I'm in need of a radiator for my 98 GTS. My aftermarket one took a dump, the aluminum tanks are to far gone to be saved. My car was purchased with the aftermarket radiator already installed so I don't have a stock one I can put back in. The car is blown with a FMIC and I plan reinstalling the A/C condenser shortly so I'm thinking a stock radiator will not be up to the task, or would it be? Suggestions on which style/brand of radiator to purchase are appreciated.
Give me a call. We have been working to bring back the radiators that were sold as the Alan's Triple Pass. We just received our first ones in today. We will be selling these units as the RSI Triple Pass. Price will be $679 shipped to anywhere in the lower 48.
I got one these from Mike last year before summer and it performed great through one of the hottest TX summers on record. I was out in 105*+ days with the A/C blasting and engine never got over 210*.
I think one of the illusions about putting in a new radiator, which is usually some aftermarket model with resulting awesome cooling now, is that this miracle cure raidator you put in was actually not the solution to an overheating problem. At least so if you are giving credit to the "upgraded" radiator.
I would suspect that in most cases of overheating there were issues like fouling, both internal and external, maintenance items like coolant age and reservoir level.
So where does my statement of you are under this illusion come from? Given the items above, simply returning to factory fresh conditions would solve your problem. Using factory parts. In other words, a new radiator - ANY new radiator - could have fixed the problem. This aftermarket miracle radiator had no super powers that cost you twice what a new factory radiator does, or 10 times what rebuilding your OEM one does.
If indeed there are no more OE radiators to be had new, then the choice is obviously aftermarket. I have used multiple samples of Ron Davis and Roe Racing aluminum radiators. They either leaked new out of the box or failed within a month. Documented in many threads of mine. I then went with a custom 3-row copper core using my factory end tanks. Meanwhile, I bought one of the last Alan's from Howe's inventory to have as a spare. In any case, none of these really showed any major difference in cooling over the other, short of the Alan's which was still in the box and therefore untested by me.
The biggest cooling improvement, and I have all of them plus some, is when I went to 3 cooling fans. Airflow is golden, and sitting in traffic when it's 110 degrees out on pavement that is well over 150, you got no airflow aside from the fans. More = better.
Back to radiators, it is my opinion based on lots of samples and testing, that what's important is that the thing doesn't fail after 1 month. Not how awesome some specs or other BS is.
The Alan's aka Howe aka now RSI, upon my investigation of how it's built, looks different than the others. Better? Dunno, but different in the place where all my others failed; the corners.
My custom 3-row copper was damaged in a mishap and now the Alan's is in the car. But I haven't gotten the car back yet so no data. Meanwhile I bought the last Alan's known to man from Alan to have as another spare, so RSI is now the Howe connection. Trust me on this, if what they are doing is the bomb just like Alan's used to be, RSI's price is very competitive.
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Trust me on this, if what they are doing is the bomb just like Alan's used to be, RSI's price is very competitive.
These are the exact same radiator, we didn't change a thing. Just put together the deal to have them made again and will have them in stock within a couple weeks.
Thanks for the info fellas. I have the RSI triple pass on order. I'm anxious to see what kind of longevity this one will have over the R.D. radiator that was in the car when I purchased it.
I installed the RSI triple pass radiator a week or so ago and so far so good. I've been mainly driving short distances in the evenings without much stop and go driving, but the temp. outside has still been in the 90's. I've also been running the A/C to try and find the limit of the cooling system. My Dashdaq data logger hasn't seen any engine temps higher than 210 degrees thus far. I'm still running the factory fan and I have a intercooler aswell as the A/C condenser blocking alot of airflow, so if the engine temps don't climb any higher than 210 on these hot days I'll be happy. More updates after I get more miles on it.
How was the install, I have a "drip" coming off the corner gonna do mine this winter. Gonna buy the same rsi triple. Any info on the install would be nice "tips". - Dave
Order the radiator long before you need it. The vendor for RSI that is producing these doesn't get in a hurry. If you need the radiator this winter, I advise you to go ahead and get it on order now. It is a drop in unit so its no different than installing a stock radiator. Having the hood off makes life easier, but I'm pretty sure it could done with the hood on. I had my hood off to install an A/C condenser otherwise I would have tried it with the hood on. After the radiator is in and the lower hose is connected at both ends, attach the upper hose just at the radiator and fill the cooling system through the thermostat housing end of the upper hose. Give plenty of time for the air to work itself out of the system as you are filling. I bought the Roe radiator hoses with the bleeder valve and not much air came out after I filled the system and got the car up to temp.
Thus far, the only minor issue I've ran into with the radiator itself is that the top radiator inlet is positioned slightly different causing the the upper radiator hose to rub against the hood spring. I just put a piece of that protective plastic sleeving found on generic OEM hoses around the hose to prevent a hole from being rubbed through it.
I've gotten some more miles on the radiator now. Yesterday I brought the car up to operating temp then I let it idle in 95 degree heat with the A/C wide open. I shut the car down once it hit 232 degrees and was steadily climbing after approx. 7 or 8 minutes of idling. I'll obviously need to add some pusher fans if I want to run the A/C in traffic in this god awful heat. It would have obviously stayed cooler for longer had I not been running the A/C but I wanted to see exactly where the limits were with my particular set up. Over all I'm pleased with the radiator thus far. It fits fairly well and is performing as well as can be expected given the fact that its not getting the amount of air flow that it needs with an intercooler in the way. The only thing left to test now is its longevity. Hopefully I won't have to make a post about that anytime soon.
What the fuck are you guys doing to chew through radiators? Ive got 30k miles on my GTS without an issue - just your standard maintenance. Of course I probably just jinxed myself..
What the fuck are you guys doing to chew through radiators? Ive got 30k miles on my GTS without an issue - just your standard maintenance. Of course I probably just jinxed myself..
If you are still using the factory radiator, apples to oranges. The OE unit is superior in both design and cooling. Wanna sell yours?
To CottonMouth... 95 degrees in traffic is nothing. I drive my car in 110 degree heat with the single fan and no temps near a level of concern. Are you sure you have the system full? Fascia bottle filled to correct level? Surge tank cap (radiator cap) in good shape? Hose to fascia bottle in good shape and clamped to hose nipple at surge tank @ cap?
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