stevo_gj Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hey all, I'm Looking to upgrade my 260s radiator and like everyone I've noticed the aluminum ones on eBay. Can anyone who has one make some comments on their performance and maybe clarify the different ones that are available (2 and 3 core radiators have the same pic on the eBay ads)? I found this one thread where they have one good review, hoping to add to that before I make the purchase. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,7342.msg68952.html#msg68952 Cheers! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat2kman Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Chinese cheaper than say Desert Cooler, PWR is most expensive. Few i know have used all three, no issues at all. For more effective heat transfer from engine to water, do not use ethylene glycol, ie the usual common anti freeze coolant, since wgen, in this country do we freeze! Instead Use product like Redline Water wetter, or Penrite Sin coolant, these do not contain ethylene glycol, are dafe to "dum"on a race track, and actually cause more efficient transfer of heat from hot metal into tje eatwr, and cause better air cooling as itasses through whatever radiator you use. It also makes our original equipment radiators work better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildy55 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I've one on my 240Z. Paid $180 delivered. Good product tho had to drill new mounting holes on one side to mate up with the rad. They were about 5-8mm out. No problems with standard clutch fan and have made the car run noticeably cooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoota G Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I fitted mine and blew 2 heater cores before i realised it was the radiator not releasing pressure at the cap. It was clearly a manufacturing fault but the ebayer i bought it off refused to do anything about it because it was out of warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTF260 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I replaced my original radiator with a 3 core eBay radiator, apart from the 2mounting holes being out on one side by 1-2mm, mine has been going strong for the past 6months.car even runs cooler . I run mine with twin thermos though.Overall I would recommend it or the price , I think mine was roughly 200 to my door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaygZ Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Good thread! So there appears no doubt hey are better and then even better again if we use Redline Water wetter, or Penrite Sin coolant. So now where is the best place to buy them. Are the local sources just as cheap as evilbay? Which evilbay stores are good and which should be avoided? maybe some store links could be posted of people's positive experiences? Ash, do you sell these? MaygZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Just rang PWR... $850. It is a 12 core apparently, but still... $850. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 12 core... wow!! would it even get hot enough to run properly?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I have no idea Benny, I'm pretty sure he said 12, I just ran with it. I could have been suffering from shock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riceburner Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I run the 'champion cooling' 3row with shroud and twin electric fans. It has been great on track and in peak hour traffic. The only issue is the shroud and fans are 8mm away from the water pump pulley, so if you go with that option there is zero chance of running the oem fan. PWR is just too pricey for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvemfast Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 12 core? :-\ Computer says no....... I got on from evilbay for $215. ASI brand triple core, needs mods to fit. Fins are very soft, so be careful. Seems to be ok for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 buy ebay one at $215 turn this into stencil and spray paint onto said radiator PROFIT=$635 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Their price on oil coolers was a little better, around $250. They are just a up the road from me so I'll pop in one day... and sqeeze past the twelve row haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Zedman240® Posted December 15, 2011 Moderators Share Posted December 15, 2011 I had one built by "Alloy Race Radiators" in Dandenong Vic, all up was around $650 with a 12" Craig Davis fan all mounted ready to go. Has served me well for the past 4 odd years with the only problem (my fault!!) was blocked with dried up sediment from being in storgae while I was doing the engine conversions.. Flush your rads before you store them away!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB30X Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Get of those Chinese ones with the make an offer option. Offer way less and they'll take it. Redrill the mounting holes when you get it and you're laughing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nizm0zed Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I have one of the ebay chinese ones in my car. Cant speak to the performance side of it, as i have never had it running properly yet Quality is good, very happy with it, mounted up well. They have a good finish on them and are very easy to polish up to a brilliant shine, if you so desire. Delivery was good too. When i was part of the Gemini forum, they did a big group buy of them, about 30 or so in one go. Of those 30, there was 1 that had a slight weeping from the core, was replaced no worries. Make sure you check/change the radiator cap to an appropriate cap to suit your application, eg, recovery system or not, pressure ect ect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevo_gj Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Hey gents! Thanks for all of the replies. I get the impression that they perform well and will aim for a 3 core unit. I will ditch the mechanical fan and use thermo fans on the new radiator. Please keep posting your experiences with the ebay radiators, as I'm sure this will be a useful reference for others. Cheers! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DatZed Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Hi Steve, I use one on my track car (not a Z) but had to convert it to triple flow to make it effective. Not a difficult process and now it performs really well. The overall quality was very good (for the price) but the supplied cap was rubbish as others have noted. I picked mine up from the eBayer, and then another turned up at my door a week later! So at effectivly $80 each, I'm really happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navanskyine Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 how are these radiators for turbod engines cause my turbo will be finished tmorrow and i was gonna put one in mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
620Z Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Ok you guys got me going as my car runs warm some times. So I find the biggest Chev radiator and it's the same size as my old metal one for $300- off eBay. My question is, would an alloy radiator same specs run cooler than a metal one? I intend putting in an oil cooler soon but should I do the radiator at the same time? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvemfast Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 I'm no cooling expert Craig. But I would have thought that a similar spec alloy radiator would be better than steel. I put a new rad in my XR6, from steel to alloy core, it runs heaps cooler and it's the same spec. And at $300, cant go wrong really. I'm wanting to set up an oil cooler too soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cozza Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 No cooling expert either but alluminium has much better thermal conductivity than steel, so as long as the water flow is similar then in theory you should get better cooling properties. Also your power to weight ratio is looking slightly better too. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thermal_conductivities Cheers Mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nizm0zed Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 are you sure your original radiator core was steel? they are generally alloy or copper, pretty much all cars after the mid 80's (roughly) ran alloy cores with plastic header tanks. The original datto radiator was a copper core with metal tanks. Copper has a better thermal conductivity than alloy, however alloy is a cheaper material, hence it is used for construction. Its all about the surface area, you want as much surface area inside the cores to absorb the heat, and as much surface area on the outside to dissipate the heat. If you have changed your radiator and now it runs heaps cooler, then your old radiator wasnt up to the task of cooling the motor anyway, either due to lack of surface area, or more likely, clogged internally (which causes lack of surface area) In the cooling system, the radiator cap regulates the working pressure. the thermostat regulates the operating temperature. The radiator only dissipates heat. Its worth noting too, that any sort of coating on the inside surface of the alloy (or copper) will reduce the efficiency to absorb heat. Eg, if your cooling system is full of rust and gunk (from the inside of the block) then that will act as a heat barrier on the radiator. This is why its so important to properly and completely flush a cooling system and to only use demineralised water not regular tap water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
620Z Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Hmmm thanks guys. Think my old one was painted a nice black when it was cleaned and flush 5 years or so ago. So that probably doesn't help either. I am leaning towards ordering this one in the new year. Still looking for an experts opinion. Ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvemfast Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Black actually helps to get rid of the heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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