Aluminum radiators

[custom880]

Does anyone have any feedback on the aluminum radiators that are showing up on EBAY? My Fury needs a new radiator and to get an aftermarket repacement one will cost a minimum of 270.00 plus 25 shipping. That puts it at 300.00. The aluminum ones are showing up at 189.00 brand new same size and claims that they will out cool a 5 row brass radiator. 2 rows of 1 inch tubes. Shipping is only 20.00. Seems pretty cheap for a new aluminum radiator. I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience on these. I dont care about originality, just cooling.

[peg leg]

I logged on to a brass radiator site yesterday. It seems that brass radiators out cool aluminum, from their density and strength. I'd suggest logging on to brass radiators on the net and making that decision your self. Looks like brass does it better. Charts and all.
Ron

[superbee1970440]

If brass works better, why do ALL car companies use aluminum?

[1973Swinger]

Id like to see a comparison by someone that doesnt have an interest in selling the radiators before Id believe that a brass radiator out cools an aluminum one. Every serious performance setup I have seen uses aluminum unless they absolutely cant for whatever reason.

[sanborn]

Brass conducts heat/ cold better than aluminum.

Brass is about 3X as expensive as aluminum.

Brass is heavier than aluminum and in the case of a radiator the extra weight is about 20 lbs.

So why do you find more aluminum radiators today? They are cheaper to produce, weigh less and work almost as well at cooling.

[dave571]

Originally Posted by sanborn

Brass conducts heat/ cold better than aluminum.

Brass is about 3X as expensive as aluminum.

Brass is heavier than aluminum and in the case of a radiator the extra weight is about 20 lbs.

So why do you find more aluminum radiators today? They are cheaper to produce, weigh less and work almost as well at cooling.

He speaks the truth, and I don't think he sell's brass copper rads.

For that matter, I have sold aluminum rads, and I will say BRASS/COPPER cools better. I even traded out the aluminum in my 330 to go with a brass. It made a big improvement. But believe what you want.

Look up the heat transfer rates. Brass/copper will move more heat than aluminum.

Aluminum can be used to make a bigger, stronger radiator. If you need a really big rad, it is better than brass copper.
Factor in the other reasons mentioned (cost etc, ) and it is obvious why aluminum is used by all the manufacturers these days.

[1973Swinger]

I see what you guys are saying, didnt think about the weight and cost savings in aluminum vs brass. I just always get a little sceptical anymore when reading info from manufacturers.

[jelsr]

The radiator industry has changed their ideas on cooling ability. Used to be lots of rows now it's wide tubes. The thought is fin contact. The 1" tube will have more fin contact than 2 or more smaller tubes that take up 1" because you lose the space between them. Also the aluminum is more rigid because it can be made thicker to eliminate balooning without gaining a lot of weight. A copper/brass radiator would gain about 40 lbs if made strong enough to allow 1" tubes. Also, while copper is superior at heat tranfer, brass and aluminum are nearly equal. The copper/brass units have copper fins, but the tanks, headers, and tubes are brass.

[kamstra]

I bought a similar rad to the one you described from Summit racing. I am happy with it and a deal at 189.00
The manufacturer of the rad is Northern
I have friends who have used it too. I believe Summit Racing has a new version now too.

[70Ted]

lighter and cheaper.

Originally Posted by superbee1970440

If brass works better, why do ALL car companies use aluminum?

[jelsr]

Sanborn might shed some light on this, but different metals shine for different reasons. Copper will absorb/dump heat to other metals very well (soldering irons) but does not give heat off to air as well as aluminum. Fins on air compressor copper lines are aluminum for instance. Conductivity can be measured different ways. Air cooled engines use aluminum for cyl's and heads and not just for the weight advantage

[kamstra]

JJelsr and Dave571 have it too. Although brass has better thermal effieciancy and can transfer heat, it is a softer metal than aluminum. You can put Larger tubes in an aluminum rad due to a better rigidity of the aluminum thus allowing for more flow and cooling.
With this said, I have one of each and both cool well given the application and build of the rad.

[dtedler]

Try this website - www.usradiator.com

They are a very comprehesive articles on the subject of thermal transfer. By the way the desert cooler triple flow for an e-body is $400.00. I have no problems.

[72Challenger]

I just replaced my stock radiator in my Challenger with the desert cooler from U.S. Radiator last month. Yes, it was twice as expensive as a stock replacement would have been, but it works so much better than the stocker too. I got it with the transmission cooler since I have an automatic. One thing you need to watch for on those cheap aluminum radiators, none of them have transmission coolers. If you have a manual trans that's a moot point of course, but with an automatic, I don't believe that an auxilliary trans cooler by itself is adequate, especially with a high-stall converter. When you add up how much you spend on an engine, $400 to keep it alive is a bargain.

[George G. Leverette]

I live in the high desert of SoCal and surface temperatures exceed 120* during the summer months. The solution that works for me is to get a 27" radiator from a R-body or similiar with A\C have the radiator shop install three rows
of fins, and solder the weak points on the inside while the caps are off. The 5 blade assymetrical fan with a clutch fan fron Autozone is used. This combination has been installed on A-bodies with 318, 340, 360 and 440 cars with great success. The 340 has been converted to a 22" numbers matching radiator with summer time success. A 180" or 190* thermostat with fan shroud has been used in all cases.