89, L98, GTA
2 items I would like thoughts on what other members used on their vehicles. There are a lot of manufacturers out there. I'm looking for a 3 row radiator to help keep the temp. down. The other item I'm looking for is a good sub frame connector that I want to put on my care. Appreciate all input, and TIA.

 

I've had 3 radiators in my car. The stock one worked w my 350hp zz4 for 20 yrs. When i rebuilt my engine and went to electric fans i used a champion aluminum. It cooled a 430hp setup well. When i added my supercharger it wasn't up to the task. I currently have a frostbite 3 inch core. Its massive. It bolted in easy enough. I needed a new upper shroud and had the cut down the upper hose mount a little DT my blower pulley. Otherwise, it would be bolt in.

as far as SFCs. Theres 2 main types. There are inner and outer. The outer mount to the inside of the rockers and the inners run from near the trans mount to the rear trailing arm mount. There are bolt on and weld on. I have both inners and outers in my car. All of mine are welded in. It comes down to how much power you have for what you need w both a rad and SFCs. I needed both in my car. A fabricator I know said w the inners and outers welded in the car will be solid unless I start lifting the front wheels off the ground.

the outers make for a great jacking point also!

 

Good point of SFCs making a good point when jacking. I as well prefer weld in. There's a company out there called Spoon I'm looking at. As far as the radiator, I'm only pushing 300 horses. My temp runs around 210-220 with my stock radiator even with a185 thermostat with both fans running. A 3 row aluminum radiator with minimum mods would be ideal. There's just so many manufacturers' out there.

 

Spohn and umi make good stuff. Alston make the inner sfc's. Your stock properly functioning radiator should easily cool your car. I think stock GTA fans don't kick on till 200-220 or something. Im pretty sure these cars stock are setup to run in that range(ish). Id look into that before swapping radiators. My zz4 did fine w a stock rad. That engine was like a build up L98.

i keep my car running between 185-190 w adjustable fans.

 

A perfectly functioning stock cooling system in a 1989 GTA will keep your 300 HP engine as cool as it needs to be.

Is your car overheating and boiling over?

216 to 226 degrees is perfectly fine if the car is just idling in place not moving. That's how GM has them setup to run for emissions and fuel economy reasons. If you want the engine to run cooler than stock you will have to install a lower temperature thermostat than GM did and lower the fan turn on and turn off temperatures in the chip and with the cooling fan switch in the passenger side cylinder head.

What is the temperature when the car is driving down the road at speeds above 35 MPH?

You can't trust the temperature gauge in the dash. It's more of an indicator to observe that the needle normally runs in this range on the gauge and now it's not so something must be wrong. You want to be looking at the temperature that the ECM is seeing from the coolant temperature sensor.

 

Fans will make a bigger difference than a bigger radiator. I have a griffin and it came with 700 cfm spal fans and that had a hard time keeping it under 220f on hot days. Upgraded to 1450 cfm spal fans now the second one almost never comes on and when it does its only for a minute. This at 600hp NA.

 

I totally agree but!!!! The champion rad I put in came w some no name brand fans and supposedly was good to 500hp. It just barely managed 430 hp. Then I upgraded to dual 12 in spal HD fans and problem solved. Then I added a blower and that combo wasn't quite enough. So i added the frostbite w the dual hd spals. Problem solved again, till I create the next problem!

 

Your temps seem fine. If you are able to fabricate or have the means to pay someone, the Detroit speed SFC's are the best.