Well after 26 years my factory radiator is starting to clog up and causing the car to run around 220 on the expressway (runs great in slower speeds or in traffic), So im wondering what youguys are using for a good performance radiator?? I've heard aluminum would be a good choice but im not sure, so any suggestions as far as brands, size, material, prices would be a great help!!
Radiator recommendations for 307
- Thread starter 84hurst
- Start date
- Status
Just putting a new one (oem replacement) should be more than enough for a 307. This happened to me on the 403 a while back, I just put in a brand new replacement (albeit for the 350 Olds diesel that *used* to be in the car) and no more problems, even at extended 3K rpms in 90*+ temps here in OK. But then again I'm not cooling trans fluid with it also (manual), so YMMV.
You can buy a stock replacement for around 100 bucks that is a one row aluminum with plastic side tanks. The one row aluminum is supposed to flow way better than a 3 row brass. Lots of guys were using stock replacement F-body radiators to take advantage of this, but you had to bend the transmission lines to fit. Now direct fit aluminum/plastic rads are widely available for g-bodies. I know some guys hate the look of a plastic tank rad, but I've personally had horrible luck with cheap replacement brass rads, so my next one will be plastic/aluminum.
Something to think about - if you car is all original, don't throw away your original radiator. As our cars get older, people are going to start paying attention to originality, and will want date coded correct original parts. Having a factory rad with the right labels and stuff might be important some day. Just my 2 cents.
Something to think about - if you car is all original, don't throw away your original radiator. As our cars get older, people are going to start paying attention to originality, and will want date coded correct original parts. Having a factory rad with the right labels and stuff might be important some day. Just my 2 cents.
Good imput guys! now forgive my ignorance but would i be correct to say the more cores/rows the more effective it would be? I checked Champion rad like metioned and they seem to get good reviews and have a nice 2 row for $160 shown here: http://www.championradiators.com/page/403775592
I just put a new aluminum radiator in my malibu due to the same issues that you were having in general anyways. I have a northern auto parts all aluminum radiator which was the largest replacement for my car available that was still close to stock specs plus it wasn't horribly expensive
84hurst said:
IMHO It really depends on the size of the row. When comparing aluminum to brass, the aluminum rows tend to be larger. The alum/plastic replacement are one row, but the one row is huge and typically would flow much more than a 3 row brass. I'm not sure about aftermarket ones like the one you found. Comparing a 2 row to a 3 row of the same brand, I would expect the 3 row to flow more. It should have a thicker core to account for the extra row.
- Status
Similar threads
