Radiator Selection??

[LongIsland240]

Just curious about what everyone is using as far as radiators go...It seems to stay cool enough with the stock one, but that puny little core doesn't inspire confidence. I was thinking about upgrading to an aluminum 1" thick or so for the extra peace of mind, but is it worth the money? How much boost are you guys running with stock/aftermarket rads?

[TrunkMonkey]

i plan on using a 260zx radiator.

-demetrius

[Nathan]

Dem, do you know if they line up enough to just use factory hoses? I've been considering the 260z radiator as well.

[TrunkMonkey]

the bottom hose, maybe. the top hose, not even close. it's more in line with the SR's factory hoses. no biggie. you should be able to find hoses that will work from any auto parts store.

-demetrius

[tapdeznutz]

or u could go with a Koyo radiator. but it will set u back $320 bucks.

[bruinbear714]

The stock radiator isn't so bad. I personally think it's decent radiator.

Tack on electric fans so they can cool your engine while idling.

[MarkEmark]

the bottom hose, maybe. the top hose, not even close. it's more in line with the SR's factory hoses. no biggie. you should be able to find hoses that will work from any auto parts store.

-demetrius

What's the size of the 260 zx vs the S14 Ka's? (BTW--I heard that the 95 KA had the largest radiator?!? I'm pretty sure that's a myth, but are the radiators all exactly the same for all 240's?!?).

Where can you get the 260's radiator, and for how much?

Thanks

[C-Kwik]

I believe the OEM radiator for an auto KA is thicker. It's only an assumption at this point, but I have seen a 2-row OEM style radiator for an S14. It was put on the car after it was involved in an accident. My friend who got it seems to be under the impression from what the body shop told him that the unit he got was for an auto KA. I know for sure it is a 2-row, but I can't confirm if the auto KA rad is thicker. It's certainly worth some investigation though.

[LT_Z]

Just advice but i would go with aluminum, seems to me your engine will need the help after boosting, I got a Koyo and its at least twice as thick plus its all bolt in,,,,,very ncie, im gonna get some FAL fans and i should be good. Treat your KA-T nice and it will love you long time !

[andrave]

the auto radiator is definetly bigger cause it has a transmission cooler built into the bottom if memory serves...handy cause you can use that extra bit as an oil cooler if you don't mind your oil staying at the same temp as your water...

[TrunkMonkey]

What's the size of the 260 zx vs the S14 Ka's? (BTW--I heard that the 95 KA had the largest radiator?!? I'm pretty sure that's a myth, but are the radiators all exactly the same for all 240's?!?).

the 260z's radiator is 23 5/8" wide x 13 3/4 " long x 2" thick. it's a 3 core unit. i don't know the dimensions of the S14 radiator, but with the exception of being thicker, it is slightly smaller than the s13's.

Where can you get the 260's radiator, and for how much?

you can get it online from just about anywhere for around $130-140.

-demetrius

[MarkEmark]

The cheapest I could find it for (brand new, i guess) was $209 from Discount Radiators---with free shipping.

My S14 core is ~ 14.25" x 26" x 1"

What's the benefit of a "three core" unit as opposed to a single core unit (which is what I'm assuming mine is)--just more cooling capacity/better efficiency?

Also, since it's not the same dimensions, I'm assuming it wouldn't bolt up to the stock brackets--so you'd have to fabricate some custom brackets, right?

What's the benefit of say, an aftermarket koyo or fluidyne aluminum radiator compared to the 260z one we've been talking about? Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I thought all modern radiators were aluminum.

[ca240]

since i just did auto to manual conversion on my car will i still be able to use my stock auto radiator?...how can i convert it to be an oil cooler?..thanks

[TrunkMonkey]

The cheapest I could find it for (brand new, i guess) was $209 from Discount Radiators---with free shipping.

nissanautobodypartsstorecarpartswholesale

What's the benefit of a "three core" unit as opposed to a single core unit (which is what I'm assuming mine is)--just more cooling capacity/better efficiency?

yes.

