etc. as I make the decision and see the results.

*One thing I'd like to add is that my goal in this is to have a reliable cooling system with as little modification to the radiator support area/front cross beam section as possible. Maybe it's a unrealistic goal in an S13 to use the clutch fan without said modification but if a reliable, efficient system is possible that would be ideal.

Thanks again guys!

just wanted to clarify, the clutch from the fan clutch (the clutch mechanism, not the fan blades, i used R33 blades on the pathfinder fan clutch) was directed towards Krazykoukis post, you can pick these up new from auto parts stores and not fool around with one taht has ben used for 15+ years. I am currently testing the use of a fan clutch from a VG (pathfinder in my case) and the specs on it were really really similar to the RB. same bolt pattern, almost same height, only time will tell if the engagement is about the same.

So a minor update, I found this while searching through other radiator/cooling threads on here and really really want to make this happen,




This is from UP Garage in the Seattle area, found the link to this page on this thread created by Cpt_Impossible --> omg-my-rb-is-overheating-writeup-t262601.html. They talk about moving the engine back extra somehow but from what I can see it's simply against the firewall more or less...are people's mounts putting them in that general area? I've got McKinney mounts but have yet to see where exactly the engine will sit. I know it varies. Seeing this made me giddy so I just thought I'd share it and see if anyone knew much about what exactly they do to "move the engine back".

flatrate wrote:i have a CX racing radiator and dual E fans (one puller one pusher) and it will overheat in seattle summers with the AC on, without ac it doesnt...

Im going to switch back to stock radiator and put the factory clutch fan on i think, i bought an R32 shroud new for 36 bucks shipped..

Nothing beats a shrouded clutch fan

O.P. LMK how it goes i have the same mounts/ setup as you

hey, where did you get the shroud from? i cant find one to save my life... i need an rb25 radiator too, but i can use what i have for the time being...

So an update to my setup, in my indecision I've ended up with both the koyo and a S14 radiator as well as flex a lite 412 pullers. At the moment I'm using the FAL's as pullers. I had a lot more space than I actually expected. If I were to cut about an inch or so into my rad support I would be willing to bet I could do a clutch fan and the koyo. No time for that now though, I'll have to try that later.

The one and only place I've seen the R32 shroud is from Nismoparts.cc

wow thanks, i never saw that on nismoparts before... i have to order other parts from them anyways, theyre on backorder, so i can just get the shroud there too. now i just need to get a radiator, id like to get an r33 radiator, but i probably wont be able to find one...

i have a thick koyo with pushers in the car. the clutch fan wont fit, id have to cut into the radiator support, which im trying to avoid, but that might have to be an option :-/ im just wondering if the ac condenser will fit in there with the radiator support being cut and the radiator pushed out like that... anyone know??

thanks for the info about the shroud lsdrift btw!

Use a stock S13/14 radiator and a clutch-fan.. no shroud needed to fit and keep it 'stock' looking.

Agreed. And no problem on the shroud, I was actually just reading another thread that listed that recently. I have an S13 so I couldn't say if the condenser would have issues, there's no way I can see that it would in my car without a completely custom front end brace fabbed up. But my S14 radiator is from an auto car and is about 1 1/4 inches thick which is minimum twice as thick as my S13 radiator so I'm hoping for the best with that.

Just wanted to post an update to this thread and perhaps put more questions to rest. I just finished up and started driving my swap about two weeks ago and here's the story:

S14 radiator, pure distilled water(until winter starts coming around), FAL 412 Pullers.

Now, what I see, as I'm driving around town in 90 degree heat, stop and go for a couple hours even, no overheating problems whatsoever. Take it to the highway, cruising at 75-80 mph and then come off the highway and about 30 seconds back into low rpm driving it get's hot. Doesn't go clear into overheat mode but the stock dash gauge almost hits the top marking before it is in the over heat range. It will climb up to that point and then about 30 seconds later cool back down to operating temp like clockwork. Also, if on the highway I hit a pass or any significant hill(common anywhere in the area of Montana I'm from) I can watch the temperature gauge slowly move up if I have the turbo at -10inHg or more boost for extended periods of time.

To give more details, I need to flush the system as there is ton's of crap in the radiator even after filling and emptying twice already, and I also plan on trying some water wetter just to see how well it might work. Also I still have the AC condenser in place for potential future use and a FMIC that fills the entire space of the front bumper opening.

Bottom line is, I'm probably going to have to see about using the Koyo I have and perhaps a custom smaller AC condenser made up if possible. And then as many others are doing on here, use a clutch fan when time allows for some cutting and fab work.

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