cggs Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 Dpoes anyone have any experience with these imported aluminium radiators? My Spitfire radiator needs replaced. They are abundant on ebay, look good and are cheap. Is there a catch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 probably breeding Ha ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 I've got a Honda Civic jobbie installed on my Vitesse and all good for the last 3 years. There's been threads about the Spitfire version and the only problem noted has been the poor angle of the top connection. It doesn't line up well with the thermostat housing and one guy had it cut off and rewelded.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted April 25, 2020 Report Share Posted April 25, 2020 I know someone who fitted one and he reckons it overcools. I just went for a full width one from Canley Classics https://www.canleyclassics.com/heating-and-cooling/spitfire-full-width-radiator Fits properly and does the job in my view - yes its a bit more money (About £50) but worth it in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6M Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Mark says, I know someone who fitted one and he reckons it overcools. Err is that no what a rad is supposed t,doo, cool and if its cooling moer than the one took off, then maybe the other wernt up t,much, and he fitted a lower thermostat t,compensate. If its over cooling after new,n fitted, , then its no the rads fault, its a wrong thermostat still fitted. ye cant really ev too much re,dundant cooling ability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Yes I've not understood the logic either - he is a decent old school mechanic but he reckoned he had to block off most of the rad - which to me points to other issues - but I'm not going there 😂 If I'm honest, I don't like the look of them - I'd rather have a black one that looks vaguely like OEM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 You could always paint black..... the OE ones are painted.... Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Yeah but they have issues in some cases - having to reweld the top hose connection is something not everyone can do - and they rads are very angular. To be fair, I have made my choice and went full width from canley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Hi. Copper is a more efficient conductor of heat, So in theory, the Aluminium Rad would need to have more Wetted surface area?. Currently Copper is more expensive and Heavier than an Alloy Rad. The drive for weight reduction in modern cars has much to do with it`s use too. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Noooo dont start the copper aluminium argument😱 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 Oh alright I will then. Copper is a better thermal conductor but aluminium is a stronger metal so the tubes can be made with thinner walls and deeper. The best alloy rads will have tubes that are each 25mm deep which is better than two separate tubes with a space between them. Then there's the fins which are brazed to the tubes in an ally rad which is supposed to give a better thermal transfer than the fixing used in copper units. I believe copper is fighting back on design but so far is way off on price. There I've done it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 worth saying though that the Chinese rads may not have all these benefits as they sell on how many rows theyve got while, as said, 2 rows of 25mm tubes is better than 4 rows of 10mm ones.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 Hi Heat transfer has much to do with the Area of surface in contact with the fluid too. In Industry and Marine environments it is what produced a move into the use of "plate" coolers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 And Pete, to be fair, plate heat exchangers - used a lot in steam to hot water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve P Posted April 28, 2020 Report Share Posted April 28, 2020 I fitted one to my 1500 Herald,fitted fine,the only thing i noticed was that it came with a 16lb cap,also the outlet to the expansion bottle never got hot water through it,i don`t know if that means the neck is right or not.The car never overheated according to the gauge. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted April 29, 2020 Report Share Posted April 29, 2020 Hi, If a new type of radiator is fitted. One without a radiator cap has merits. Cheers, Iain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avivalasvegas Posted January 31, 2022 Report Share Posted January 31, 2022 The quality just isn’t there. I know of 3 instances where fluid leaks sprung from the bend areas where they skimp on the metal to save £. Avoid and go for a recore if you can’t get a non Chinese unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 31, 2022 Report Share Posted January 31, 2022 one thing that concerns me is alloy is attacked by many blue glycol antifreeze converting to OAT needs a significant flush as the two types cause big problems if mixed so where from here you must stick to a glycol thats alloy proofed the old stuff used to be green for ally i have not had to but any for far too long Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted January 31, 2022 Report Share Posted January 31, 2022 I’ve had a cheap alloy rad in the daughters Spit 15 years plus and it’s good BUT the inlet and outlet bends are suspect and need care when attaching hoses. It’s been good value for the cost, I do keep an old copper rad in case I need to upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avivalasvegas Posted January 31, 2022 Report Share Posted January 31, 2022 My Chinese unit ruptured at the angle/ bend where the metal is thinnest. It was clear that cost saving was the reason for the poor design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted January 31, 2022 Report Share Posted January 31, 2022 I had one, built I think in India and from a well known Triumph supplier, that began to leak around the outlet from the lower tank. I'd had it a couple of years, so taking it back would have been pointless, an I took it to a pro radiator repairer. He showed me that the connector was just brazed onto the rear wall of the lower tank, and said that it should be "brazed through", by being brazed to the front wall as well, with a cut-out inside the tank to allow flow. Rather than buy another, that would probably be the same, I bought another alloy rad, made for the Honda Civic R, new for a third of the price! I reckoned that it wouldn't matter so much if it was same. I had to get brackets TiG welded to each side to match the OE, but still it cost less than half an original design. And it is still in the Vitesse, and works well. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avivalasvegas Posted February 1, 2022 Report Share Posted February 1, 2022 This is the only one I've inspected in person (not my car), with really well engineered connectors https://www.radtec.co.uk/shop/radiators/gt6-radiator/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Clark Posted February 1, 2022 Report Share Posted February 1, 2022 I've got a cheap one in my 1966 MGB GT (cos it looks good) and after two years I've noticed a tiny amount of coolant colour appearing at the bottom of the matrix. But bizarrely no major level loss not any sign ever of wetness. Perhaps I spilled some coolant and it ran down. However the ones at £250 or so don't generally get good press among the MGers. The VERY expensive UK made ones do get good reviews. Some cars do get extra blanking in winter - the owners say their cars never really get warm. But I've never had that issue and I run a warm climate thermostat due to the joys of London traffic jams and a mechanical fan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve P Posted February 1, 2022 Report Share Posted February 1, 2022 7 hours ago, avivalasvegas said: This is the only one I've inspected in person (not my car), with really well engineered connectors I gave my Vitesse standard rad to Radtec and asked them to make it in Ali,definitely good quality but it cost £450 a few years ago. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted February 1, 2022 Report Share Posted February 1, 2022 Isolating the aluminium radiator from the chassis ground does no harm & is a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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