So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
CoolingDiscuss all of the aspects of cooling that you can think of! Radiators, transmissions, electric fans, etc.
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Who told these guys what size the transmission line threads are, nobody seems to get them right and why is that? Everything else is fine as far as fitment, but could not get something as simple as a correct thread. This does not need to be answered, I just wanted to say this. Also this is no rant, I had no expression on my face or mood in my mind when typing this .
my buddy had the same problem so I dunno. He retapped his threads and its fine now
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
The trans lines werent an issue for me since I have a separate trans cooler, cant give any opinion on it.
I did want to mention that these rads are made by Champion, there are several sellers on ebay or who sell this exact rad. I bought mine from a seller called LeadFoot Racing. Just find the correct model # rad and find it on ebay from the cheapest / best seller.
Also, my 84 TA has a different mount then the other guys picture, plus I have the fan shroud etc....
When I get home I will take some pics of the installed rad and post them.
Good idea with making this a sticky. Should help many people for years to come.....
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
wow, that looks like a good radiator, ill probably buy one when i drop the 383 into my iroc. currently i have some 100 something dollar stock radiator from some website a member referred me to. it fits alittle tall, but looks as ugly as sin because of the plastic tubs
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Ok guys, heres a little more info on these rads....
I spoke to the guys at Champion Cooling Systems.....
The rads are manufactured in China, (not that this was a surprise).....
They are "designed" by Champion and manufactured by a plant in China that im sure 95% of everyone in the rad business uses....
Please note, I still do believe they are quality rads at a good price. After figuring out that everyone else uses the same manufacture, these rads are probably just as good as anyone else's.....
BUT, there's always a but........
Their claims for cooling 850 HP, 1000 HP etc....are questionable at best...
The guy I spoke to at Champion stated "we have had at least one customer who had X amount of HP and this rad / fan combo cooled it. However we have not, nor do we have a way actually calculating or testing this."
Take these cooling capability claims with a pinch of salt. The rad MAY be up for the job, but the fans / shroud etc etc setup that they claim can cool as much HP is probably far from true.
After further research, its a known fact that a stock SBC needs at least 2500 CFM if not 3000 CFM of airflow through the rad to stay cool. A BBC needs at least 4000 CFM to stay cool (numbers provided my perma-cool). If you look on their advertisements, they claim 2800 CFM can cool 1000 HP. Im telling you from my own personal experience this is not true. I have a dyno tested 400 to 450 HP SBC and their 2800 CFM was not enough air. Even Champion said I did not have enough airflow.
Conclusion: If your looking for a quality rad at an affordable price, buy this rad. However, I completely recommend you going with your own fan setup if you have more then a stock motor.
I have not received my new fans yet but I will let you know how it goes....Good luck guys...
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
good info!
I have a pretty stout motor in my car (420ish HP), with the stock dual fans and it seems to cool just fine, even with the AC running. You may not even need some super uber-fans!
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
I bought this radiator and installed it on Tuesday. Not only did it drop my temps about 30 degrees but I am still using the stock mech fan with it and I cant get over 180. The radiator is a perfect fit if you just take out the rubber pieces the radiator sits on. My motor is a built 355 with 400hp.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 84 z28
I bought this radiator and installed it on Tuesday. Not only did it drop my temps about 30 degrees but I am still using the stock mech fan with it and I cant get over 180. The radiator is a perfect fit if you just take out the rubber pieces the radiator sits on. My motor is a built 355 with 400hp.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Also note guys, that Mechanical fans put unwanted stress on water pump shafts, and if a shaft blows and that fan goes flying into the radiator and other misc engine parts....big time trouble.
Also, electric fans do help gain that little bit of power (unsure its 15-20, meaning more than headers intake and exhaust for my car), but TEHO believing, but really only if your electrical can handle it.
Ex: I had a Z31 at one point and it comes with a 70A alternator, so when going to a e-fan we had to swap out alternators to a 90A so the car would have enough power to run everything else, plus the new e-fan setup, without taking e-power from your ignition or lights and such. Without a good electrical system an e-fan can start robbing you of power. If your ignition can't run at full power you won't get a full spark and will start going to the crapper with bad mpg and fuel burning. I do believe that we don't have to worry about that though, but it is something to keep in mind.
I like push fans placed in front of the radiator to get that little bit more room in the engine bay. Always use a fan shroud.
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This was found in 2 minutes on google. I'm sure I can find more.
