Ditching Aluminum Radiator for OEM

DSMnOOb00 · Aug 17, 2012

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!

Archer Fabrications · Aug 22, 2012

dsm94 said:
I would look into using that aluminum radiator and taking out the shroud. And still using the slim fans.

or using the stock fans on the aluminum radiator.

dsm94 · Aug 22, 2012

Ya but would he have fitment issues with the stock fan shroud?

Archer Fabrications · Aug 22, 2012

dsm94 said:
Ya but would he have fitment issues with the stock fan shroud?

They have a mod for that, my AC fan fits in front of my HX40. not so much on the external waste gate side though.

DSMnOOb00 · Aug 22, 2012

I had the slim fans sit flush with the radiator before with no shroud, the shroud helped out tons with cooling, and I did have huge figment issues using oem fans on my aluminum radiator, even using two ac fans didn't clear the turbo jpipe.

Archer Fabrications · Aug 22, 2012

DSMnOOb00 said:
I had the slim fans sit flush with the radiator before with no shroud, the shroud helped out tons with cooling, and I did have huge figment issues using oem fans on my aluminum radiator, even using two ac fans didn't clear the turbo jpipe.

Well if you have a J pipe :ohdamn:

Sorry didnt look at your mod list.

DSMnOOb00 · Aug 22, 2012

Cool Temp is reading at 203 at idle after a city drive with AC on full blast with not signs of over heating

blackrosenova40 · Jan 17, 2013

Id like to add onto this whole situation. I also have been using an ebay radiator and have had overheating issues

I believe the problem is the coolant flow inside the radiator. The coolant inside of the ebay radiator I have is not directed at all inside, and will take the path of least resistance, straight from the top hose location to the bottom hose location, and skipping most of the radiator. What makes it really bad is the inlet and outlet are on the same end of the radiator. The water pump is sure having an easy time as there is no restriction to slow the water down and cool it properly.

Now I assume the stock radiator does direct flow inside the radiator to flow throughout the whole radiator.

Also I wonder if any of the aftermarket aluminum radiators direct coolant flow, or are they just end tanks welded onto a core.

EC17PSE · Jan 17, 2013

I thought I would give my opinion on this, my old oem fans and rad always ran about 203-205#F. Now ive got my new aluminum branded rad and oem fans it does run a little hotter 210#F max but thats only at idle, I dont have AC but the radiator really seems to cool it down alot more and when your driving it works really well, now my temp might have risen slightly because I wanted to test a 1.1bar rad cap so that might account for the increase in temp aswell but im not done testing that out just yet as im also going to see if a new oem cap changes temp at all! If your seeing hight temps then its more likely your fans but looking at that rad you have it looks very cheap and the ends are curved and that cant be good. A good rad goes along way compared to a cheap unit,

Any chance you rad might not be working 100%, anything is an option right now on aiding this over heating problem, even the rad cap might be bad

Building a proper cooling system is vital and if another $200 is to much then your clearly not ready to upgrade your system!

My next step it to replace all my water hoses with samco hoses! Im just waiting back from them to make a genuine kit for the car so I have no chance of blowing an old pipe and its added insurance

WES_393 · Jan 17, 2013

I believe the problem is the coolant flow inside the radiator. The coolant inside of the ebay radiator I have is not directed at all inside, and will take the path of least resistance, straight from the top hose location to the bottom hose location, and skipping most of the radiator. What makes it really bad is the inlet and outlet are on the same end of the radiator.

The stock radiator doesn't direct flow in an unnatural pattern, it's a single-pass design where coolant passes through the entire radiator. The coolant is equally dispersed by the resistance of the radiator itself and flows from inlet to outlet. The inlet and outlet should be on opposite sides.

(Single-pass design)

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If your radiator has the inlet/outlet on a single side, it should also be divided to direct flow through the radiator. That setup is known as a dual-pass design. Without the divider, coolant would flow right back into the engine without traveling through the radiator.

(Dual-pass design)

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For what it's worth, I have been using the old stock radiator for years without a problem. With severely bent fins, the FMIC blocking airflow, and only one stock engine fan, I could kick the fan on with Link and watch the temperature drop below 200*. With both stock fans installed and wired together, my engine fans have never ran for more than a few seconds on their own.

mnetwork · Jan 17, 2013

blackrosenova40 said:
Also I wonder if any of the aftermarket aluminum radiators direct coolant flow, or are they just end tanks welded onto a core.

I've wondered this same question.

blackrosenova40 · Jan 17, 2013

WES_393 said:
The stock radiator doesn't direct flow in an unnatural pattern, it's a single-pass design where coolant passes through the entire radiator. The coolant is equally dispersed by the resistance of the radiator itself and flows from inlet to outlet. The inlet and outlet should be on opposite sides.

(Single-pass design)
You must be logged in to view this image or video.

If your radiator has the inlet/outlet on a single side, it should also be divided to direct flow through the radiator. That setup is known as a dual-pass design. Without the divider, coolant would flow right back into the engine without traveling through the radiator.

(Dual-pass design)
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All stock 1g radiators have the inlet/outlet on the same side so I hope the stock radiator is a dual pass design.

Thats also the problem with the ebay radiator, its a single pass with the inlet/outlet on the same side.

EC17PSE · Jan 17, 2013

I can cut open my oem 2g rad as it broke on the top plastic neck, but I dont know what im looking at and what would suggest it to flow in a certain direction?

blackrosenova40 · Jan 17, 2013

ec17pse said:
I can cut open my oem 2g rad as it broke on the top plastic neck, but I dont know what im looking at and what would suggest it to flow in a certain direction?

Cut that thing open, lets see what its got!

I contacted mishimoto, there radiators are only single pass, so there x-line radiator wont do any better than my ebay radiator which the dimesions are fairly close.

Im really curious about the stock radiators, Id have to think they are dual pass.

curt-s · Jan 17, 2013

blackrosenova40 said:
All stock 1g radiators have the inlet/outlet on the same side so I hope the stock radiator is a dual pass design.

Thats also the problem with the ebay radiator, its a single pass with the inlet/outlet on the same side.

Single pass. The tanks on a 1g radiator are on the top and bottom and it's open passages from the top tank all the way to the bottom.

WES_393 · Jan 18, 2013

All stock 1g radiators have the inlet/outlet on the same side so I hope the stock radiator is a dual pass design.

Thats also the problem with the ebay radiator, its a single pass with the inlet/outlet on the same side.

No, by "side" I mean end tanks. The 1g hoses or both to one "side" but are on different end tanks. Dual pass radiators will have both inlet/outlet on the same end tank. Stock radiators are single pass, no doubt about that.

white92talontsi · Jan 18, 2013

DSMnOOb00 said:
Finally got the chance to reinstall the oem radiator, I installed another AC fan in place of the main radiator fan for two reasons. 1st the ac fan is thinner then the main fan. 2nd the ac has a heat shield on it to deal with the heat the o2 housing puts out.

I had to cut one of the bolt mounts to fit the ac fan with a hand saw.

But overall I love this new (old) setup! Car runs way cooler and I can finally run my ac!!

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You either bought that radiator like that or you have a blown headgasket. That aluminum radiator should not be swollen like that. It has had excess pressure in it from somewhere. You could also have a faulty Radiator cap not letting pressure off normally.

Will you people also stop suggesting colder T-stats also. Running a colder T-stat causes poor gas mileage as The Ecu can't properly dial in fuel trims because the engine is too cool and you are also causing excessive wear on the engine running it too cool.

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Ditching Aluminum Radiator for OEM

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