Stamped vs Fabricated Aluminum Radiator?

[chevyguy_72]

Hey guys,

I am in the middle of on LS swap and am going to swap in a new Aluminum Radiator...

Is there any advantages/disadvantages of Stamped (like a Griffin) VS a Fabricated (like R&D, Entropy, etc)?

Thanks

[TR65]

Chevyguy,

I used a Griffin after my fabricated Champion developed a core leak. Griffin is located close to where I work and I visited the factory. They form the tanks in-house (like all the rest of the radiator). They make sheet metal punches and dies of the tanks, stabilize them by filling around them with lead and then form the aluminum using a hydraulic press. They have a radiator museum that they use for getting patterns and dimensions. Some close up pictures are in my thread below:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=615934

Don't know if formed tanks are better but the Griffin ones are very nice.

I have a couple of years on the Griffin now and it has worked perfectly.

TR

[BR3W CITY]

IMO the biggest advantage to the fabbed units is that
1) no ill-fitting brackets or leaky stamped seams. Good quality stamped units offset this somewhat, but overall build quality is what your usually paying for.

2) fabbed units can be made to really any specification. Things like trans coolers, a/c coolers etc can be "built in" to extra circuits in one radiator. Prices can get VERY high on some of these things, but also consider their applications. Things like the Veyron and baja buggies use complex systems of chained radiators and fluid pumps. Particular sizing, core # and type, # of passes etc can all change the functionality of the unit.

[chevyguy_72]

Originally Posted by TR65

Chevyguy,

I used a Griffin after my fabricated Champion developed a core leak. Griffin is located close to where I work and I visited the factory. They form the tanks in-house (like all the rest of the radiator). They make sheet metal punches and dies of the tanks, stabilize them by filling around them with lead and then form the aluminum using a hydraulic press. They have a radiator museum that they use for getting patterns and dimensions. Some close up pictures are in my thread below:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=615934

Don't know if formed tanks are better but the Griffin ones are very nice.

I have a couple of years on the Griffin now and it has worked perfectly.

TR

Thanks for the info... The Griffin is the only stamped unit I have been looking at... and it costs close to the same as the fab units...

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

IMO the biggest advantage to the fabbed units is that
1) no ill-fitting brackets or leaky stamped seams. Good quality stamped units offset this somewhat, but overall build quality is what your usually paying for.

2) fabbed units can be made to really any specification. Things like trans coolers, a/c coolers etc can be "built in" to extra circuits in one radiator. Prices can get VERY high on some of these things, but also consider their applications. Things like the Veyron and baja buggies use complex systems of chained radiators and fluid pumps. Particular sizing, core # and type, # of passes etc can all change the functionality of the unit.

I also like the flexibility of the fabbed units... I actually looked at one this weekend in Daytona (Turkey Rod Run) by PRC. That guy actually suggested running an external Trans cooler instead of a built in for 2 reasons...
If you kill the trans you will most likely have to buy a external anyway because you will prob never get all the metal shavings out of the built in one... and also more cooling potential...
Which is better... cooling 200 degree fluid with 90 degree air or 130 or higher degree water... kinda makes sense....

[BR3W CITY]

Thats been a back-n-forth point for a while now. I have my trans running externally thru a derale fan-cooled unit, and have been happy with its performance.

I do know some towing and diesel guys who prefer to run the "regular" built in cooling circuit, and ADD another external rad to it, and yet others who say the stock "HD" radiators are plenty fine.

[chevyguy_72]

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

Thats been a back-n-forth point for a while now. I have my trans running externally thru a derale fan-cooled unit, and have been happy with its performance.

I do know some towing and diesel guys who prefer to run the "regular" built in cooling circuit, and ADD another external rad to it, and yet others who say the stock "HD" radiators are plenty fine.

How do you like the Derale unit? I was looking at one... but heard they are annoyingly loud... thoughts?

[BR3W CITY]

annoyingly loud? in comparison to all those things on my truck that AREN'T loud? lol

So when you just key-on and flip it over, you can FOR SURE hear the unit, but once your engine is running you can't hear it over the normal electric fan anyway. You can see all the install pics in my build, but its mounted flat in between the frame horns up front under the bumper.

I really like it, and I'm confident its done a nice job keeping temps under control. I can monitor trans temp on my scangauge and it was always low relative to ambient and engine temps. While I'm sure you could go bigger, brownie-pan sized one I have seems to take care of the 4l80e pretty well.

[chevyguy_72]

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

annoyingly loud? in comparison to all those things on my truck that AREN'T loud? lol

So when you just key-on and flip it over, you can FOR SURE hear the unit, but once your engine is running you can't hear it over the normal electric fan anyway. You can see all the install pics in my build, but its mounted flat in between the frame horns up front under the bumper.

I really like it, and I'm confident its done a nice job keeping temps under control. I can monitor trans temp on my scangauge and it was always low relative to ambient and engine temps. While I'm sure you could go bigger, brownie-pan sized one I have seems to take care of the 4l80e pretty well.

I will check it out...

[chevyguy_72]

Anyone else?

Also any brands you guys recommend or ones with issues I need to stay away from?
Griffin is the only stamped unit I have looked at...
As far as fabbed - PRC, Entropy, or R&D are the ones I am currently looking at...
Thanks

[BR3W CITY]

Find a used Be-Cool on craigslist from an SBC for like $70. You have to kinda "cross over" the top rad hose but it works really well. Thats what I've had in my truck.

[Matt Cramer]

And the crossing over part can be as simple as ordering a late model radiator hose - I'm using a stock 2005 Silverado upper radiator hose and it fit like it was meant for the swap. (Except that I had to use some dish soap to slip it over the radiator's fitting, which is fractionally larger than that on a Silverado.)

[scottybaccus]

You sound committed to an all aluminum unit. But in the interest of information...

I have stopped installing all aluminum radiators in customer vehicles for two reasons.

The main one, long term resistance to cracking is lower. Race vehicles see few miles and a lot of maintenance. Street vehicles, especially trucks, see many miles, and little maintenance. I grew tired of cracked water-necks, and rogue leaks on the tanks. You have to make sure they are well insulated from vibration, and that there is no tension on the hoses and cooler lines.
Another concern especially with lower cost, imported radiators is the quality of the aluminum. We have started seeing a chemical reaction of some sort. We're not sure if it is electrolysis (doubtful, they are fairly well isolated electrically), or a corrosion reaction. The first time we saw this, we found a car with a pressurized top hose, even though it had been parked for days. We popped the cap and heard it whoosh. After shrugging it off, and putting the cap back on, we came back the next day and it was pressurized again. In the end, we drained the coolant, and replaced it with water. The issue stopped. All we can figure is that the aluminum was reacting to the antifreeze. Now we've seen it in three other cars. Some we did not know the origin of the radiators.

I'm a huge fan of OE engineering. The late model aluminum core with plastic tanks is well proven, and best of all, it's cheap. In my '87 LQ4 swap, I used an '87 OE HD cooling option radiator with a huge, two row, core. It was a Spectra Premium, from Rock Auto, for $140. It has worked really well, and fit perfectly. When it does give me trouble, i can buy two more for what a nice all aluminum radiator cost.

Just my .02