I'm glad your googleing and copy and pasting links from the internet.Just to add to all of the BS, I also have a K&N air filter on my car good for 40hp and some racing stickers good for 10hp each.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
I dunno, maybe you're trying to get me on a technicality that those numbers aren't off a 3rdgen, but lets get real. The trailblazer kit has dyno numbers from a guy that dyno tunes cars. The other link that shows up to a 50hp draw is dyno numbers from CAR CRAFT MAGAZINE. Not only did they do a electric vs. clutch fan dyno run,they did 10 TIMES to show how different clutch fans suck up different amounts of power. You act like I'm making this stuff up, but you can't get much better evidence than actual dyno numbers. You seem to be one of those people that are just set in their ways and cant have their minds changed.
Oh wait, no...its because you have a clutch fan and want to defend it.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin89Formy
I dunno, maybe you're trying to get me on a technicality that those numbers aren't off a 3rdgen, but lets get real. The trailblazer kit has dyno numbers from a guy that dyno tunes cars. The other link that shows up to a 50hp draw is dyno numbers from CAR CRAFT MAGAZINE. Not only did they do a electric vs. clutch fan dyno run,they did 10 TIMES to show how different clutch fans suck up different amounts of power. You act like I'm making this stuff up, but you can't get much better evidence than actual dyno numbers. You seem to be one of those people that are just set in their ways and cant have their minds changed.
Oh wait, no...its because you have a clutch fan and want to defend it.
Facts are facts.
Whatever you say. I dont care what your google links say and what sales pitch they give you from "dyno numbers". A fan isnt sucking up 50hp. And btw I do run a clutch fan and I have a dual electric fan setup in my garage i'm just too lazy to wire it so there goes your grand idea about my opinion. If you give my a ton of freebees to test and sponser my magazine i will tell "X" fan is the best till im blue in the face.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
I got a 87 GTA 5.7 I've looked into getting a rad for my car. I've already put in a 160* hypertech switch, complete rad flush, added water wetter, and rewired my secondary fan to a manual On and Off switch. Car run mush cooler then before.....Not cool enough....Justin89formy, is your setup pretty much the same, minus the rad????
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
So Justin87fromy I tried your link for e-bay and i couldn't find anything for 3rd gens. BUT I did find for the SAME price you mentioned, Champion Rad for an 87 PONTIAC FIERO...V8 FIEROS...? Is the rad you got????? Is this just a mistake on there (e-bay) part?
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Also, I updated the intial post with a direct link to the ebay sellers store. If you can find Fiero in his store, you should be able to find Firebird too. Its there, I just saw it.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
I found the new link thankx but i'm still not finding anything for the 82-91 3rd gens........(fieros never came w/V8s) that's why I think its a typo..... is your champion rad part # CC828?
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
yeap... i can't find any rads... but there are 2 different prices for "Fiero V8 rads" One is for $204.95 and the other is for $214.95 which is what i think you ordered... I just need the manu. part #!.....thankx
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
84 z28 did you get the same rad from champion as did justin89formy? And how did it fit? Others guys had mentioned that direct fit rads from summit and other places needed to be cut and modified. How much cutting/modifing was needed to make these other rads fit?
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by y84pauloflondon
84 z28 did you get the same rad from champion as did justin89formy? And how did it fit? Others guys had mentioned that direct fit rads from summit and other places needed to be cut and modified. How much cutting/modifing was needed to make these other rads fit?
I did get the same radiator as justin89formy. Alot of guys on ebay sell the champion radiator for our cars just at different prices. I just looked on ebay and looks like everyone is out of stock for the 82-92 3 row aluminum radiators. I bought mine from koolradiatorscoolingsystems for $200 and $25 shipping. The only thing I had to do was remove the rubber pieces that held the old radiator and put some dense foam double sided tape on the bottom part of the radiator so there wasnt metal to metal contact.For have the price of a be cool radiator and cools just as well I cant complain.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by y84pauloflondon
yeap... i can't find any rads... but there are 2 different prices for "Fiero V8 rads" One is for $204.95 and the other is for $214.95 which is what i think you ordered... I just need the manu. part #!.....thankx
These radiators come plumbed for automatics all you need to do is plug the holes your not going to use.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by y84pauloflondon
yeap... i can't find any rads... but there are 2 different prices for "Fiero V8 rads" One is for $204.95 and the other is for $214.95 which is what i think you ordered... I just need the manu. part #!.....thankx
Look again, its there. Obviously a Fiero radiator wont fit, but there is a category for firebird radiators, I saw it with my own 2 eyes last night. Also, the reason this post was made was to give hints on what needs to be done to install this radiator. I would read this entire post again and take note of what everyone is saying about the installation.
The answers to all your questions have been covered in this post you just have to READ it.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Guys,
I know this thread is about a three core aluminum radiator, but a know of another excellent radiator. It is made by alumitech reproductions. They are hand build here in the good ol USA! They are not epoxied like some radiators. They are fully tig welded. I powdercoated mine black (for stock & stealth look)and if it were epoxied it would have fallen apart in the oven. I know it is pricey but I have one for my bb chevelle and it is the best radiator I've owned. I don't have the third gen radiator from them personally so I cannot comment on fitment, but my chevelle radiator is by far the best built, best fitting, best cooling radiator I have owned. I do not work for them and I am not getting paid to say this, just figured I would throw this in there for people to check out.
