Radiator

GlenSL · #1 16th February 2011, 19:10

Good evening guys, hope everyone is well, I am just putting a question out there to see if anyone can answer (i am sure there is the knowledge there somewhere). I am building a sportster and was just wondering if you could tell me what radiator you use?

Thanks

MartinClan · #2 16th February 2011, 19:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlenSL

Good evening guys, hope everyone is well, I am just putting a question out there to see if anyone can answer (i am sure there is the knowledge there somewhere). I am building a sportster and was just wondering if you could tell me what radiator you use?

Thanks

I was able to squeeze in a standard (early model) E30 325 radiator. I threw away Marlin's mounts and made my own so that the rad was as far up under the nose shell as possible. That way it isn't obscured too much by the front cross member.

Using the standard E30 rad meant I could also use the standard hoses - a bonus if they ever need replacing...

Cheers

Robin

PS - I also used the standard E30 expansion chamber.

peterux · #3 16th February 2011, 20:46

I think it depends on what engine you plan to fit. I've currently got a rad from a BMW M10 318i but I may need to upgrade for the 328 engine I'm building.

Radiator fan fitted by marlinpeter, on Flickr

After I took this picture, I fitted a larger fan to the back of the radiator. I do not currently have an oil cooler but will fit one with the bigger engine.

timbo · #4 16th February 2011, 21:14

I used the Marlin supplied radiator but this required some wiring challenges...in the end I had to use separate temperature probes for the ECU and gauge.
My M52 didn't like the IVA exhaust test of standing still revving the engine for several minutes - temp went very high and fan didn't seem to make a scrap of difference.
Guess they're not designed to sit in traffic

Tim

Patrick · #5 17th February 2011, 17:49

I have an Ali rad I got off eBay made in USA for v8 hotrods. It's bigger and much thicker than the original M10 rad Marlin sell with the kit. I had heat issues in warm weather with the M10 rad so I basically found the biggest rad I could fit in there and stuck a 16" fan on it. I've never had a heat related issue since then.

The rad comes as a blank you need to choose where to weld on the intake/outlet fill and drain. I had the welding done at a local shop

http://www.msportster.co.uk/detail.a...=22&offset=132

You can see the big fan in this pic

http://www.msportster.co.uk/data/finalass011.jpg

I also have vent holes in the top of the bonnet:

http://www.msportster.co.uk/detail.a...=10&offset=228

GlenSL · #6 17th February 2011, 18:35

Thanks guys, I am not at that stage yet but like to keep my eye open for anything I can use.

Bobnic · #7 21st October 2011, 11:44

Old thread I know. But does anyone know what capacity of radiator my M3 engine will need (appreciate this is out of your build plans), my Dad's researching on radtech's website at the mo. Also do you know the maximum dimensions we can get away with (off the tops of your heads obviously!!)

Thanks

Rob

GreatOldOne · #8 21st October 2011, 12:05

Mine is a standard Marlin supplied M10 radiator, with the biggest Pacet fan I could fit.

It's plumbed in with (for the most part) standard BMW hoses, except for the bottom hose which is a combination of 32mm copper pipe and elbows, and a 180 degree rubber hose at the end to reach the outlet at the far end of the Rad.

I've set the thermostatic fan bulb in a holder in the top hose, and set the activation to the 'normal' position on the theromostat body.

Even sat at a standstill in heavy traffic, I've never seen the temp go past 80-90 degrees.

I've got a stock 2.5l block, BTW.

http://www.greatoldone.co.uk/Gooster...rogress_2.html
http://www.greatoldone.co.uk/Gooster...bing..._2.html
http://www.greatoldone.co.uk/Gooster...Cooling_2.html

Bobnic · #9 21st October 2011, 18:58

Thanks for the tips. Did email Terry re the radiator and got this back "I know that Mark is really pleased with the rad he has just fitted to our Sportster. He just could not get it to heat up at all which is a good sign so will check with him"
Will keep you guys posted once I know the score from them.

morris · #10 15th April 2012, 09:57

Hi Rob, did you ever find out after which Rad mark used? I'm working on this part of the build at the mo so looking for options

Bobnic · #11 15th April 2012, 19:30

Hi Morris. Never got a definitive answer from them. My Dad ended up getting 3-core one made to our spec via bostonradiators on ebay. You have total control over all dimensions, inlet/outlet position etc.. Seems and looks a proper job, won't know for sure until the engine's running though!!! Sorry i can'y be of more help.

Rob

Mike · #12 15th April 2012, 20:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobnic

Hi Morris. Never got a definitive answer from them. My Dad ended up getting 3-core one made to our spec via bostonradiators on ebay. You have total control over all dimensions, inlet/outlet position etc.. Seems and looks a proper job, won't know for sure until the engine's running though!!! Sorry i can'y be of more help.

