The Official Aluminum Radiator Thread!

[el_bobbo]

Multiple ebay vendors show in stock for all these radiators...

I've checked a few of them and most drop-ship from a distributor...and the distributor is out of stock.

Been looking for a few weeks.

i just ordered the vsl from bimmerzone , they now have 9 in stock .

VSL? Any good?

[EMC]

I just bought the last Mishimoto from Boombop racing in CA. They sold out their last shipment in about 2 weeks.

[john325i]

VSL? Any good?

I hope so , not really much of a choice at this point and I need it yesterday.

There are a couple guys in this thread with it and didn't report bad , it can't be any worse than the factory POS , VSL just won't give you a new one if you crash the car . I'm still not grasping how they offer something like that , but it's not my business .

[conway]

Did you guys keep your aux fans?

[Zaks]

Did you guys keep your aux fans?

Yes here

[xristianos]

Does anyone know which stockist have this in stock? I have a need to replace my radiator ASAP and can't find a retailer which has this in stock.

It would be greatly appreciated if they posted internationally as I'm in Australia.

thanks.

[91-e30-318is]

I bought a Mishimoto on eBay from modernautomotiveperformance in December. Here's a link that says there are more than 10 available. The price was a little lower last year, still not bad.

[T2sM3]

Blackworks:

Paid $193 shipped

Install was near perfect minus the fan shroud fitment was slightly off. I did the fan delete in conjuction. In heavy traffic 107 degrees on my OAT gauge the temp was rock solid at 12 o'clock (i.e. steady in the middle)

Welds are perfect, overall I think I bought the best radiator for the money...this radiator is 40-42mm with large end tanks!

[m2pc]

I purchased the Mishimoto through Stucks group buy, I haven't had any problems with the radiator. Installation was easy, it fit right in. If you have an automatic you'll have to drill holes for the trans. cooler.

Not the case with the Mishimoto radiator I just got -- it has steel mounting sleeves pre-installed, ready to take the OEM trans cooler.

Did you guys keep your aux fans?

For now, yes.

I'm considering replacing it with a smaller SPAL "pusher" fan since the aux fan is a) old and could fail, and b) blocks a significant amount of cooling area in front of the radiator.

[blak blur]

^ I've been reading (I think on this forum) OEM is way to go on the auxillary fan.

[99MPower]

As a side note you can start the car with almost no coolant in it, just make sure you dont run it for more than 30-45 seconds.

[switlikbob]

Blackworks:

Paid $193 shipped

Install was near perfect minus the fan shroud fitment was slightly off. I did the fan delete in conjuction. In heavy traffic 107 degrees on my OAT gauge the temp was rock solid at 12 o'clock (i.e. steady in the middle)

Welds are perfect, overall I think I bought the best radiator for the money...this radiator is 40-42mm with large end tanks!

How did you get the unit for $193 shipped? Is this the site you are referring to: http://www.rms-usa.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=2169 or these guys: http://www.bwrusa.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=54

[Car54]

The one thing I'm going to be emailing Mishi about is including the M6 bolts in their kits so people don't have to go out and buy them at the hardware store. No $0.50 and a 5 min drive is not a big deal, but it would be nice for them to include it. I used a M6x16mm bolt and it fit perfectly.

This is the exact information I was looking for. Silly to not have these parts come with it.

[Zaks]

This is the exact information I was looking for. Silly to not have these parts come with it.

To be honest, now that I think about it, it might have been a 12mm long bolt, but either should work fine. I think I bought 2 12s and 2 16s but can't remember what's in there.

[john325i]

VSL? Any good?

I'll have to say the VSL did the job , looks like a well built radiator. I had it installed by the shop that did the PPI on my car so I could make the 540 mile drive home with confidence. Drove from Sterling Va. to Salem NH , caught in rush hour traffic and dead stopped on 78 for an accident , A/C on , it was 80 degrees for the first half of the trip and I was doing 75-80 most of the way , 10 hours door to door .

[sirius600]

So those with the Mishimoto fan shroud, how are you mounting the expansion tank?

[99MPower]

DO NOT GET THE CxRacing!!!!!!! installed it in my sisters 328 and it started leaking. Replaced with OEM (street car only) and then had the CX pressure tested. Found out it was leaking in 8 different locations. (8 different cracks)

[diz330]

just picked up a nice mishimoto rad i got a good deal from workconcepts.com (sunset blvd california)

shipped to canada in a about a week. can't wait to install it! its a work of art.

[MPRESV]

Just put in a VSL today and Samco hoses to replace the POS aluminum that was leaking at the end tanks. It was in the car when I got it and I'd like to know who made it. Looked good, but all kinds of leaky coolant. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

I will say the VSL looks to be good. Installed without much issue. I have an autotragic so I opted for the one with the riv-nuts for mounting the tranny cooler. The bottom holes were both 1/4" offset. And one of the tops had to be honed out to allow me to mount the tranny cooler. I don't like the fact that the drain plug comes with a rubber 'washer'. Would work in principle if where it sat was recessed, but it's just a flat bung and flat plug, so the rubber wants to extrude itself as you tighten the plug. I plan to put in a copper washer. Also this drain bung wasn't the cleanest. Had to lightly file it to make sure it was a true, flat surface. But other than that I'm happy so far. We will see how it lasts. For the price, not a bad deal.

