Custom Aluminum Racing Radiator Group buy.

[PortalBMW]

Hey guys,

I've been in contact with this radiator company for the past few days discussing custom radiators made being made to my specs. Here’s the deal. The radiator will retain all factory mounting points and include a fitment guarantee. Fluid capacity will increase from 4pints to around 7 ½ to 8 pints, I'm thinking less. Two temp sensor inputs, one for factory and a 1/8in or 3/8in input for an aftermarket. These are all aluminum TIG welded radiators. At this point, I am thinking these things are not going fit the sedans unless the puller fan is removed. I think they may fit the coupes with out any fan removal but I am not certain of this. Worst case is you upgrade to an electric puller fan or move two fans up front to push air.

Right now the pricing stands at 429 with a minimum of 10 people. If we can get anymore, I’m sure I could get the pricing down even more. Ultimately, if we can get this thing happening before anyone receives their radiator I will be toughly testing the prototype.

If you are surely interested in this buy, please put a note in this thread saying “count me in” or something to that effect so everybody else interested knows where we stand. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I can relay them to the manufacturer.

Not sure about how the transaction is going to work at this moment but we’ll figure something out later.

Best Regards, Chris Curnow


PS... I will ask for some pictures of their previous work this afternoon.

[NoSoup4U]

Portal -

How thick is the core? I believe stock is 42 mm. Is this a dual row or single row radiator?

Whom is the maker of this? PWR? Fluidyne? etc...

Is it $429 PLUS shipping or $429 shipped. If it is the latter, that's a good price. Keep me informed. I do not think we will hit 10 people though.

[PortalBMW]

Originally posted by NoSoup4U
Portal -

How thick is the core? I believe stock is 42 mm. Is this a dual row or single row radiator?

Whom is the maker of this? PWR? Fluidyne? etc...

Is it $429 PLUS shipping or $429 shipped. If it is the latter, that's a good price. Keep me informed. I do not think we will hit 10 people though.


Core is around 60mm. $429 plus shipping at the moment. Manufacture is HOWE Racing. Don't be pessimistic in my threads.:nono

;)

[jayhudson]

Gents-

Moving this to the Group Buy forum.

Jay

[NoSoup4U]

fine - sorry for asking. Good luck.

[Kenshiro]

Any chance of getting one to the AA spec?

4-row, 80mm?

[PortalBMW]

Originally posted by Kenshiro
Any chance of getting one to the AA spec?

4-row, 80mm?

AA's core isnt 80mm. Thats the overall thickness. The core thickness will probably be almost identical to aa. These are 2 cored.

[Kenshiro]

Alrighty, I'm in at $429+ship

[PortalBMW]

FYI: I have 9 people right now. Come on... lets get a few more in here. We've got a couple more weeks for this think so...

[///M LIFE©]

What is the benefit of an aluminum radiator?

[NoSoup4U]

Lower temperatures. WE use a Behr radiator that has a 42 mm core and 1 row. A dual row radiator that can hold more will lead to more effectively cooling, not ONLY because of the additional fluid; but, also because it is a dual row radiator. A quad radiator, as in the one AA sells, leads to even cooler temperatures because of the two additional rows ... in theory.

If this radiator is 80 mm thick(e.g, double stock) ... you should have AT LEAST 25% greater cooling and maybe even 50% better cooling. People that drive normally on the streets, I do not see the benefit since Stock is great.

However, if you track the car alot, auto-x, or have force induction, then I would recommend this. Plus, I am assuming these will not have the cursed plastic tank that the Behr has.

I wasn't trying to be an ass to Chris above; but, people in the f/i forum have tried to put together a GB on these for awhile ... 10 is hard to hit ... 5 is easier. You have to remember, stock radiator is about a 1/3 of the cost of an aluminum one.

All in all, if it fits perfectly, it's a great buy ... because heat kills :D

[PortalBMW]

Originally posted by NoSoup4U


I wasn't trying to be an ass to Chris above; but, people in the f/i forum have tried to put together a GB on these for awhile ... 10 is hard to hit ... 5 is easier. You have to remember, stock radiator is about a 1/3 of the cost of an aluminum one.

All in all, if it fits perfectly, it's a great buy ... because heat kills :D


I wasnt returning an ass comment either and I think you took it the wrong way which is my fault. I actually have about 13 people as we stand right now so its looking really good at this point.

Chris

[M triple]

Chris, I would be in for sure if I knew whether or not this will fit into a Dinan supercharged car. Are any of the people that have jumped on this running a blower?