Rob

Ian

I had my radiator made at Boston Radiators - as I live local to them. Essentially I worked out the absolute maximum size radiator that would fit under a Cabrio nose cone, and went along to them and had it built to my spec. It was made from Landrover header and footer tanks, and made as a cross flow, as that allowed me to maximise my fan size up to 13".
I had it fitted with a 3 row core, and special elbows to make the pipework so much neater, plus two extra ports for the radiator fan sensor were fitted later (it avoids having to fit it in the pipework, and associated possible leak factor), plus return flow from the M50 engine lower pipe to keep it the same as in the donor: finally a couple of additional supports brackets were added to hold the rad inplace near the top. I later changed the bleed pipe for a small brass valve.

Total cost £150 all in (for cash!), which I thought was very good for a special, and made in just 2 days.
Beats waiting months for Marlin to supply it!

Mike

morris · #13 16th April 2012, 11:37

that's a very good price. I assume you've both had brass/cooper ones, not aluminium?

I've sent off my design to a couple of companies to get an ali one made up so once I get a price back I'll post it here. I'm trying to fit it over the front cross member rather that behind to allow a puller fan to sit easily between it and the engine. The nose cone shape then starts to impact on the dimensions so what I've come up with is a crossflow 66mm thick twin core that is quite a bit shorter than the norm. If the price is too much the fall back plan was to buy one like peter's and get it modified to have neat inlet and outlet hose positions plus the other desirables such as fan switch, bleed screw and drain. I'll definitely give boston a shout though at that price.

As an aside, how are you guys mounting the rad to the chassis in terms of fasteners? I was assuming I needed to use some rubber cotton reel mounts rather than directly bolting on.

Mike · #14 16th April 2012, 17:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by morris

that's a very good price. I assume you've both had brass/cooper ones, not aluminium?
As an aside, how are you guys mounting the rad to the chassis in terms of fasteners? I was assuming I needed to use some rubber cotton reel mounts rather than directly bolting on.

Production car radiators are generally hard mounted these days, but I chose to mount mine on rubber cotton reels.
I had two tags soldered on to the bottom of the case, which sit on two small cotton reels, and attach to the front cross member supported on simple angle brackets: so these take all the weight.
I then had two more tags soldered on the sides at the top which I have used to attach via small cotton reels to the Cabrio's nose side plates - not sure what you get in the Sportster - but these had to be around 10mm deep to fit.
It makes for a robust yet flexible fixing, which will take a bit of the vibration out of the engine movement: this is important for my set up as I have reduced the pipe lengths to the minimum possible, having had brass elbows fitted on the radiator outlets, to keep it all very neat.

One big (unplanned!) bonus was that it allowed me to fit my air induction pipe up to the nose cone, as my top pipe doesn't use the space.

Mike · #15 17th April 2012, 07:32

One point to watch is the diameter of the out lets.
BMW seem to have quite larege diameter engine inlets. My rad came back with smaller outlets on, as can be seen on the photo centre left below. I took it back and had two collars added to it to allow single size pipes to fit both ends - as seen centre right below. Again this keeps it near avoiding reducer collars, and potential leaks.

morris · #16 17th April 2012, 16:46

yeah, I measure them at 43mm OD which is quite big.

Pro Alloy motorsport cam back at £582 inc VAT for my 350x290x66mm twin core ali design with everything in the right place and a Spal puller fan fitted. This was in the rough area I was expecting given everything else on their website but it still made me gulp. Still waiting for some other quotes but I think that may be just a tad too much for me to stomach. £400 and I'd have gone for it.

peterux · #17 17th April 2012, 20:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by morris

As an aside, how are you guys mounting the rad to the chassis in terms of fasteners? I was assuming I needed to use some rubber cotton reel mounts rather than directly bolting on.

I mounted mine with s/steel washers and tap washers either side and a tap washer between the mounting brackets and I put a short piece of clear PVC hose around the bolt where it goes through the radiator mounting holes.
This created a semi-rigid but resilient mounting.

morris · #18 20th April 2012, 18:01

Had another quote back from aaron radiators for £350 delivered but without a fan. That's closer to what I'm prepared to pay but I'm now not convinced that my design is going to be up to the job, it's not a very big frontal area even with the thicker core and £350 will be a lot for something that doesn't work.

I think I'm going to have to bottle it and go for one of the rad's Peter is using and just get a few minor mods made to it. It will mean compromising to using a pusher rather than puller fan but as he reports stable performance after a long run, I reckon it's the safe bet for the moment.

It shouldn't cost too much to get an M22 threaded connection for the fan and some alloy pipe made up to connect the differing pipe work on the engine and rad