'MIGHT' be time for a new Radiator?

[Fatboy 18]

OK What's recommended to work best, 2000 Gen II with the later large single fan.

Aluminium radiator like Fluidline or stock?

Looking for advice please. Pros and cons (if any)

[Steve-Indy]

dave6666 has written a ton on this...bottom line was to rebuild stock. That is what several of us have done here...happily.

[Fatboy 18]

Thanks Steve, I have several good radiator places near me, they rebuilt my radiator on my Old 76 Camaro in the 80s

I will drop by with the car and see what they quote me

[thetalonguy]

Mark,

I just installed a new X2 Builders unit this weekend. It's a 3 core, non aluminum radiator. Goes for $475. I decided to go this route since it was nearly the same price as getting my OEM recored, plus I could do R&R the same day. In addition, I also have my OEM as a backup in case it anything happens in the future.

Everything fit fine...except the upper radiator hose touches the hood support. Getting the hose on was a PITA, but manageable. Also, had to ever so slightly drill out a little material on the front radiator housing to get the front radiator studs to go through. No biggie.

I will be on the track tomorrow, so we'll see how much better it runs.

http://www.x2builders.com/gallery.as..._id=item&id=69

Few pictures of what I uncovered at 15 years and 50K miles.

[Fatboy 18]

Thanks for the link Matt, I may get killed with the shipping costs with one from across the pond so I will check out the UK option first

[Steve-Indy]

Mark, here is an old thread that may be of interest.

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/...acement-Option

[Fatboy 18]

Mark, here is an old thread that may be of interest.

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/...acement-Option

Great info, thanks Steve

[braunstein82]

I used x2 also

[slitherv10]

I have a 96 GTS and had mine removed and added 3 cores to it instead of staying with the 2 cores they come with. lifetime warranty from the company and no screwing around with shaving this and drilling that. Stays cooler in hot weather than original.

[Fatboy 18]

Thanks for the information How much cooler does the car run? Do you think its down to the 3 core or just that your old radiator was not working as it should?

[Geronimo]

Fluidyne in mine. Better than stock.

[Ginja]

I had mine re-cored by a company in Cranleigh Mark. They made a really nice job of it and even strengthened the drain plug so I can now use it. Did cost me about £250 though. Looked like new when I got it back

[nrs1]

Another vote for re-coring the OEM. I went with the 3 core rebuild (per dave6666) and the results have been great. It was probably a combo of clogged original and improvements from the extra core. Either way my temps on the track went from a constant 230 deg to 205 deg, even in hotter ambient temps. I have driven around in 110 deg weather on the street in traffic w/ac, and temps stayed in the 200 deg range.

[dave6666]

Some important things to note.

1) When comparing the results of your new 3 row radiator to your old 2 row factory radiator and how much better it cools, don't credit the 3rd row, but instead the fact that the new radiator doesn't have 20 years of scale buildup inside of it. And the crap on the outside too.

Summary: The cooling miracle is mainly due to the restored heat transfer coefficient. I ran an OEM 2 row for years in 100+ ambient (160+ pavement) with no cooling issues.

2) You say buying the X2 is "cheaper" than rebuilding the stock radiator. Then point out how the X2 does not fit as well. lol at the irony of excluding the value of a part that fits well (the factory radiator...) in your financial analysis.

Summary: The X2 is showing itself as a valid player. It is not however "cheaper."

[dave6666]

Fluidyne in mine. Better than stock.

Last time I talked to the distributor of those (Roe) he said they had gone the way of Chinese junk.

glws.

[Fatboy 18]

Thanks for the info everyone. Im going to pull the rad at the end of the month and go for a re-core and new black paint

[Geronimo]

Last time I talked to the distributor of those (Roe) he said they had gone the way of Chinese junk.

glws.

All good things come to an end I guess. This one has been in the car since 2000. I have used them in many performance cars in the past but Chinese junk is no good. I don't get build up or scaling because I use Evan's coolant in all my cars.

[dave6666]

This one has been in the car since 2000.

How many actual miles on it?

I use Evan's coolant in all my cars.

Was that your decision, or the wife's?

[thetalonguy]

Don't see where it was posted that X2 was cheaper? For the most part it's slightly more expensive than doing a recore of the OEM unit.

I personally preferred doing the R&R in one day (with the extra hour it took me to install the X2 unit) rather than downtime for a turnaround of a recore. In the future, if this one gets clogged up, than I'll take my OEM and recore it with no down time again.

First track day yesterday on the new unit and the car performed like a champ! I would most likely attribute this to the OEM being clogged up on both the inside and the outside. X2 does remain a viable option and viable options are good when we're talking about Vipers.

[Geronimo]

How many actual miles on it?



Was that your decision, or the wife's?

30,000. Been using it for 20 years.

[Fatboy 18]

77.750 On my car now Still thrashing it

[braunstein82]

X2 is also 3 core and copper brass. Easier for repair down the road. No major issues installing my x2. Other than upper bolts didn't line up perfectly but very close and the upper hose mount could turned in a touch more.

[Snake]

I put a Ron Davis 3 core in my 00 gts & couldn't be happier!

[dave6666]

I put a Ron Davis 3 core in my 00 gts & couldn't be happier!

How many weeks ago? Or is it just days so far?

[Snake]

Year and a half & 6000 miles a go!!