Ditching Aluminum Radiator for OEM

DSMnOOb00 · 08-17-2012, 01:07 AM

I'm having crazy temperature problems with my radiator setup that consists of an all aluminum radiator and aluminum radiator shroud with 2 12' Slims fans (no brands)

Also I have Water wetter and dsmlink set to fans on high all the time

car idles and runs fine with the AC off but once you turn on the ac and start to drive, the temperature spikes. So I decided to go back on an all stock radiator setup including OEM fans.

My plan is to run two A/C fans to help clear the J-pipe, since the AC fan is slightly thinner then the main fan, I'm thinking it will be enough to clear the jpipe also the aluminum radiator is thicker then the OEM. I'm assuming it makes it harder for air to flow thru it causing more resistance. I'm also going to seal the bottom & sides of the intercooler and condenser to help channel the air thru the rad. I'm going to leave the top open to let air in during idle.

but I have a question, are both are equal? Is one of the fans better then the other?

thanks guys!

StarFawkes · 08-17-2012, 01:16 AM

If you want to go back to OEM you should try just the fans first, I remember seeing a write up on how to modify the OEM fans to sit more flush against the radiator if you have clearance issues.

Found it: Getting The OEM Fan To Fit Where You Thought Only a Slim Fan Could

synthetek · 08-17-2012, 01:29 AM

You might try some better slim fans, those no name cheap/eBay ones don't work very well.

StarFawkes · 08-17-2012, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by synthetek

better slim fans

I actually have no cooling problems at all while running only the A/C fan. Then again it never gets hotter than 80 degrees here.

phunny · 08-17-2012, 04:39 AM

It's your fans.

LiquidX · 08-17-2012, 05:29 AM

The oem fans are about 1600 cfm each, those no name fans are lucky to have e pushing 900 cfm combined.

Get a set of the highest flowing SPAL fans that will fit your bay. I have a few blogs about it under "attacking my cooling problem" .

black_gst · 08-17-2012, 06:18 AM

my money is on cheap fans as well, also a cheap aluminum radiator may not cool as well as a oem quality radiator, you get what you pay fo.

l8vr14dsm95 · 08-17-2012, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSMnOOb00

I'm having crazy temperature problems with my radiator setup that consists of an all aluminum radiator and aluminum radiator shroud with 2 12' Slims fans (no brands)

Also I have Water wetter and dsmlink set to fans on high all the time

car idles and runs fine with the AC off but once you turn on the ac and start to drive, the temperature spikes. So I decided to go back on an all stock radiator setup including OEM fans.

My plan is to run two A/C fans to help clear the J-pipe, since the AC fan is slightly thinner then the main fan, I'm thinking it will be enough to clear the jpipe also the aluminum radiator is thicker then the OEM. I'm assuming it makes it harder for air to flow thru it causing more resistance. I'm also going to seal the bottom & sides of the intercooler and condenser to help channel the air thru the rad. I'm going to leave the top open to let air in during idle.

but I have a question, are both are equal? Is one of the fans better then the other?

thanks guys!

make sure your fans are pulling in air not pushing it out its a common mistake when rewiring slim fans, i had the same problem and after i switch my car is running any where around 195f to 203f

DSMnOOb00 · 08-17-2012, 12:55 PM

Thanks for all the input guys, I can't run the oem fans with my aluminum radiator because the aftermarket radiator is a lot thicker then the oem, so the oem fans won't clear the jpipe.

Both fans are set to pull air

I was thinking of getting some spal fans but that's another 200 bucks I don't want to spend, at lease not while I already have an oem radiator and fans.

Gamble97 · 08-17-2012, 01:05 PM

You guys and your cheap no name fans. They are terrible. I had 1 of these fans and only on when it needed to go on. How it should be. If you have to keep you fan on all the time you have issues.
This fan and a koyo radiator never gave me any issues at all.
F-A-L PULLER SHROUDED FANS | 123

LiquidX · 08-17-2012, 01:26 PM

I will also add that even the Mishimoto dual fan with shroud wasn't enough to keep my car cool.

MJcanada · 08-17-2012, 02:59 PM

if the mishimoto setup didn't work keeping it cool don't you think you look else where?

Like your water,flow? Bad thermostat will cause, this. I've seen slightly blown hg do this. Also could be a problem with your water pump. What brand is it? Stop being so stuck on air flow and make sure coolant flow is as it should be.