Thanks
scott
Last edited by 454scotty454; 07-09-2009 at 07:12 PM.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 454scotty454
Guys,
I know this thread is about a three core aluminum radiator, but a know of another excellent radiator. It is made by alumitech reproductions. They are hand build here in the good ol USA! They are not epoxied like some radiators. They are fully tig welded. I powdercoated mine black (for stock & stealth look)and if it were epoxied it would have fallen apart in the oven. I know it is pricey but I have one for my bb chevelle and it is the best radiator I've owned. I don't have the third gen radiator from them personally so I cannot comment on fitment, but my chevelle radiator is by far the best built, best fitting, best cooling radiator I have owned. I do not work for them and I am not getting paid to say this, just figured I would throw this in there for people to check out.
Thanks
scott
This is about the 3 core rad posted, not about the company you spam for.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Actually I have been reading this INTIRE THREAD....and justin, your the only one that I think of that mentioned what the cuts/mods were for your car(rubber), everone else just mentioned cut/mods, and not what they actually were. And Thankx to 84 z28 for your post!!! for taking the time to explain. Seems that you tried to look for me aswell... I'VE tried your link Justin LAST NIGHT.... I see the category for firebirds but for all the 70's birds... Nothing comes up for ...87 firebirds or even a category for 82-92 firebirds just like 84 z28 said, NOTHING. I'll just keep trying to look for those rads in other places. Thankx guys...p.s my eyes work just fine, but the web...lol
Last edited by y84pauloflondon; 07-10-2009 at 12:17 AM.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
hey, i've made SOME small progress, Reliable Rad ARE showing that they are OUT of stock as of JULY 10 at 1:30 am et. That's why there was no CATEGORY before when I checked the first several times in the last couple of days. But I think I now have the part# CC 951, can anyone tell if this is the right part # for the 82-92 firebirds?
Last edited by y84pauloflondon; 07-10-2009 at 01:48 AM.
Reason: details,details,details.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by y84pauloflondon
hey, i've made SOME small progress, Reliable Rad ARE showing that they are OUT of stock as of JULY 10 at 1:30 am et. That's why there was no CATEGORY before when I checked the first several times in the last couple of days. But I think I now have the part# CC 951, can anyone tell if this is the right part # for the 82-92 firebirds?
I found a champion radiator on ebay thats the same as mine just someone else selling it. here the link:
I dont remeber a part number when ordering but I know its the same radiator. For some reason everyone that sells a champion radiator is out of stock for 82-92 camaros. Just keep an I out cause I paid $20 less from the place i mentioned.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
What have you used for the rubber isolators? I went from a stock v6 to a Griffin and the isolators don't really fit properly. I go the radiator mounted, but a buddy of mine who used to work in a Radiator shop says I would have had problems in a few thousand miles due to improper mounting. Any ideas?
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimcairns
What have you used for the rubber isolators? I went from a stock v6 to a Griffin and the isolators don't really fit properly. I go the radiator mounted, but a buddy of mine who used to work in a Radiator shop says I would have had problems in a few thousand miles due to improper mounting. Any ideas?
Buy some 1/8" thick neoprene or rubber. Stick it under the rad.
I completely took my isolators out. But, the durability thing isn't really an issue for me, the car gets maybe 500 miles a year.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BadaPwned
Buy some 1/8" thick neoprene or rubber. Stick it under the rad.
I completely took my isolators out. But, the durability thing isn't really an issue for me, the car gets maybe 500 miles a year.
I did the same thing and I only drive about 1000 miles a year . I its a daily driver you might want to see if you can shave the rubber mounts down so the raditor will fit.
Re: So you guys want a bolt in all aluminum 3 core radiator?
I bought this radiator a little while ago cause my car was running around 220* (I live in Tucson, Az and at the time it wasn't even getting hot outside yet) and put a 160* thermostat in and it took a really long time to get to temperature but it kept going all the to like 240* and so I shut it off. I put the stock thermostat 195* back in and my car will not get above 195, even at idle when my intake temperatures where like 115*. I think the stock thermostat is best, cause a 160* thermostat is almost always open so it doesnt get much time for the fluid to cool in the radiator. Now when my car is running I can even tell when the thermostat opens cause it will drop atleast 15* in temperature. But i did have problems with the tranny lines like everyone else so I bought an external cooler, which I wanted anyway cause I have a higher stall torque converter.
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for the good info! 
