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Would you buy an Uprated radiator if you a: needed a replacement b: were modifying
- Thread starter AndyC
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The problem seems to be:
to make a suitable series of improvements the oil cooler on the end of the rad needs to be separated and this of course adds cost but offers a good upgrade path...
to make a suitable series of improvements the oil cooler on the end of the rad needs to be separated and this of course adds cost but offers a good upgrade path...
Blue_Thunder
Registered User
No. I've been running over 400bhp for 3 years now on K04's. On a few occasions when pushing it hard i've had elevated oil temps which pushed the coolant over 100 degrees as a result, but I didn't have a seperate oil cooler fitted. That was also only happening when ambient temps were pretty high (eg: 18+).
I've now fitted an oil cooler and know that the stock radiator will do a more than satisfactory job of keeping the coolant at the right temps when it's not got to cool the majority of the oil as well.
Another point to consider is that the stock radiator has the gearbox oil running through it to provide some cooling too. Unless you planned to fit a separate gearbox oil cooler, you would need to make sure the custom rad had this as well.
And as mentioned previously, 2nd hand rads can be picked up fairly cheaply. I cracked my 3 year old rad when pulling the lower hose off recently and managed to pick up a decent condition 2nd hand one for about £50 delivered. Job done.
I've now fitted an oil cooler and know that the stock radiator will do a more than satisfactory job of keeping the coolant at the right temps when it's not got to cool the majority of the oil as well.
Another point to consider is that the stock radiator has the gearbox oil running through it to provide some cooling too. Unless you planned to fit a separate gearbox oil cooler, you would need to make sure the custom rad had this as well.
And as mentioned previously, 2nd hand rads can be picked up fairly cheaply. I cracked my 3 year old rad when pulling the lower hose off recently and managed to pick up a decent condition 2nd hand one for about £50 delivered. Job done.
Blue_Thunder
Registered User
D'oh, took me too long to type that out. I see you've considered the gearbox oil cooler. It's always nice to have options, but given that there are cars running over 600bhp on the stock radiators, it doesn't really show itself as a 'weak' point on the S/RS.
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That seems to be the overall view as well, the stock core size is pretty good.
removing the box oil and adding an engine oil cooler is the way to go it seems,
always interested in the views.
A.
removing the box oil and adding an engine oil cooler is the way to go it seems,
always interested in the views.
A.
Talkwrench
Hoonigan
This is the route I went and temps are maintained at 90 for oil & coolant, my rad was off Ebay for about £30 and it does the job fine regulating temps on my 2.0 20V with a GT30 turbo.
