orange-Z Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 Has anyone had experience with aluminium radiators for a 260z imported from the US? I have a radiator that needs re-coring or for almost the same price I can get a new aluminium one though will have to wait for shipment. Do aluminium ones work better than the original as the marketing material claims? Thanks Quote
xa1973 Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 Aussie Desert Cooler may be able to help you, ring and have a chat, see what you can come with, they deal in alloy radiators 0394704449 Cheers Quote
maddos Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 I got one from US when $ was good. Quality seems real good and my temp hardly gets past cold now. Quote
stevo_gj Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 I got one from US when $ was good. Quality seems real good and my temp hardly gets past cold now. I heard someone say once that the L series needs higher temps to operate at peak efficiency, wouldn't a highly efficient radiator cause issues related to this? Quote
xa1973 Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 Block and water temps need to be inline Water around 86c Quote
nat0_240_chevZ Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 just replace, grab a z32 TT one, fits in easy or other similar one, make sure it has plastic tanks as they r then easy to change bits over for them. Quote
dazzed Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 the engine coolant thermostat is what determines the engine temp, ok if the radiator is blocked it may raise the engine temp, but a larger or more efficient radiator does not drop the engine tempature, provided the thermostat is the correct one and operating properly, it just allows coolant that has passed through the motor to remain in the radiator for a longer period of time and a higher volume to cool more effectively, so that when the motor needs it, there is a sufficient amount of coolant available to maintain the rated tempature of the thermostat, yeah give aussie desert cooler a go i fitted one of theirs to a 240z , just give them your old one ,makesure you get it back, and they will copy it, way to go , with the price of copper , ten grand a ton , it costs more to recore than alloy. Quote
stevo_gj Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 the engine coolant thermostat is what determines the engine temp, ok if the radiator is blocked it may raise the engine temp, but a larger or more efficient radiator does not drop the engine tempature, provided the thermostat is the correct one and operating properly, it just allows coolant that has passed through the motor to remain in the radiator for a longer period of time and a higher volume to cool more effectively, so that when the motor needs it, there is a sufficient amount of coolant available to maintain the rated tempature of the thermostat, yeah give aussie desert cooler a go i fitted one of theirs to a 240z , just give them your old one ,makesure you get it back, and they will copy it, way to go , with the price of copper , ten grand a ton , it costs more to recore than alloy. Ahh that makes sense, so its there when the engine needs it, but is fine for normal use. Thanks for clearing that up Quote
Moderators Zedman240® Posted March 9, 2009 Moderators Posted March 9, 2009 I've been running an ally radiator for a while and to tell you the truth, the stock 3 row zed radiator gives the same amount of cooling. I always use a genuine Nissan thermostat; once (and only once) bought a Tridon brand, installed in a Bluebird, started to overheat instantly! It was jammed shut. Ever since then, genuine all the way. If your temp is running too cold, you will be down in power and chew through fuel. Like xa1973 said, temp should be around 86' or close to thermostat temp. Quote
Aussie260z Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 just replace, grab a z32 TT one Really? I thought the Z32 Radiator was about 650-660mm wide, making it to wide for the S30 engine bay? If you want a cheap radiator that will fit between your chassis rails that is alluminium and has plastic tanks, use a Radiator from a 1999-2002 Holden Rodeo, can grab them off EBAY for about $200 and are about 25-30mm thick with big single core, I used one in my RB30ET Z and it seemed to work quite well! Quote
BenZed Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 I have a PWR alloy radiator in my car, seems to work well and probably cheaper than buying from the US right now. The mounting tabs are a bit sharp and they sent me the wrong cap for it, but we got there in the end Quote
dalee Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 If you want a cheap radiator that will fit between your chassis rails that is alluminium and has plastic tanks, use a Radiator from a 1999-2002 Holden Rodeo, can grab them off EBAY for about $200 and are about 25-30mm thick with big single core, or something very similar to the origional 240z, I run a hq-hz holden v8 radiator, has the same bolt holes and is 3 core Quote
dazzed Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 or something very similar to the origional 240z, I run a hq-hz holden v8 radiator, has the same bolt holes and is 3 core ive seen a few with early holden radiators, had a 280zx with a 202 hq radiator in it , it was too small, v8 radiator cool ok weigh in pretty heavy , theyre huge , imagine what it would cost to recore that in copper whoah, i had a quote of 600.00 to recore a standard 240 radiator, a v8 holden would cost over a grand Quote
zed240au Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 i bought my aluminium radiator from states from jags that run was modified to bolt straight in believe its a camaro radiator with mounts modified to suit zed works great with my v8 and price was $450 aussie landed when dollar was healthier another option is chinese ones on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ASI-3-CORE-race-aluminum-radiator-Nissan-280Z-custom_W0QQitemZ290300371610QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Car_Parts_Accessories?hash=item290300371610&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 look like good buying to me mick Quote
nat0_240_chevZ Posted March 13, 2009 Posted March 13, 2009 the z32 tt is much narrower than the z32 NA(which is the one i think you are refering to) due to all the intercooler piping, i also have a pwr dual 26mm core, picked it up on shevil bay for 660 a while ago now!!! but is pretty trick. the rodeo one sounds good, but also any other narrow rad that is ally core will be good, vertical side tanks or horizontal ones doesnt matter as long as the out/inlets are in roughly the same spot. i can get the the Z rad recored in a 3 row for 250-280$ with new cap and a 12 month waranty, 600 sounds steep!!!!! someones getting rich nato Quote
Aussie260z Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Thats a very good price! I have also been quoted ridiculous amounts to reco a 3-cored 280zx radiator! http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOLDEN-RODEO-TF-PETROL-99-02-AUTO-NEW-RADIATOR-CR1990A_W0QQitemZ270236787938QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Car_Parts_Accessories?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116#ebayphotohosting This is the Rodeo Radiator - for an off-the-shelf item, it is a good fit - bit tall, but still fits and its cheap :-)! Quote
orange-Z Posted March 17, 2009 Author Posted March 17, 2009 Thanks everybody for their help on this. Quotes for the cost of re-coring the rad were $430 - $480. We ordered a rad fron the US. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Nissan-Datsun-240z-260z-3Row-Aluminum-Radiator-1970-75_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem150331059940QQitemZ150331059940QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories Terrible exchange rate but cost similar to re-coring when shipping is added. Will post pics when it arrives and let you know how it installs. It should just bolt in with no modifications - maybe. Quote
dalee Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 ive seen a few with early holden radiators, had a 280zx with a 202 hq radiator in it , it was too small, v8 radiator cool ok weigh in pretty heavy , theyre huge , imagine what it would cost to recore that in copper whoah, i had a quote of 600.00 to recore a standard 240 radiator, a v8 holden would cost over a grand Daniel - I had the holden one recored 2yrs ago it cost $320 vs the 240z one I have of $400. The weight difference between the two I have is negligable, you would add more weight by bolting up the gutlux callipers. I wanted overkill on the cooling, had to many issues with the L-series in the past. Quote
Scoota G Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 Here's a bit of cooling overkill for ya. Twin EL Falcon thermo fans fitted to my 260Z radiator. Quote
fufu Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 ummm are those fans mounted backwards? don't we want pull fans at the back and push fans at the front? Quote
620Z Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 I have a set like Scoota's as well. They work great on hot days. Mine are mounted at the back to pull the air through the core. Quote
Scoota G Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 This is the engine bay shot. They pull the air and are wired up red to positive, black to negative. I also had to upgrade the fuse to 40 amp on the thermo switch. Quote
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