My 2 Cents. I have used a 15 year old stock radiator with my 3800 SC all summer and I am amazed that it keeps up fine. Fan runs once in a while - but that is normal. Unless you have a V-8, I would use a stock replacement. I am sure someone on this board has good and bad experiences with replacement radiators though and I will be watching because I do not expect my 15 year old radiator to last 4ever.
I beleave you would want a 3 core radiator.But the temperature is contralled by the fan switch so you might not notice any diffrence, unless its a v8.Fiero store sells a low temperature fan switch and thirmistat.
OE radiator work fine even with many swaps If system is clean, none of pipes are crushed, etc....
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
I put a 383 in my 87GT. The stock radiator would not work and actually blew the end tank off the radiator. I used the 3 core upgrade from V8Archie. Quick shipping, good quality and it fits perfectly. No problems.
I put a 383 in my 87GT. The stock radiator would not work and actually blew the end tank off the radiator. I used the 3 core upgrade from V8Archie. Quick shipping, good quality and it fits perfectly. No problems.
Frequently Radiator tanks blew off had nothing do to w/ anything but old age. Fiero OE radiator is 25+ years old. (see cave, rad failure in coolant section) Many suffers weak/no coolant and likely no maintenance either and radiator & heater core is block by dirt/rust/etc. So comparing tired old to new is wast of time.
Some motors need more radiator but saying 3 core is always better than 1 or 2 core? No and Not just you but many that should know better... Using 3 core actually preform worse the 1 or 2 core. Why? For one, 3 core often reduces air flow. # core do not = cooling efficiency.
[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 09-25-2011).]
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01:07 AM
James Bond 007 Member
Posts: 8872 From: California.U.S.A. Registered: Dec 2002
Some motors need more radiator but saying 3 core is always better than 1 or 2 core? No and Not just you but many that should know better... Using 3 core actually preform worse the 1 or 2 core. Why? For one, 3 core often reduces air flow. # core do not = cooling efficiency.
I never said 3 core was better. I merely answered the question of where to get a radiator and told him what worked well in my case. The 3 core may slow down the air flow but since I used an electric water pump which runs at a constant speed the 3 core also allows the water flow to slow down in the radiator which is good for heat transfer.
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12:14 AM
lonewolf452 Member
Posts: 224 From: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Registered: Mar 2011
The Champion 3 core is probably the best upgrade from a cost/ease of installation/cooling benifit standpoint... but it wasn't around when I did mine.
I prefer cooling system overkill to allow the car to idle for hrs, be in stop/go traffic for hrs, runs a steady 3000 rpm for hrs, and spend 20 minutes a time on the track running from 3000 to 6500 rpm w/o ever seeing the temps go higher than 5-10 degrees above the thermostat setting. So I did a custom installation of a 26 x 19 x 3 aluminum radiator in my SBC/Getrag (soon to be LS4/F40) fiero back in 2005.
Wise words. The stock radiator is perfectly adequate for cooling a stock engine, even at temperatures above 100 F ... as long as the rest of the cooling system is in good working order. If there are other cooling system problems, then a "high performance" radiator is very unlikely to solve anything.
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 09-27-2011).]
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01:08 AM
joshh44 Member
Posts: 2166 From: Nanaimo, B.C, Canada Registered: Aug 2007
if there was any issues with your cooling system. a bigger rad is only a bandaid fix. a good flowing ran and cleaned out cooling system should work just fine. i would flush the whole system. check for any blockages. bent or crushed pipes. kinked rubber coolent hoses and such.
perhaps i should have mentioned before, im doing an ecotec swap on my car, and the ecotec is built up drift/street syle as per the ecotec "GM Sport compact performance build book" So i ASSUME i will need a new rad.
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11:10 PM
Sep 28th, 2011
joshh44 Member
Posts: 2166 From: Nanaimo, B.C, Canada Registered: Aug 2007
even if that small displacement engine is pushing 500hp?
For how many hours/minutes/seconds at a time? It makes a difference. Cruising down the highway at 60 mph will still take only about 30 hp, regardless of the peak hp your engine is capable of producing. Most cooling system designs depend upon the thermal mass of the coolant to absorb the heat peaks from the occasional high-hp sprints.
This is one major problem of attempting to adapt an automotive engine for aircraft use. Piston aircraft engines typically run at 75% of rated power for hours at a time, but most automotive engines just aren't designed to cool at such sustained high power settings ... regardless of how big the radiator is.
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 09-28-2011).]
Originally posted by lonewolf452: perhaps i should have mentioned before, im doing an ecotec swap on my car, and the ecotec is built up drift/street syle as per the ecotec "GM Sport compact performance build book" So i ASSUME i will need a new rad.
even if that small displacement engine is pushing 500hp?
likely no. HP doesn't = bigger coolant system in many cases. Again, OE radiator work fine even with many swaps If If system is clean, none of pipes are crushed, etc....
But you Might need a new radiator from old age... see cave, rad failure in coolant section. Any crack started = need replacement.
