TheresaCBittan

What is the best radiator for a z28 5.0?

Ron U.S.M.C.

I use a stock "Murray" brand in mine.
No problems.

The fan "ON" temperature and thermostats "flow" temperature will determine the temperature of the car.

Could you do us a favor and fill this out .It helps us answer some of your questions. This way with just a glance we know what you’re working with. If you don't know just put "stock" and we can help you figure it out.

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Thanks

Beater79TA

Radiator choice can also be impacted by the type of driving you intend to use the car for. Recommendations for a car dedicated to road racing will differ from recommendations for a daily driver. The same goes for location. Cars driven in the 100+ degree dry climate of the southwest US desert may need a different radiator and fan setup than a car in northern states with less excessive heat.

KCG

iTrader: (1)

Do you have a recommendation?
I'm currently restoring an 89 IROC that will be in the SW once done.

Thanks

Beater79TA

Living in Phoenix, I have a 1990 IROC that I use as a cruiser. Stock radiator modded to use a pair of fully shrouded fans. It does fine as a cruiser. Temps stay in the normal range for a 3rd gen.

Both of the cars that go to the track have custom dual core radiators with hi flow fully shrouded fans for the extra cooling made by a company that supplies radiators to NASCAR and the BAJA race series. They were not cheap but they were engineered to the car and work extremely well at keeping the cars cool both on and off track.

Ron U.S.M.C.

I would still start with a stock replacement radiator = ($89.99) with a single large CFM fully shrouded fan that comes on at 180* and a 180* thermostat.

That set up should be good for up to a 350 HP car in 90* to 100* weather on the street.

The fan "on" temp and thermostat temp settings is the real deciding factor in this equation.

If you do not have that right, having a 4 row radiator will not make a difference.

My Murray brand has a limited lifetime warranty at O'Reillys Auto Parts Store.
That means if ever leaks I get a new one free. For as long as I own the car, for life.

The more rows in a radiator really tells you about the amount of shrouded fan you will need also. The thicker the radiator the more air being pulled through it required in order to cool it.

oddscrounger

I went with the stock radiator last summer, I can't remember the brand but it's probably what these guys are talking about. It was like $90 at autozone. Works just fine with my slightly modded setup. But I do have dual fans and one of the fans I have a switch for in the car and can turn them on whenever I want.

Beater79TA

Living in Phoenix we go above 100 in late April or early May most years and top at around 120 in July / August. Pavement temps get past 150 on asphalt easily during this time of year. You really can cook an egg on the hood of your car and bake cookies on the upper dash. I try not to drive the cars much in these conditions because of the bottom breathing nature of the design. The radiator is just pulling 150+ degree air off the surface of the street and trying to cool the engine. The design of the cooling system just isn't that great for these conditions. But with everything working right you can still drive the car with largely stock components.

I gave up trying to race on stock components though. Too many heat related issues. The race grade radiators in those cars keep track temps down to around 200 and the shrouds are designed for pressure venting at 100+mph speeds to aid in cooling.