uprated ali radiator...anyone fitted one?

[mikes3]

Being a temperature obsessed chap, the thought of doing the run to LM this year and remembering 38+ degrees two years ago fills me with dread.

The Chim behaved itself OK last time however I'd be interested to hear if any of my honourable fellow Pistonheaders have had one fitted and what effect it had.

I've already got the two speed david beer fan control kit added to the car since LM and its improvement was excellent....

[martinj999]

I fitted one two years ago, never have any over-heating trouble. London Thunder was a real trial for the car, no problems ... If anything, in the winter time it's too efficient, need to blind the rad a little to get any heat into the engine.

[Podie]

I had a re-cored rad fitted to my Chimaera. The core was the largest that would fit in the standard casing. Aside from that, the coolant strength was checked and changed as appropriate.

I always ran a full size number plate (see profile for pic) and never had any overheating problems. In fact, following on from LM two years ago, we headed south into Spain.

One day the temperature guage did creep to 95, having spent an hour in city traffic... but then I discovered that only one fan was working...

[victormeldrew]

I fitted one years ago; I had it made specially, before they were readily available. It cost a mint! They work very well though, as Martin said perhaps too well in winter.

You can tell how efficient they are by how quickly the fans go off again when sat at idle. Before once they came on they pretty well stay on, now the fans kick, a god almighty blast of hot air belches out, and in seconds they switch off again. I could do with the two stage kit I think, the 2nd fan would hardly ever be needed.

Mine is actually weeping a bit now, which is a problem as they are pretty much impossible to fix (I've been told), so I might be having to get another. I suspect it split slightly as my car had blown the head gasket and also lost an engine mounting, so the rad was being over pressurised and yanked about at the same time, pretty tough on any rad.

I would be concerned if fitting one to a facelift car, as there is no stone protection.

[Podie]

victormeldrew said:

... perhaps too well in winter.

This was something I encountered - I ended up blocking off a large portion with some perspex...

[Cider Andy]

martinj999 said:

If anything, in the winter time it's too efficient, need to blind the rad a little to get any heat into the engine.

victormeldrew said:

They work very well though, as Martin said perhaps too well in winter.

Podie said:

This was something I encountered - I ended up blocking off a large portion with some perspex

If the thermostat's working properly how did the engine get too cool?

[that daddy]

Cider Andy said:

martinj999 said:

If anything, in the winter time it's too efficient, need to blind the rad a little to get any heat into the engine.

victormeldrew said:

They work very well though, as Martin said perhaps too well in winter.

Podie said:

This was something I encountered - I ended up blocking off a large portion with some perspex

If the thermostat's working properly how did the engine get too cool?

Yes agreed Cider andy, it should not be the rad regulating the engine temp,but the stats job.

[GreenV8S]

There are two problems going overboard on the rad.

It's common for the stat to leak slightly, sometimes this is positively encouraged by open up holes in it to help bleed the pump. Cruising in very cold weather the engine is extremely sensitive to flow through the radiator and it only takes a trickle of water to over cool it.

The other problem is that some TVR RV8 installations have a hopelessly inadequate bypass, and some don't have any bypass at all. The better the radiator works the less flow you need through it to maintain engine temperature. However, the ONLY flow through your engine is what goes through the rad plus what goes through the bypass and heater. If you're caning it at high speed in cold weather you can get in a situation where the average engine temperature looks fine but you don't actually have enough flow through the engine to protect the heads. It's counter-intuitive, but in those situations uprating the radiator actually makes the problem worse.

[Podie]

that daddy said:

Cider Andy said:

martinj999 said:

If anything, in the winter time it's too efficient, need to blind the rad a little to get any heat into the engine.

victormeldrew said:

They work very well though, as Martin said perhaps too well in winter.

Podie said:

This was something I encountered - I ended up blocking off a large portion with some perspex

If the thermostat's working properly how did the engine get too cool?

Yes agreed Cider andy, it should not be the rad regulating the engine temp,but the stats job.

It didn't get up to temperature. Mine was a daily driver, so hitting the A12 at 5am in the middle of winter meant that the air coming in was so cold, that it never got close to "operating temp" - in fact, without blocking off a bit, it wouldn't even get to 60oC. Let it sit in traffic or idle, then it would hold it's temperature.

[Red V8]

Not only the stat at play here but also the temp sensor, i.e. if both are working as expected then the standard radiator works just fine, temp rises correctly in the winter to keep the cabin nice and cozy, and is kept on the right side of 90 degrees in the summer.

That said, it's your pride and joy, and if you want to go for the aluminium radiator, then I believe you also need new mounting brackets and hoses!

[david beer]

I spent ages trying to sort out the cold "reading", tried new water stats,still the same. Then monitored the ECU water and it didnt go cold, switched to the spare sender and no more under reading. The original sender is not in flowing water and gets cold ! The water stat maintains a minimum running temperature, unless its been "modded" or is faulty. So if you have a 72, thats your minimum running temp,82, 88 etc.
I had an ally rad, or rather 3 and would have one if they gave me it back.