Bob

[buldogge]

Hey Guys... Will this Howe rad fit in the M Coupe as well? Also, do I assume correctly that you must lose the engine fan??? It gets awfully hot and humid in St. Louis ALL summer (90-100 deg...90-100% humidity) and I'm not sure the electric fan route is the way to go???

Mark in St. Louis

[jdmorris]

Chris-

I'm interested. Whether I'm in 100% will depend on final price and fitment issues. Pics or a quickie install writeup wouldn't hurt either. How will this rad compare to the PWR unit? It's available here:

http://www.absoluteradiator.com/ProductPage.asp?idProd=52

My primary concern is fitment. If this group buy works out, will there be a trial fit before we (or before I) commit payment? If so, on what year and model? As soon as someone details what they have to do to get one of these aftermarket rads under their hood (and it's not a PITA), I'm in. I just want some sort of reassurance that I won't have to ship the thing back to have something changed, and I don't have a spare car once mine is apart. Thanks for getting this thing going!

John M.

[PortalBMW]

Originally posted by jdmorris
Chris-

I'm interested. Whether I'm in 100% will depend on final price and fitment issues. Pics or a quickie install writeup wouldn't hurt either. How will this rad compare to the PWR unit? It's available here:

http://www.absoluteradiator.com/ProductPage.asp?idProd=52

My primary concern is fitment. If this group buy works out, will there be a trial fit before we (or before I) commit payment? If so, on what year and model? As soon as someone details what they have to do to get one of these aftermarket rads under their hood (and it's not a PITA), I'm in. I just want some sort of reassurance that I won't have to ship the thing back to have something changed, and I don't have a spare car once mine is apart. Thanks for getting this thing going!

John M.


I've already made the agreement with the manufacturing company if they dont fit you can send them back. Im still looking for a donor to send to them so they can get the specs. Shouldn't be much longer.

[M Rob]

Just wanted to give a plug for PortalBMW. He is a great, stand up guy. I am going to be doing some real hard testing with this new radiator of his at track so you will have realworld feedback from me as soon as it is available.

[NoSoup4U]

I've already made the agreement with the manufacturing company if they dont fit you can send them back

At who's cost though to send it back? Our cost? Will the ENTIRE amount be refunded or minus shipping and handling?

Secondly, is this unit compatible with people running aftermarket SPAL electric fans, etc.... space is limited :D

When they do the testing, will they be able to get temperature differences ....

No offense to Portal, you contradict yourself. <-- P.S. -- not to meant to disparage you; but, my vocation is to be analytical.
You state this in the first post:


custom radiators made being made to my specs.

Then you just stated:


Im still looking for a donor to send to them so they can get the specs

This doesn't make sense, you started this GB inquiry because YOU were getting a custom radiator made to YOUR SPECS ... so why would a donor vehicle be needed if they are prototyping the radiator from your car, unless one of these statements is false.

You stated also you would provide pictures; but, as of this date, you have not.

Sorry to be so harsh on you ... but, it's disappointing to follow a GB and never see it materialize to its full potential. Plus, since you give no information on payment, how it proceeds in this manner, it just seems very disorganized at this point.

just my two cents....and yes, I've run two separate GB's (one for Wet Okole and another for water injection) ... so, I know it's a PITA ... but, I also think my questions are fair since I'm not making blind accusations but pointing to statements you made that seemingly contradict each other ...

So, please do not take offense.... just seeking clarification ...

[PortalBMW]

Dude, talking about difference specs here.. One aspect refers to the custom features I requested and one refers to the physical dimensions and mounting locations.

[///M LIFE©]

How long will this be available?

[NoSoup4U]

Thanks Chris -

So, this radiator is being made to YOUR requirements then for YOUR car?

You didn't make that clear ... remind me never to enter a contract with you ;)

[PortalBMW]

Originally posted by NoSoup4U
Thanks Chris -

So, this radiator is being made to YOUR requirements then for YOUR car?

You didn't make that clear ... remind me never to enter a contract with you ;)


Why is it so difficult to understand and why are we making an issue out of this? I feel like you are being argumentative towards me. If you feel I lack the organizational skills to put this thing together then you make the judgment call. I’m not asking for anything right now, nobody committed to anything, and as I stated earlier in the thread that I wasn’t sure about payment details and that they would be provided later. Lets get a product first and go from there. The last comment you made wasn’t very well appreciated by me so I’d prefer you leave the insults in another thread.