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Hi guys, I did a quick search and didn't find what I was looking for so I started a thread. I've got an 02 SS Camaro that I did a Huron Speed V1 AC retaining turbo kit and I had some questions regarding upgrading the radiator. I've got the factory condenser on the car with two deraile pusher fans mounted to the front. In 70 degree weather and under it does fine but when its in the upper 80's or 90's and the AC is on she gets hot, yesterday it got to around 220. I made a long pull up a steep hill and she got hot in hurry. I'm looking at upgrading to a 97 LT1 radiator but I also found the unit below on eBay and was intrigued by it. Any real world experience you guys can lend or advise would be greatly appreciated as it looks like its going to be a hot summer again. Cheers.
That's what I'm thinking too, the factory LS1 core from what I've found is 7/8" and I can get a replacement unit with a 1 1/4" core or the eBay special has a dual 1" core for 2" total. Leaning toward the eBay unit right now. Out of curiosity what makes you say the LT1 unit won't be sufficient?
So it looks like Rock Auto has the 1 3/8" core units still available for $90.00 with shipping. That's 43% more cooling capacity and it will bolt right in. Hmm.
when i had my front mount kit on, i leaned the radiator and condensor vertical and used the stock fans, trimmed the plastic shroud covering the fans so it didnt rub on the turbo etc...i got the idea off a buddy who ran the same kit, and in our experiences and trial and error, the stock fans moved way more air then any aftermarket fans, then i used the lt1 radiator support to close everything up above the rad/cond.... i live in Florida and ran all summer without it getting hot even once
I did a surge/expansion tank on a guys car a few weeks ago. He was having issues with it running hot. Although his issue was the aftermarket radiator was mounted to low a surge tank should really help a boosted car.
I set it up where the steam ports fed the tank individually then dumped into the upper rad hose. I used a 2qt Canfield surge tank and welded bungs in it for the steam port lines. In the end it held about 1.5 qt extra antifreeze(you leave some head room in a system like that ). Pretty significant when a ls1 rad only holds 2qts.
Obviously the more coolant you can hold the better. Sounds like youre on the right track. Try and make sure the air has to go THROUGH the radiator and isn't able to go around it. Like stated above, close off the top if possible so the air can't go over the radiator instead of through it.
Well the stock fans are long gone so that's out but as luck would have it my Buddy has a beCool unit he's gonna sell me so I think I'll put that in, and seal off the spaces between the condenser and the radiator. The car isn't rampant overheating just getting hot so i think a bigger radiator and better directred airflow will get me where I need to be.
I think I'm going to do that while I have the car in the garage too Bob. I have an eBay oil cooler kit sitting on the shelf so I think I'll put it in too since my oil pressure always takes a hit when the temps get hot or if I'm in boost a lot. There's also a bunch of oil in the coolant still from when my stupid power steering cooler failed. This weekend I'm going to flush the system with some dish washer soap, install the the BeCool radiator, top off with fresh coolant and water wetter, seal off the area between the condenser and the radiator and mock up the engine oil cooler which I need to make some brackets for. Just the larger radiator will help immensely as well as the oil cooler. I'll keep you guys updated!
So I finally got that big *** BeCool radiator installed, **** oh dear lol. That thing is big and the front mount turbo didn't help one bit. So I ended up trimming the underside of the core support so the condenser would fit inside so I could pull the radiator far enough forward to not hit the compressor housing on the turbo. I also flushed the coolant system since my power steering cooler failed and pumped an *** load of power steering fluid into my coolant system leaving it looking like chocolate jizz. So I drained and flushed the coolant until it was only water, I then added a big bottle of Cascade Dishwasher Gel and ran the car for about 30 mins varying the RPM. I opened the radiator drain and ran a small hose to a bucket and kept adding water until it was mostly gone. I tell you what that coolant system was squeaky clean after that, that soap did an awesome job plus it smelled like citrus. So then I refilled it with a 50/50 mix of coolant and added a bottle of water wetter and now my temps never leave 180' no matter how much I beat on it. I'm still gonna add the oil cooler this month and see what that does for my oil pressure which also seems to be more stable.
I removed the spot welded piece inside the core support too.
Yes sir! I cracked one of the AC lines though messing with it but it still worked out. I told a buddy of mine about it and which line it was and he just so happened to have that same line in his basement even though the rest of his AC system was in storage, what luck! He said I could have the line but since he gave me such a good deal on the radiator I got him a growler of some nice beer from the local BevMo lol. I'll get the AC fixed this weekend and then the real test will begin, will it stay cool with the AC on. I've got a plan for the oil cooler bracket too but seeing as how this is Father's Day weekend that will have to wait until next weekend.
Because of my setup, I had to reduce my radiator length from 27" to 17" to make room for my F-1 procharger and its intake still to be designed. I had a high efficient 4 core brass radiator built to do the job. It is 1 1/2+" thick with the most efficient core available without going to the new technology of the rods within the core which would have made an already $800 custom radiator go to $1200.
Not sure how it will work yet with the huge intercooler I have out infront of it...I have my fingers crossed.
Yes sir! I cracked one of the AC lines though messing with it but it still worked out. I told a buddy of mine about it and which line it was and he just so happened to have that same line in his basement even though the rest of his AC system was in storage, what luck! He said I could have the line but since he gave me such a good deal on the radiator I got him a growler of some nice beer from the local BevMo lol. I'll get the AC fixed this weekend and then the real test will begin, will it stay cool with the AC on. I've got a plan for the oil cooler bracket too but seeing as how this is Father's Day weekend that will have to wait until next weekend.
Please post up your results once you have your AC working and are running the car hard in hot weather. If this fixes your issue then i might have to look into one of these radiators, as I'm sick of the over heating.
Do you know which BeCool radiator you got. Did a quick search and I see two different part numbers show up that say they work on the 93-02 f-body.
I would also love to hear from anyone that has experience with the radiator that was posted. I have bought cheaper (Chinese) built aluminum radiators off ebay and had really good luck with them. Hoping these are well built also.
Can do GPR, I drove around yesterday in 70 degree heat with the AC on and the needle maybe moved a hair, could've just been me. Even still with the old radiator the car would run hotter with the AC on even in 65 degree weather. Granted it wasn't the 90 degree heat I was in when it got hot but I'll put some pressure on it to try and make it get hot. I'll be installing a big *** oil cooler in the next few weeks as well to aid in cooling. The radiator was the unit sold at the WS6 Store, its a big bastard and with the front mount it barely fits. In fact it grows when it gets hot and gets really close to the compressor housing. I'm confident that with the BeCool radiator and the oil cooler my engine will run much cooler and have more stable oil pressure.
Seriously you should be good with that set up in Washington I would imagine. We have had 119 heat index already and mine did ok in t hat so I am thinking my set up is good for where I live. I plan on moving to Washington very very soon. I loved it up there when I visited.
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