What brand is the best fitting and highest quality aluminum radiator for an '85 GT with a 3.4? How many rows and will the stock fan fit? Can it be installed w/o breaking into the A/C lines?


Thanks

[This message has been edited by raysr11 (edited 06-19-2014).]

http://www.championradiator...ntiac-Fiero-radiator

I believe these are the most common. I have one in my 88 and I'm quite happy with it. Had to do a slight mod on the left side of the hold down bracket. It can be installed without opening up the A/C.

About the stock fan, can it be reused? Thank you for the reply.

[This message has been edited by raysr11 (edited 06-20-2014).]

quote Originally posted by raysr11: About the stock fan, can it be reused? Thank you for the reply.

It's not that difficult or expensive to upgrade the cooling fan with a new aftermarket one. You can get an aftermarket on that draws less power AND flows a LOT of air. Just make sure you keep the fan shroud.

Here's a "How-To" thread I made a while ago

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...090907-2-084478.html

quote Originally posted by raysr11: About the stock fan, can it be reused? Thank you for the reply.

To answer your specific question, the stock fan can and has been successfully utilized with the new Champion radiator. I actually have two vehicles running with this specific setup. As noted above by PaulJK, a new, upgraded fan can also be installed on the same fan shroud.

Nelson

[This message has been edited by hnthomps (edited 06-21-2014).]

Thanks for the replies, and the links!

[This message has been edited by raysr11 (edited 06-21-2014).]

I allways spray a (High Temp) clear coar to prevent damage to the radiator...yes, if you live in snow, this will help you alot (salt is corosive!)! Use clear or paint.

If you want maximum cooling, give the radiator a light coat of black paint.

I was checking out the links provided and one poster used a SPAL fan. He didn't say if he used a straight blade or a curved blade.

I like Champion radiators myself. Aluminum ones are more efficient that originals. OEM Corvettes are 2 row (at least up thru C4s) and almost identical to a Fieros...I changed a Fiero and one of my Corvettes at the same time and looked at them side by side. I had a stock 4 cyl Fiero auto radiator in my 383 V8 auto that worked just fine. My 413 Dodge hot rod had a Champion 2 row aluminum. It stayed between 160-175* at all times. Champion guaranteed the 2 row would cool it or they would give me a 3 row for free. I didnt need to take them up. I was always told by radiator shops to not paint a radiator if it could be helped because it caused it to hold in heat instead of radiating it off. It would help prevent corrosion though, so thats your call.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 06-23-2014).]

The aftermarket fan change is interesting. What CFM rating would be optimal? 16" seems to be the size but the fans seem to be all over the place on cfm ratings.

Would a three core radiator restrict the air flow thru the radiator enough to make the a/c condenser less effective? I'm ready to purchase an aluminum radiator but I'm thinking that three cores may not be as good as 2 or even one due to the air flow thru factor. I had a Jeep a long time ago that had a very thick radiator. I switched it over to a later model thinner radiator and it cooled a lot better.

The width of the rows needs to be considered too. Not just the number of rows.

I used a Griffin for the 3800 SC, it had a ton of cooling. I think it was 2 cores, 1 1/4" each.

http://www.griffinrad.com/catalogs.php?tid=32

Had to mod the brackets a bit and add a remote fill.

Core and Tank Sizes
Tube Size Number or Rows Core Thickness Tank Width
1" 2 row 2-1/4" 3"
1-1/4" 1 row 1-1/4" 2-1/4"
1-1/4" 2 row 2-3/4" 3"
1-1/2" 1 row 1-1/2" 2-1/4"
1-1/2" 2 row 3-1/4" 3-1/2"

[This message has been edited by Steve25 (edited 07-19-2014).]

Thanks for the reply Steve.

The AC condensor is in front of the radiator so no radiator would affect airflow thru it.

Significant research in wind tunnels has shown that radiators with more than two rows of flues will stagnate the airflow through the radiator. At that point, the rear rows act as a short circuit for the coolant, and allow hot coolant to basically bypass the radiator. This really is a case of less is better.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: I was always told by radiator shops to not paint a radiator if it could be helped because it caused it to hold in heat instead of radiating it off. It would help prevent corrosion though, so thats your call.

Depends on the paint. But painting it a flat black might actually help it cool better, assuming you don't end up doing a poor job and blocking air flow through the fins with excess paint, as long as it is not exposed to sunlight.

[This message has been edited by dobey (edited 07-19-2014).]

quote Originally posted by larry mimbs: Significant research in wind tunnels has shown that radiators with more than two rows of flues will stagnate the airflow through the radiator. At that point, the rear rows act as a short circuit for the coolant, and allow hot coolant to basically bypass the radiator. This really is a case of less is better.

That's what I was thinking.