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I have the stock cooler bypassed.. that's what I keep hearing with mounting it on the back side of the condenser.. I saw a post with it out in the rear bumper, but not sure I want to run it out back like that. Doesn't that require a fan as well? May be an option though.
I'm hoping the member I found on here can PM me back with his details running it in between.. from his posts I gathered he may have had a 3800 stall and said he could hot lap on 90 degree day and temps were good.. just need to see if he had a gauge on it to verify they were actually good.
I'm curious how hot the condenser would get cranking the A.C. and how much it would heat soak into the cooler. Ive never thought about putting a temp gun on my condenser before lol
Last edited by RollinSScamaro; 11-25-2017 at 03:36 PM.
Those are pretty cool! That's the first time I've seen those. That would be a nice option to have if you didn't want to worry about switching the fan on and off all the time.
Alright I know this is old, but I decided to give it a try and run the Hayden 11x11 cooler between my condenser and radiator (roughly 1/2" clearance from touching a slightly thicker aftermarket radiator). I placed the cooler in line with the driver side radiator cooling fan and ran the lines accordingly with one looping over the top and one under.
I was able to take a drive the other day when it was around 40-45 degrees. I did some stop and go, cruising at about 60, and and a couple quick pulls to 80-90 mph..total trip was roughly 30 minutes and only hit around 120-125 degrees even after letting it run parked in my garage to heat soak for 10 min after the trip. My cooling fans are programmed for my 160 stat, so that pulls air through the cooler regularly. Coolant temp was around 170-175 for the duration of the trip. I figured I'd expect to see a 40-50 jump on a 90-95 degree summer day based on air temps alone, putting me around 170-175 which is plenty safe from what I've read.
The only question now is how much will the condenser affect the cooling once I'm cranking the AC on a 95 degree day, so I'll have to wait until that happens. I would think as long as my cooling fans are regulating coolant temp my trans temp should do the same. I also have an SLP fan switch to crank fans on high if they aren't already running.
I've seen a ton of posts saying it will not work, but couldnt find anyone who actually tried it other than 1 person and they said it worked fine. I PM'd the active member to get more info but he never responded unfortunately. I figured if it doesn't work I'll move to a remote or dope style set up with a puller fan.
Just wanted to give an update that this might be a possible option out there for people despite what some may say. Who knows though, maybe I'll learn the hard way when it gets hot out. I decided to be the test victim i guess lol. I'll update once I get more time in on hotter days.
From the original picture where my cooler was mounted in front of my condenser I ran lines from those, one over top and one under. There is enough room for the lines to clear. Trans temp was around 120-125 and coolant temp was 170-175. Stock cooler is bypassed as well
Me too lol. It does have great airflow with the radiator fan being behind it. Pulls air right through it. Hard to get a picture, but this is how it's ran. I left the existing lines so I could go back to the original set up if I decided to go back to a non-ssra set up.
These are the only ones I could find. The one picture gives you a good idea of clearance with a stock radiator when mounted between. My set up is slightly tighter due to my new aftermarket radiator having a thicker core (same as LT1 radiator thickness).
I have a quick update on this in case anyone was curious. I've driven on 80-90 degree days and ran the AC with no issues. I think I've seen it hit 160-165 on 3 back to back 100+ mph runs, but other than that it stays around 140 - 150 and holds pretty steady there. On cooler 60-70 degree days it stays even cooler. Ive even done 2-3 100+ mph pulls in a row then came to a stop and let it heat soak purposely to see how it did and it maintained well. Having the driver side radiator cooling fan in line with the cooler I think does the trick. Coolant runs at 180-185 with a 160 stat. Hopefully this will be good info for anyone trying to run an SSRA and an 11x11 cooler with a 4k stall. Everywhere you read it says it wont work, but it does. Keep in mind though the B&M cooler may be too thick to fit. The hayden cooler is slightly thinner and is just mounted to the radiator with the zip tie mounting kit and foam pads to protect it from hitting the radiator. I put it as low as I could on the driver side so it isn't completely blocked by the SSRA as it would be in the center of the radiator. I figured even if half of it was getting direct air flow it would be better than nothing. From there the cooling fan and tuned fan settings for a 160 stat does the trick.
I have a quick update on this in case anyone was curious. I've driven on 80-90 degree days and ran the AC with no issues. I think I've seen it hit 160-165 on 3 back to back 100+ mph runs, but other than that it stays around 140 - 150 and holds pretty steady there. On cooler 60-70 degree days it stays even cooler. Ive even done 2-3 100+ mph pulls in a row then came to a stop and let it heat soak purposely to see how it did and it maintained well. Having the driver side radiator cooling fan in line with the cooler I think does the trick. Coolant runs at 180-185 with a 160 stat. Hopefully this will be good info for anyone trying to run an SSRA and an 11x11 cooler with a 4k stall. Everywhere you read it says it wont work, but it does. Keep in mind though the B&M cooler may be too thick to fit. The hayden cooler is slightly thinner and is just mounted to the radiator with the zip tie mounting kit and foam pads to protect it from hitting the radiator. I put it as low as I could on the driver side so it isn't completely blocked by the SSRA as it would be in the center of the radiator. I figured even if half of it was getting direct air flow it would be better than nothing. From there the cooling fan and tuned fan settings for a 160 stat does the trick.
Is that position the same one as seen in the picture you posted?
I think 2 plate style coolers in line would almost be overkill and may restrict flow a llittle. On cooler days my trans barely even hits 120 and has a harder time warming up. I think the 11x11 would be plenty unless you are frequently running your car hard in 100+ degree weather every day with your AC cranked to the max. I also run an aluminum truck pan that's 1 quart deeper so that may contribute to staying cooler a little as well.
3-4 WOT runs then sitting in my garage with AC still on max. Heat soaked and coolant got pretty warm per my standards with a 160 stat. It typically stays around 180s.
Hard to see but this is cruising after a few WOT runs before heat soaking in my garage.
This is after sitting in the garage for 5-10 minutes with AC still on and it maintained at this temp. Thats after highway cruising at 80 for 10-15 minutes, stop and go through town, and 3-4 WOT pulls, then sitting jn the garage. 97 feel like temp with AC on max the entire time. Not sure if i can put it through a harder test than that in michigan lol. If i would have driven normal the whole time it may have never crossed the 160 degree mark.
11-25-2017, 03:29 PM