Anyone else had issues or successes with the VSL?

[berti00]

just got the mishimoto one too its def one of the nicest rads out there for the price super excited to have it installed

[Stuntman]

PWR is probably the highest quality option out there...


0.02

[MPRESV]

So here are some pics of the VSL in place. Yes it's al back together, so you can't see much other than that it fits.





Now here is what was in the car. Obviously you can see issues. Anyone able to identify what company this is from?








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[Malarkie]

Does anybody have experience with the radiator in the DDM cooling package (from Apexcone I think).

I'd prefer to piece my own kit together with a Mishimoto rad, silicone hoses, and Stewart pump, but it would probably be twice as much by the time I was done. I don't think I can justify that.

Oh, a link.

[ChuckDizzle]

Does anybody have experience with the radiator in the DDM cooling package (from Apexcone I think).

I'd prefer to piece my own kit together with a Mishimoto rad, silicone hoses, and Stewart pump, but it would probably be twice as much by the time I was done. I don't think I can justify that.

Oh, a link.

they don't mention if their water pump is the plastic or metal impeller.

[Compactive]

Oops, I started another thread for the Zionsville setup, but I'll quote it here to see what you guys think:

link: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...9#post23216839

it's about time to rid of my clutch fan and my crusty plastic shroud, so I've been looking at the Aluminum options and electric fans. Zionsville seems to be the only one offering an aluminum expansion tank connected to the aluminum shroud, and they claim it should mount to any E36 rad with OE dimensions. The thing is the mounting points are on the top and 2 on each of the sides.

Currently I'm running a Fluidyne aluminum rad with OE fanclutch and plastic shroud. Any ideas on how a Zionsville shroud w/ tank would fit onto a Fluidyne rad? I've gathered some pics from around the forum:

Zionsville rad and shroud w/ tank:



see the mounting on the left and top




here is the fluidyne setup, note the difference in mounting points for shrouds, tanks, etc:

I installed a Mishimoto radiator in my M3 last weekend and it's worked out very well for me.
I picked it up at www.maperformance.com for $236.

I decided to pair mine with the aluminum shroud and expansion tank from Zionsville, since it already had mounts pre-installed for the SPAL fan I already have.

It turns out my SPAL fan was a tad too thick and I needed to order a thinner one.
Once again, Zionsville to the rescue on that one.

Although the Mishimoto radiator fit nicely in the stock mounting points, I did find the rubber isolators for the mounts didn't fit as well as I'd have hoped; I wrapped them in about 10 layers of electrical tape for a more snug fit.

Also, when going with the Zionsville shroud, I had to drill mounting holes through the top and bottom of the "U channel" pieces on the radiator as well as through the Zionsville shroud.
It was a bit of work, but I'm pleased with the results. I used stainless hardware from Home Depot to complete the install.
They have some really nice hex socket cap screws and locknuts that worked perfectly.

I'll post more details (and pics) as soon as my smaller SPAL fan arrives and I get it installed.

Overall impression: Very good quality radiator for the price. The welds are smooth and professionally done.
A lifetime warranty is priceless as all parts will fail or get damaged eventually.

can you post more details an pics? This is my current dilemma, but I have a Fluidyne rad and I'm looking to pick up the Zionsville elect. fan, shroud w/ tank.

My main question is, you bolted at the top U channel, but what did you do for the side mounts (facing the passenger side fender (or the temp sensor side)? Thanks

Remember to buy 2 6mm bolts about 12-16mm long to use for the fan shroud.

So those with the Mishimoto fan shroud, how are you mounting the expansion tank?

1+ cam anyone shed any light on these questions

I guess my main issue with all most aftermarket radiators and shrouds, is having to potentially relocate the expansion tank

I also wrote this to Zionsville, I'll post what they reply hopefully it'll help others like myself:

Greetings,
I have a 1995 BMW E36 M and I'm considering pairing the BMW Add-On Aluminum Shroud and Expansion Tank with my currently installed Fluidyne aluminum radiator. The product description says that this kit "can also be used on O.E. radiators or other aftermarket radiators with O.E. core dimensions." I'm positive my Fluidyne is OE spec, but my main questions are:

1. How should I go about mounting/bolting/pairing the Add-On Aluminum Shroud and Expansion Tank to my Fluidyne radiator since it may not the exact CAD design as your Zionsville radiator (having the holes in the upper and lower header panels and the two side bungs)?

2. Will I have to drill holes in my upper and lower core header panels on my Fluidyne (or any other after-market radiator) for the rivets?

3. Expanding on question #1: My aftermarket radiators doesn't have the two side mount bungs for the tank shown here on the far left:
http://www.vinnymac-online.com/Pics/...radiator02.JPG
What approach should be taken for the side mounting there?

Reference:
http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/s...code/AASET.htm