Mark Allanson
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 08:56 AM |
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Cooling system redesign
When I was building my car, the consensus was that the Micra K10 rad was the one to have, later this changed to Polo Mk2.
I have the K10 rad but it is very marginal, I have a 400W fan and she still gets very hot but not actually overheating.
What other rads can you recommend? I have shortlisted a few here
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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adithorp
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 09:17 AM |
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What about the Polo 1.3 rad? It's the same layout as the one you've listed but has a wider core.
1.1 polo rad 380x322
1.3 polo rad 430x322
SerckMarston part No's 2719517 (1.1) and 2719819 (1.3)
adrian
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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Lars
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 09:55 AM |
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I too have that Micra rad and think it may be a bit marginal.
I really like the look of the Merc rad. Seems to be nice and thick, and is made to handle a 2l engine.
I think I will measure my car to see if I can fit one of them.
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 09:59 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Lars
I too have that Micra rad and think it may be a bit marginal.
I really like the look of the Merc rad. Seems to be nice and thick, and is made to handle a 2l engine.
I think I will measure my car to see if I can fit one of them.
I think the only downside of the merc one is the in/outlets come out of the sides
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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Lars
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 10:19 AM |
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Yup that's exactly what I want to meassure.
Need to see if there is enough space to fit a 90 or 135 degree bend.
Also the lower outlet would need to be connected to the pump on the other side of the car, so may interfere with the steering rack.
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James
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 03:13 PM |
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I was never happy with the cooling on my Pinto.
That was using a Micra rad, but at the same time my layout/piping was pretty poor.
On the way to SVA, sitting in traffic it reached 115°! 
I changed it around recently, simplified the plumbing a lot and (probably overkill) went for a MK2 Golf rad... which appeared to be the same as the
Polo but 50mm wider.
It *just* fitted in my standard size GTS nose cone! That included cutting down and capping the radiator bleed spigot to shave 10mm off the rad! 
I've not tried it on a run or traffic yet, but running on the drive for 30mins or so, it didn't go above 98-100°.
I went for the Golf as opposed to the Polo as I wanted to be prepared for a future engine upgrade and wanted to be future proofed!
Hope that helps,
James
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"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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Andy D
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 04:16 PM |
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I'm using a Polo rad, (Pinto engine) was suffering slight overheating on trackdays early this year after I upped the power to about 170bhp. I
was about to bite the bullet and buy this
little beauty ...when someone suggested blanking the gaps around the radiator off. I've done this, it's actually sealed with foam
rubber so cooling air must go through the radiator. Been OK ever since. 
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 04:25 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Andy D
I'm using a Polo rad, (Pinto engine) was suffering slight overheating on trackdays early this year after I upped the power to about 170bhp. I
was about to bite the bullet and buy this
little beauty ...when someone suggested blanking the gaps around the radiator off. I've done this, it's actually sealed with foam
rubber so cooling air must go through the radiator. Been OK ever since.
I have done that with ally, all the air is channeled through the rad
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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Andy D
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| posted on 4/10/08 at 06:41 PM |
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....Another thing, before I tried the blanking trick, I bought a new Polo rad, as the old one had seen a bit of action, flattened fins, clogged with
bugs etc..
When the new rad arrived I noticed it had fewer water "tubes", I think 17 if my memory serves me right. The old German and
Swedish one had twice as many.
The first trackday I did with the new rad, it overheated. So I changed back to the original one, and blanked it off. As I said that works OK.
I have no idea if the number of water tubes in a rad affect the cooling, but it could be worth checking how many you have.
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