swapping a 99 ls1/t56 into a 96 240sx, not sure what size (row) radiator to use. eventually im going to be doing h/c/i. A shop that specializes in ls1 swaps told me that an aftermarket two row radiator would be sufficient but i want some more oppions. please help

 

The radiators in LS-series cars aren't all that big. They are certainly not that deep. When it comes to radiators, having more surface area is far more important than having depth.

What is the length & height of the core on your stock 240sx radiator? The Corvette radiator in my swap has a core size of about 25" x 17" and is less than an inch deep.

Also, having a properly shrouded fan is also very important. If your car has an air dam under the front bumper, it is critical to have that installed as well.

 

i was going to use the electric fan setup, and one of the radiators im looking at now has a core width of 2.25 inches. its about 25 inches long and about 15 inches high. i dont want to use my stock one becuase its pretty well spent.

 

Okay, great, so a core size of 25" x 15" is plenty. The 2.25" of core depth sounds like overkill though. The aftermarket companies love to push thicker radiator cores, but in most situations it's a waste. Here's why:

The most efficient part of the radiator is the very front of the core... let's say the first .25". It gets all of the cold air from the front of the car, and passes some its heat to that cold air. As you go back to the second .25" of the radiator core, the air is now already slightly warm, and removes less heat from the radiator. For the third .25" of the radiator core, the air is even warmer and removes less heat from the radiator. This happens at an exponential rate, which means each .25" of radiator depth is exponentially less efficient than the part in front of it. Further, it is harder for cold air to pass through a thicker radiator core than a thinner core because the thicker core give the cold air more resistance. As a result, you may actually get less cold air flowing through the thicker core. For these reasons (and probably cost, too) all of the OEMs run really thin radiators that are as wide and tall as possible.

I don't know if you have the room, but the 1994-2002 F-bodies (Camaro & Trans Am) and the 1997-2004 Corvette have radiators with a core size of about 25" x 17". These radiators are great for swaps because after you mount the radiator, the A/C condensor clips onto the front of the rad and the twin electric fans & shroud clip on the back of the rad. They're very easy to hookup to the LS PCM. The F-body cars also have angled radiator cap necks, if you want to mount your rad at an angle. The Corvette rads have no radiator cap - you need a surge tank instead of an overflow bottle. Rads are very affordable new and the fans are easy to come by as well.

 

wow all your info helps a ton!! i have and would love to use the f body radiator, but i wasnt sure if i HAD to position it on and angle. this also works cause eventually i will bring back the A/C