Also, since it's not the same dimensions, I'm assuming it wouldn't bolt up to the stock brackets--so you'd have to fabricate some custom brackets, right?

yes.

What's the benefit of say, an aftermarket koyo or fluidyne aluminum radiator compared to the 260z one we've been talking about?Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I thought all modern radiators were aluminum.

weight. i don't remember what the 260's radiator is made of, but it isn't aluminum. iirc, the biggest downside to using it is it weighs close to 20lbs. for half the price of a koyo or fluidyne and a little fab work, i'll take it.

that, and i got a thing for using oem stuff.

-demetrius

[C-Kwik]

since i just did auto to manual conversion on my car will i still be able to use my stock auto radiator?...how can i convert it to be an oil cooler?..thanks

I'd probably just plug the line and call it a day. But if you must, you can get a sandwich adapter that goes between your oil filter and the block. This will allow you to route a line to and from that location. Plug one line to each fitting on the radiator for the transmission oil cooler. But I'd refrain from doing this unless your oil temps are too high.

[Chingon]

i've heard you can weld or use 2 radiators in series...is this possible?

[C-Kwik]

Provided there is enough room, you can do it parallel or in series.

[MarkEmark]

Thanks for the websites. That's not a bad price at all.

I wonder what the actual differences in weight are between say, a koyo and a 260z radiator.

Does anyone know the rough weight of an s14 or s13 radiator from a 5 speed? Does anyone know the rough rate of a basica aluminum aftermarket cooler?

The datsun one is pretty appealing to me because since it's not as wide as the oem one--I bet I could fit a volvo FMIC right in front of it having space for the inlets/outlets. The reason I love the idea of the volvo FMIC is that there basically NO superfluous, heavy piping to plumb it in.

My '86 Volvo 740 turbo wagon with this intercooler seems to work damn well with it; the hot side is very hot, and the cold side is almost as cold as ambient air. I'm pretty sure it's rather efficient.

Does anyone know where that site is where they test OEM intercoolers?

Here's a pic of the volvo fmic in an s13--excuse the crudeness of the setup; mine would be a lot cleaner

http://www.eniety.com/pichost/pic/volvofmic1.JPG

Marc

EDIT: I just measured the volvo fmic---and it's 23.5" from the smallest span between the inlet/outlet of the intercooler--BUT, the intercooler is 17" high, whereas the radiator is only 13.75" high, which means the radiator would only need to sit down lower on the intercooler (about 2") and not sit flush with the top to work---The dimensions I have for the datsun radiator is only the core, however---the endankts, etc dould make it substantially bigger. I wish they gave the exact dimensions of everything so I could be sure if it'd fit.

[SingleCamSam]

The S12 came with a 3-row that fits pretty well. Heavy like a bastard though...

[TrunkMonkey]

Does anyone know where that site is where they test OEM intercoolers?

this one?

-demetrius

[MarkEmark]

Thanks for the site---

I don't know how credible their testing procedures were, however.

I'm hearing some good and bad about the Volvo I/C--and I'm pretty sure I could fit it in.

THE PRO's--MUCH less piping, so less weight, less cost, and better throttle response/less lag, CHEAP

The CON's--not sure if it's even a good intercooler, and you lose the "bling bling" of a nice FMIC that's visible in the bumper opening; not sure how it'd affect cooling air to my radiator--although volvo mounts it in front of their intercooler and my volvo's never had an overheating issue.

[Chingon]

well, after i replaced my fan for an electric one, I think room won't be a problem...

