Aluminium vs Copper/brass Radiator

[Lepa]

hi,

after not finding a search topic that really answers my question - here it is:

in your opinion, is an aluminium or brass/copper radiator better for offroading?

i have a y60 td42, highmount, fuelled up, awaiting crosscountry4x4 intercooler, and needing a new radiator. hence my question

thanks in advance. lepa

[chris_stoffa]

This might help as the thermal conductivity - which is better

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/therm ... d_858.html

As to structurally or otherwise , no idea

[tweak'e]

the metal thermal conductivity is only a part of it. how its built and thickness of the metal all changes the thermals of it.
then of course for off-road reliability and ease of repair are important factors.

i would just find one that is known to work well. i know of a few cases of fitting a much bigger aftermarket radiator and it turned out to perform worse than the stock one.

[gu town]

My mate got a oversized copper rad and still had overheating issues. Could have been other underlying issues though. He had covered the usual bases though.

I went from a stock one to a ally PWR one and it handles alot of load really well.

Just make sure youve covered all bases before spending bulk cash on a radiator to find it was a $30 thermostat or $150 water pump.

[bally]

i had an ally one, cracked it in 3 months. have now got a 3 core copper brass and its lasted a trip to the cape + 10 000 klm since install.... wouldnt buy an ally one again

[GUtripper]

I've seen alloy aftermarket radiators destroyed via electrolysis.
Make sure your battery, engine and chassis all have good earthing.

Doesn't seem to effect copper radiators though

[love ke70]

Ive had an aussie desert alloy one in my truck for maybe 100K now, done the cape, kakadu, and plenty of offroad adventures, never missed a bit, even had a leaking head gasket pushing combustion pressure into the coolant jacket and a 20 psi rad cap and it still didnt have an issue. Cooling capacity I cannot fault.
Cheers, Andy

[blowngq]

Sorry Hi jack, but is cross country now making a kit to suit high mount turbos?

[Lepa]

i've got a post about my dealings with cross country in the general tech section, but in answer to your question (in a word)....no.

there kit for a y60 still comes with the bits to hook up to a factory y61 lowmount. i'm still mucking around trying to get a custom pipe made to go from my highmount - loop around and then up into the cooler. in my case the turbo outlet and cooler in let are side by side. the turbo outlet (air side) faces towards the passenger guard (where a 2nd battery would sit) and will do a horse shoe style loop into a 90deg bend that faces vertical as the cooler inlet faces straight down (as if plunmbing into the factory y61 turbo). hope that makes sense

[love ke70]

that sounds horrible...