tufLTD

G'day folks,
Has anyone used aluminium radiators like PWR or Desert Cooler? Are they worth the money & do they cool any better than a normal 3 or 4 row? Polished aluminium rads look cool but do they work?
Mal.

crochunter

I have one from desert cooler and they only for looks and save a bit of weight. They dont cool any better. Just ask norm at desert cooler and he will tell you that. But hey let me tell you if you have a bad earth problem the radiator will disinigrate.

tufLTD

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I've seen electrolysis kill a radiator in several weeks! Mal.

xdclevo

I had the choice, but went the 4 core standard Desert Cooler. I didnt like the sounds of the problems alloy can have. I also believe you can't repair them like the copper ones if damaged.

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10.70 @ 125.00 on the black fun top
408 Cube Cleveland.

reece1

does this company make one offs to order,like the whole width and height of rad support panel

xbgs351

Race Radiators in Melbourne have made one that takes an upside down mounted au fan. It still needs a few minor changes before the design is finalised.

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XD408

Ive had my radiator which is alloy 4 core and havent had any problems at all with it, it s been in the car for almost 2 years now. Wether it works better than a standard copper 4 core im not sure but ive got the twin el fans aswell and if anything it runs to cold even on hot days (35 degrees) within 10 seconds of turning the fans on the temp drops from 160 - 180 to below any reading at all. Plus u cant go pass the look of an alloy radiator.

pracy

i would advise against desert cooler rtad's, they are a fair bit more $$ then local shop and IMO arnt made very good at all.
If you are thinking of just a normal rad go and try your local shops, if you would like a good alloy rad try giving Ken lowe a call, he has a guy who makes some awesome radiators.

ESP

I have a 4 core triple flow Aussie dessert cooler in the ESP. I had to cut the front catwalk a little to fit it in. It's a big bastard. To my knowledge they are brass not copper.

I have had heaps of issues with this rad. It just keeps leaking. I have to take it out at least twice a year for minor repairs. The seams just seem to keep leaking !!!!!!!!!!

It's driving me fooking bananas. I've been told it's because its so big that the weight works against it.It's almost as if it's collapsing under its own weight in certain weak points. The other issue with large radiators is that there is a whole heap more water that needs to be moved around the system. If your water pump and stat is not up to the task.........you may find that there is no benefit at all..........In fact, you may end up with a larger volume of HOT water that just can't be moved through the system fast enough to be adeqautely cooled down.

In hindsight, it is probably better to get a smaller rad and run high pressure to ensure that the water has a higher boiling point. A good pump will also move the smaller volume of water around at a higher rate which is what a good cooling system is all about.

Next time you get a chance.........look at the rad on a BMW M3 or even the V8 M5...............they are TINY and yet they work brilliantly. As is more often the case than not...............it's design not size that is the key issue. If you cooling system is working properly it should also be "stable" and not fluctuate. There's nothing worse than running real HOT in traffic conditions and then running real cool on the highway and then stopping in traffic to find the needle goes into the warmer regions............bad for your bores, your fuel economy and your long term engine reliability.

Clevos are notorious for running differently. Some people get them right and some people no matter what they do just can't seem to get them running at the right temp.

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XE ESP The last of the CLEVO's
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xdclevo

Copper ones!!!! Doh!
I must admit, the big 4 core cooler never fixed my heat problems. It did when running in my cam, but still gets up to 200 when leant on hard and city driving. ESP, i just chopped off the legs of the 2 small brackets that the radiator sit on in the Fords(without this i couldn't shut the bonnet). It then sits nicely under the front top support.
Mine hasn't leaked, but some of the solder has let go on the bottom support rail that runs between the 2 side tanks.

__________________
10.70 @ 125.00 on the black fun top
408 Cube Cleveland.