Which radiator is best?

[GDPR]

Finally going to bite the bullet and buy a new (exchange?) radiator if only just to completely rule the radiator out of the high-speed overheat equation.

Has it been decided which is the best one to buy, and where from? I have a 6 vane pump and apparently a Mk1 inlet manifold (that Kingpin says is no problem) but a Mk2 engine according to the engine number.

Rimmers have got a 20% sale on at the moment but don't know how good their radiator is and if it's included in the sale.........

Anyone like to impart their wisdom on this?

Cheers

Russ

[KOY 23]

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How about the one fitted to the car but working properly? I had mine flow tested, a leak repaired, thermoswitch boss fitted and painted for £30 by local radiator specialist (Brighton Radiators). I am a bit wary of the quality of some of the spares offerred to us!! This sort of cost is a cheap way of eliminating the rad. from the overheating problem.
Good luck
John

[GDPR]

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I can see what you mean regarding quality of spares John, but surely the sort of stuff you get from Hart Racing or Wards should be up to scratch?

I'm not sure my original radiator is a good design anyway so want to trade it out for something with a reputation for working properly - plus I like to use the Stag every day if possible, so exchange is a must - but there are a myriad of suppliers and choices..... I would like a recommendation fora radiator that will keep my engine temp under control when it's on the motorway..... and not just whenpoodling along in lane 1

Come on chaps - help me out here.............

Russ

[NickA]

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How does the thermoswitch work, e.g does it replace the kenlowe adjustable thingy? and how do you set it's switchon temperature or is it preset in the switch? I'd be interested in adding one to my rad if it replaced the Kenlowe thingy.



Kryten

I've fitted a Supergill from Tony H into my Stag, mainly for the added safety margin. Can't hurt can it? Only disadvantage I can see is that you can't change the belts with the radiator in place as it's too thick.

[Stagdad]

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NickA wrote:

How does the thermoswitch work, e.g does it replace the kenlowe adjustable thingy? and how do you set it's switchon temperature or is it preset in the switch? I'd be interested in adding one to my rad if it replaced the Kenlowe thingy.

Works just as a modern car would .preset switch temperatures are stamped on the side of the switch, i run on 97 deg.And itgets rid of the kenlowe thingy.you can also get dual temp switches so you have 2 temps to chose from.

Steve

[Bob Heritage]

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Hi Russ

You will not have to look too far to get a better deal than Rimmers. If you want a standard rad then go for a 4 row, yours is probably a 3 row being one of the later Stags. Get a second hand one if necessary and have a new matrix put in. I had a higher performance one put in mine several years ago and it worked out cheaper than a normal exchange, the rad people only take a couple of days to do it. There have been plenty of adaptions in the past. I have just replied to Saxy Shaun about his diff problems and about Richard Lane of The Brighton Stag Specialist, another one of his developments was a Serpentine Rad, he got the radiator people to put in a blanking plate 1/3 down the nearside tank of the rad and another 2/3 down the offside tank, this had the effect that the water had to pass through the rad 3 times before it came other other end, clever eh!

Bob

[TimShoubridge]

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kryten wrote:

I can see what you mean regarding quality of spares John, but surely the sort of stuff you get from Hart Racing or Wards should be up to scratch?

Russ

Why?

They run businesses to make money out of stag owners. I don't believe that fundamentally they are any different to any other supplier. it's simply reputation and acknowledgement that keeps them going.

[NickA]

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TimShoubridge wrote:

<Snip> it's simply reputation and acknowledgement that keeps them going. <snip>

but that's the whole point. A good reputation can only be earned from happy satisfied customers. How else can we judge the quality of a supplier beyond our own and other owners experiences.

[GDPR]

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Are you saying that the Rimmer rad isn't much cop then Bob?

I'm intrigued about the idea of the Serpentine rad....... did it work OK then? Do you think there is a decent rad specialist around the Surrey area that could fit a high performance core AND do the Serpentine mod - I could face a couple of days of not driving the Stag if the results are what I hope they would be - only thing that bothers me slightly with that idea would be flow....... what would the cross-sectional area of 1/3 core area be in relation to the radiator necks?

I assume all would be OK initially, but how long would it be before natural scaling and blockage reduced the flow of what would most likely be the lowest section - would this mean a more efficient rad that blocks quicker?

Very tempted though....



Bob Heritage wrote:

Hi Russ

You will not have to look too far to get a better deal than Rimmers. If you want a standard rad then go for a 4 row, yours is probably a 3 row being one of the later Stags. Get a second hand one if necessary and have a new matrix put in. I had a higher performance one put in mine several years ago and it worked out cheaper than a normal exchange, the rad people only take a couple of days to do it. There have been plenty of adaptions in the past. I have just replied to Saxy Shaun about his diff problems and about Richard Lane of The Brighton Stag Specialist, another one of his developments was a Serpentine Rad, he got the radiator people to put in a blanking plate 1/3 down the nearside tank of the rad and another 2/3 down the offside tank, this had the effect that the water had to pass through the rad 3 times before it came other other end, clever eh!

Bob

[NickA]

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Not sure I understand how pumping the same coolant through the same Radiator more than once is going to help. The volume of coolant I assume is still the same, it just takes longer the get through the rad? Isn't that going to slow the overall flow of coolent around the system? Perhaps someone with a better understanding ofthese thing can enlighten me.

Personally I've just stuck inthe biggest rad I could get withthe biggest Kenlowe that'd fitin front of it. :P

[GDPR]

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As I see it Nick, forcing the coolant through effectively3 times maximises the heat transferred - instead of the coolant passing quickly through the core by the quickest route it is exposed to the air for longer - very sensible as long as the effective overall pipe bore of the 1/3 core is equal to the amount that can flow through the necks..... when one core section partly blocks is when that will all go pear-shaped quite quickly...... and the law of gravity says the silt will find the bottom 3rd.

Still I'm game if anyone can think of a Radiator specialist in Surrey/Sussex/West Kent that would be up for doing it....

[John]

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kryten wrote:

Are you saying that the Rimmer rad isn't much cop then Bob?

I think he's saying (and I agree with him) that Rimmers are very expensive. Even with their 20% off, you can generally get a better deal elseware without much effort.

[redstag]

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For me it's the standard originalfour row staggered core with straight fins.

My car hasnever overheated with the original rador the replacement (except when I forgot to replace the pressure cap properly). Mine has a 6 vane pump and mk1manifold.

I don't understand how the serpentine rad will help either. Assuming the restrictions don'treduce the flowsurely you are still passing the same volume through the same rad at the same rate.

Pete

[Kevin Garrod]

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I must admit I don't understand the serpentine rad idea, perhaps a diagram might enlighten me

[GDPR]

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Hot water goes in the top and goes across the top third of the core, down the RH tank to the baffle and across the core in the 2nd 1/3 of the core to the LH tank, where it drops again and back across the last 1/3 of the core until out of the bottom hose connection - each time it travels across it loses a bit more heat - a much more efficient use of the rad........

Remembera radiator core is just a series of parallel small bore tubes running across between the two tanks - by adding the baffles it forms compartments in the tanks and therefore effectively turns the core into 3 sequential radiators, and makes the coolant go across the rad again because it can't go down directly to the bottom hose connection. Without the baffles the coolant just makes the one trip across the core and out again without losing as much heat.

Have I got that right Bob?