Get rid of the cheap fans as well.

urbansmoker1 · 08-17-2012, 03:16 PM

Just remember that the AC fan is a puller, so your fans will be blowing on the engine bay and not your radiator, im running my AC in place of my main, and im seeing 206 temps when i used to see 200 flat with the regular main fan.

4g63tc · 08-17-2012, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbansmoker1

Just remember that the AC fan is a puller, so your fans will be blowing on the engine bay and not your radiator, im running my AC in place of my main, and im seeing 206 temps when i used to see 200 flat with the regular main fan.

Both OEM fans are pullers. (as in pulls air through the radiator into the engine bay)

Pushers, normally mounted in front of the radiator do the same thing, Push air through the radiator into the engine bay.

urbansmoker1 · 08-17-2012, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4g63tc

Both OEM fans are pullers. (as in pulls air through the radiator into the engine bay)

Pushers, normally mounted in front of the radiator do the same thing, Push air through the radiator into the engine bay.

interesting, i only said that because i didnt notice nearly as much air blowing from the big fan INTO the engine as this little AC one in its place.

Lou98GSX · 08-17-2012, 06:56 PM

the only time i had problems was when i went external waste gate on o2 housing . i noticed on link that my cooling fan would come on and the temp would take forever to come down so the fan would stay on for way to long . the only thing that solved the problem was going with a colder thermostat .i have the stock main fan wired to high and a pusher fan for the a/c wired on high speed.

JackM · 08-17-2012, 06:57 PM

Aluminum radiators suck and so do aftermarket fans. It's a never ending battle with those cheap parts and over-heating issues. Get an OEM radiator and find the OEM fans. You will never have to worry about cheap fan reliability or cooling again.

Just look at it. Do you think those tiny blades move any air?

Look at the fins in the aluminum radiator compared to the OEM unit. Do you think with fewer and further apart fins would cool better? I had an expensive radiator in my 2G and it sucked. An OEM unit worked far better.

urbansmoker1 · 08-17-2012, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackM

Aluminum radiators suck and so do aftermarket fans. It's a never ending battle with those cheap parts and over-heating issues. Get an OEM radiator and find the OEM fans. You will never have to worry about cheap fan reliability or cooling again.

Just look at it. Do you think those tiny blades move any air?

Look at the fins in the aluminum radiator compared to the OEM unit. Do you think with fewer and further apart fins would cool better? I had an expensive radiator in my 2G and it sucked. An OEM unit worked far better.

My koyo has way more fins then OEM and is thicker also though... i have an ass fan setup but i am seeing the same temps i was with the oem rad...

DSMnOOb00 · 08-17-2012, 08:00 PM

Yeah I'm really hating my aluminum radiator right now, I can't wait to reinstall the oem radiator and fans. I'm going to sell of the radiator and shroud locally and tint my windows finally

99gst_racer · 08-17-2012, 08:12 PM

DSMnOOb00 - What temps are you seeing?

I have to agree with everyone on the fans. It's best to have at least a combined total of 2200 CFM. Your cheap fans are probably 1200 CFM combined at best.

crazyquik22023 · 08-17-2012, 08:14 PM

Honestly I would say keep the aluminum radiator if it is a good quality brand, i.e. Fluidyne, mishimoto, koyo..possibly a few others, and just get rid of your low quality fans as stated above. Most aluminum radiators, well at least the ones I mentioned, are much better quality and have a much better design than the OEM radiator. If you have a quality aluminum radiator with stock or quality aftermarket fans that push 1200 or more cfm's each, you shouldn't have any cooling problems.

turboglenn · 08-17-2012, 08:21 PM

One of the smartest topics i've seen by title in a long time, I went back to OEM fans (Mainly the main one is the one you want) but i used both and an OEM radiator after using aluminum and every damn fan i could buy in the "slim" variety back a few years ago before my disablement set in so badly and i still had plenty of money to play with.. I overheated constantly, forget using A/C...

Now i've got stock setup radiator and fans and have for a few years now (probably 5 or so) and my old fans and radiator are on a broken down stock eclipsse (well 14b and AFC still says stock to me even with a cat back and K&N FIPK) and that car still was on the edge of pushing over stock temps..

