aftermarket radiators?.....

[spedwezl]

i have a 92 si and need a new radiator. is there anything, advantage wise to getting a C&R or other type of performance radiator or should i just go get a stock one....i know for turbo its a plus but what about with basic CAI headers exhaust...

[Lude_03]

usually tthe performance rads just give more cooling power and sometimes hold more coolent

[SBallerk2]

dude, get a "Alum. Rad." trust me u won't REGRET IT!!!

[spedwezl]

what kind of alum radiator is the best, ive hered good things about fluidyne but it wont fit....

[krstee420]

which brand of alum radiator is best??? i have a 5th gen prelude

[spedwezl]

Originally Posted by krstee420

which brand of alum radiator is best??? i have a 5th gen prelude

i ended up getting a C&R radiator. i havnt seen much in performance gains but it stays cooler for me and my car doenst overheat anymore. i think for the 5th gen they make a Fluidyne radiator that will fit....

[sgtii]

Stock 120 Bucks Advanced Auto Parts.
Yes I was a poor College Studentl.
WAS

[rubix777]

If the engine runs too cool, it is not running at its optimized temperature.

[Phunyguy]

good call rubix... what is the optimum temperature?

[AcesHigh]

Um. Cooler = good. It is the reason intercoolers force cool air into the engine, and why CAI's try to stay cool. With combustion happening your engine itself will never be cool, but the cooler you can keep the surrounding bay the better. In fact, it would be ideal to have ice packs in the engine bay. (Which some race teams stuff in the intercooler before a race).

Koyo (4th gen), Fluidyne (5th gen), and C&R are prime choices here, but they are considerably expensive. I personally just went ahead and got a simple (and less costly) all metal radiator to replace a leaky OEM plastic one.

[sgtii]

[quote=AcesHigh]Um. Cooler = good. It is the reason intercoolers force cool air into the engine, and why CAI's try to stay cool.

Yes, you would like to have the coldest air possible to enter the combustion chamber because you have more dense molecules. More molecules = bigger the explosion. That’s why most drag racing is in the evening or test runs you may read about in Car and Driver are done early in the morning.

But, if your NA engine is not up top operating temp (about 185 to 210) You may not have complete combustion. That is why you need to be at an optimized temp.

You always hear about people wanting to get a 160 degree thermostat because they want to make sure that they are not over heating, but a week later the same person will bitch about gas mileage.

Some people take there thermostat out, so the engine will be cool, (yeah no heater and shitty gas mileage) good idea.

But that is not always the case, the water may flow too fast through the cooling system to pick up heat and carry it to the radiator to disperse.

Run you had across the a flam really fast (no thermostat) does your hand get hot?

Now run it across it really slow (open thermostat). How about now?