[ca240]

I'd probably just plug the line and call it a day. But if you must, you can get a sandwich adapter that goes between your oil filter and the block. This will allow you to route a line to and from that location. Plug one line to each fitting on the radiator for the transmission oil cooler. But I'd refrain from doing this unless your oil temps are too high.

why would you refrain from doing this?

can this slow down the oil flow and damage the engine in any way?

will the oil have a hard time making it back to the sandwich adapter?

where can i get the sandwich adapter?

i was thinking of doing this since i'll be goin KA-T fairly soon...should i just wait till i go turbo and route my oil lines to go out the block, into the transmission cooler, then to the turbo and back through the oil filter to go back into the block?

or would i need another oil pump in there or somethin?

thanks and sorry for all the questions

[MarkEmark]

why would you refrain from doing this?

can this slow down the oil flow and damage the engine in any way?

will the oil have a hard time making it back to the sandwich adapter?

where can i get the sandwich adapter?

i was thinking of doing this since i'll be goin KA-T fairly soon...should i just wait till i go turbo and route my oil lines to go out the block, into the transmission cooler, then to the turbo and back through the oil filter to go back into the block?

or would i need another oil pump in there or somethin?

thanks and sorry for all the questions

I'm sure C-Kwik was saying that in response to running an oil cooler that was NOT thermostatically controlled. It's not good to run cold oil in an engine--you want the temp up to a good degree (180 or 190 degrees)--if you use an oil cooler w/o a thermostat, it'd take the car a lot longer to warm up and therefore you'd have pretty cold, thick oil running around for a while.

I run an oil cooler and it does an incredibly good job of cooling the oil, and I have it thermostatically controlled so that the oil bypasses the cooler unless the temps get past between 180 or 190 degrees.

It's not going to slow down the oil flow because you'll add more oil as a result of the increased capacity of the added oil lines, cooler, etc. There will still be oil where oil is needed.

You can get a sandwich adaptor from jcwhitney, summit, or pdm-racing.com I got mine from Don @ PDM.

You won't need an extra oil pump or an upgraded one unless your OEM one isn't working.

The oil for the turbo will already be cooled if you are using an oil cooler--so you don't need the lines running directly from the oil cooler to the turbo (which would be impossible anyway since the outlets of most oil coolers are like 1/2" and the oil feed lines for the turbo are much smaller). So you run the oil lines out of the block, through the thermostat, into the oil cooler, and then it goes back into the block--that way the oil used for the turbo/the engine is the same, freshly-cooled temperature all around.

The oil used for the turbo is tapped from the oil that is in the block--and the oil in the block will have been cooled through the oil cooler, and will all pass through the oil filter anyway.

It's weird that the majority of KA-T owners seem to completely neglect an oil cooler, the addition of which I think is a great idea when turbocharging--but then they'll upgrade their efficient radiator to some huge, thick, aluminum radiator with dual electric fans--and neglect oil temps.

Hope that helps.

Marc

[C-Kwik]

why would you refrain from doing this?

If you are not having troupble controlling oil temperatures then there is no need. Having oil that is too cool can be bad too. You ideally want to keep the oil temperature within a certain range. When trying to keep engine temperatures down, the cooling system is the ideal way to do this as it is designed with cooling in mind. I consider oil cooling more of a band-aid in most circumstances. If you are running gobs of power, and the cooling system is not quite up to par, then you may need to cool the oil as the cooling system may not be sufficient to maintain proper oil temperatures.

[ca240]

markemark thank you very much for the detailed response...that helps me out alot...and c kwik i am thinking of runnin this oil cooler mainly because i will be goin turbo soon...

a couple questions for you markemark...

where can i get some type of thermostat for this cooling system?

could you make some sort of diagram or explain very detailed in where i would need to place the thermostat for the best results and why you would put it there?

thank you very much for the help

[ShadowKnight006]

the bottom hose, maybe. the top hose, not even close. it's more in line with the SR's factory hoses. no biggie. you should be able to find hoses that will work from any auto parts store.

-demetrius

Couldnt you use hoses like these? I saw them in my Summit Racing catalog and thought of this thread.Click Here I know there are several companies that make these, supposedly flexible and universally adaptable radiator hoses. Any thoughts?

Levi

[C-Kwik]

and c kwik i am thinking of runnin this oil cooler mainly because i will be goin turbo soon...

It's fine what you do with your car. All I'm saying is that just because a car is turbocharged does not mean it needs an oil cooler. There are a lot more factors to consider when thinking about adding an oil cooler. All I'm saying is not to be so hasty at jumping on an oil cooler, especially if you don't need one.

[ca240]

i understand your point