I make over 450 to say the least on any given day and i have temps ranging from 175'ish to mid 190's with a 180* t-stat, both fans set to come on together on "level/speed # 3 (why there's 4 wires per fan, there's a "hi" and "lo" and then hooking them both up as the OEM ecu can do puts themon "stage III" (can't stand to hear "stage II , stage III anything becayus it usually relates to un-educated import poepole bragging

)

anyway, those are my results and i've had everythintg from a to4e 57 and 50 trim, a PTE6776RS (which was in a To4S housing) and how a holset Hx40/35 hybrid in a garrett turbine housing and all of it's been fittting the same just about, i had to trim the corner off one of the larger fan's 4 main pieces that stick out, and use a 90* elbow welded on the turbo outlet.. I've even used a silicone 90* on the oulet instead but after a while i was affraid being 1/8" from the #4 manifold runner would melt it through but it never did.. so if all that fit on my 2gthere's not myuchg that shouldnb't be able to be puton with OEM cooling parts and some carefull FMIC pipe routing

urbansmoker1 · 08-17-2012, 09:13 PM

glen, can you pm me a picture of where to cut I'm sck of using my ac fan as the main and the hx40 already required trimming of the ac fan i put there. my koyo is pretty monstrously thick

DSMnOOb00 · 08-17-2012, 09:29 PM

Forget it! Im going to sell the aluminum radiator, my mind is pretty made up on that. Plus I cant run OEM fans with the aluminum radiator even with SOME trimming, its too fu*ken thick!

So to say the lease I offically HATE! HATE! HATE! my aluminum radiator, I will admit it is an Ebay radiator (altho It cost me $200) but it never leaked and looked well built. I also bought a radiator shroud, thinking it would help the problem, and it did! it worked great! it really brought my temps down... of course that was before I got the A/C working again, then BAM! engine was on FIRE AGAIN!

thats $200 for radiator
$120 for shourd and two 12' slim fans
$10 Water wetter
TOTAL PAIN IN THE BUTT HOLE!

I wish I had used the cash for something useful

spyderdrifter · 08-17-2012, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSMnOOb00

I can't run the oem fans with my aluminum radiator because the aftermarket radiator is a lot thicker then the oem, so the oem fans won't clear the jpipe.

Not to question what you're posting, but how do your fans even come in contact with your j-pipe? I'm thinking j-pipe from turbo to oil pan where the fan shroud has no contact since the pipe is on the bottom of the turbo. I got a mishimoto rad w/ stock fans and shroud with no clearance issues.

However, if you're taking about the pipe coming off your turbo to intercooler since your mod list includes a 16g, then I retract my question. I looked in your gallery for engine pics, but you don't have an engine shot, so I ask..

urbansmoker1 · 08-17-2012, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyderdrifter

Not to question what you're posting, but how do your fans even come in contact with your j-pipe? I'm thinking j-pipe from turbo to oil pan where the fan shroud has no contact since the pipe is on the bottom of the turbo. I got a mishimoto rad w/ stock fans and shroud with no clearance issues.

However, if you're taking about the pipe coming off your turbo to intercooler since your mod list includes a 16g, then I retract my question. I looked in your gallery for engine pics, but you don't have an engine shot, so I ask..

What the heck other j pipe are you talking about the only j pipe is the one to the intercooler on a 14b or 16g the thing to the oil pan is an oil drain tube for your turbo lol.

spyderdrifter · 08-17-2012, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbansmoker1

What the heck other j pipe are you talking about the only j pipe is the one to the intercooler on a 14b or 16g the thing to the oil pan is an oil drain tube for your turbo lol.

I've seen the oil drain line referred to as a j-pipe. It was a simple question for clarification....

99gst_racer · 08-18-2012, 06:37 AM

So how hot was it getting?

AllanL · 08-18-2012, 07:26 AM

not a water pump issue?

92 GSR-4 · 08-18-2012, 08:03 AM

urbansmoker1,

I use these Flex-A-Lite fans on my 1G with a Fluidyne radiator: low-pro-puller

They work well, but the radiator, fan package and lower IC pipe make for a tight fit in my car. Still very doable.

Also, when I switched over the 90' style air to air oil cooler with a nice B&M cooler, I was able to literally watch a difference in the coolant temp gauge on my dash. This is in 95+ Georgia heat. I had a buddy that ran a 2.4L and used a monster oil cooler on his car and he said it made a huge difference in the temp of the motor to the point that he could take the car for a drive and immediately drain the oil and it be warm to the touch - not hot. I don't know if that was true, but I do know that getting rid of that retarded oil/water sandwich cooler at the oil filter can take a load of the cooling system.

I understand your frustrations, just hope we can help you!