New radiator, way to go?

PostPost by: Apx » Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:50 pm

My plus2 130's radiator ( totally original, narrow with front fan) has just started to leak and needs renewing or replacing. I have a mind to fit a full width radiator but am after some personal experiences of members that have done this both in the fitment and the effectiveness of the new system. I have read the previous posts and quite frankly am confused as to best position for the fan and whether to go standard 2 core or 3?
Has anyone fitted the cliveboy or coolex systems and if so what do you think of them?

Any help appreciated
IF EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING WELL, YOU HAVE OBVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED
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PostPost by: Pistacchio sprint 72 » Mon Sep 02, 2013 2:34 pm

I fitted the radiator full length proposed by Clive. I choosed the dual fan set up. I set the electronic controller to start the fan when the engine temp reach 90?c.
I live in Nice, South of France, wheather is hot and we do have trafic here.
Now my temp oscillates between 95 and 90 in hot conditions and a bit below if I am driving with good air flow.
The dual fan are silent. I can't hear them but I know they re on when I see my temp reaching 90 or more.

I never hit anymore the 100?c temp. And I had the opportunity to verify that my temp gauge is accurate.
Because the lowest setting on the electronic temp controller kick the fan in at 70?c and it did exactly when the temp gauge on my dashboard showed 70?c.

I am so far happy with it for fast road driving, trafic driving and next week I will participate in a regularity rally and I will be able to report how it performed. :mrgreen:

I need to precise I have the deflective cardboard at the bottom of the rad but also the foam stuck underneath my bonnet to force airflow into the rad.

PS: I don' do trackdays.
Cooled down by CliveyBoy!
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PostPost by: Apx » Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:25 am

Thanks for your reply this system appears to work for the driving that i wish to do. I will have to speak to the supplier as i am struggling with the gap between the engine and the rad for the fans, the pully is close now to the rad core. Is the set up you have 3 core? Cheers Neal
IF EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING WELL, YOU HAVE OBVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED
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PostPost by: vernon.taylor » Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:35 pm

Salut Neal

I live in France and fitted CliveBoy's rad and fans to my +2, too - I'm happy so far.

Yes, there's next to no clearance between the engine and fans - not sure how I'm going to find TDC when I tune the engine - I suppose if I undo the radiator mounting bolts there should be enough give and take. If you want more space between the engine and radiator you'd have to install the radiator further forward which would mean cutting slots in the fibreglass lip to get the rad low enough not to foul the bonnet.

I did a write up - here it is again:
Radiator text light.pdf
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@+

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PostPost by: Apx » Tue Sep 03, 2013 2:22 pm

Excellent post Vernon, thanks. The photos answer my questions re fitment, i will start checking dimensions to see where other relocated parts can go.

Has anyone fitted the coolex system?

Cheers Neal
IF EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING WELL, YOU HAVE OBVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED
SOMETHING.
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PostPost by: billwill » Tue Sep 03, 2013 3:07 pm

Bye the way. A trick that I have used with the radiator mounting bolts on my S3 is to fix the bolt to the radiator in the correct position.

To achieve this I took some standard nuts that fit the bolts and then hacksawed through them to make some very slim nuts. the bolt then goes through the mounting hole of the radiator an one of the slim nuts is then used to hold it in place. Then after the rad is mounted in the body brackets a washer and normal nyloc nut holds the radiator in.

After a trial attempt etc, the rad was slipped out again so that the slim nuts can be done up tight.

Subsequent removal/refitting of the rad does not require that tricky process of getting a spanner on both the nyloc and the bolt head. The bolt stays firm without a spanner.

Depending on your exact placement of brackets & radiator etc, you might find it more convenient to use the bolt and slim nut on the bracket hole instead of on the radiator hole.
Bill Williams

36/6725 S3 Coupe OGU108E Yellow over Black.
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PostPost by: andyhodg » Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:41 pm

Hi Neal

I've fitted the coolex radiator. Fitted with no problems whatsoever. Well made light (being aluminium). Coolex were very easy to deal with. I went for a single fan but with the mounts fitted for a second fan just in case. I also didn't go for the thermo switch boss as I already had a suitable fitting in the top hose.

Can't fault it at all, coolex are very easy to do business with. Usual disclaimer, no interest in Coolex, just a satified customer.

I haven't taken the car to France yet. It was the high temps there that made me uprate the radiator. No problems in the UK this summer despite relatively high temps.

Best of luck

Andy
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PostPost by: TonyJ » Tue Sep 03, 2013 5:32 pm

Hello, I,ve fitted Coolex aluminium rad with Cliveboy twin fans. Both fit excellently - room above the rad cap, and plenty of room between fans and pulleys on front of engine. Cooling is excellent. Can post a pic if people wish.

Regards, Tony
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PostPost by: jono » Wed Sep 04, 2013 1:38 pm

Chaps,

Fitted a Clivey rad and my own twin puller fan set up on my +2 - pics attached.

The problem I have is the air intake hose (also Clivey, and lovely quality) is very tight to get the bonnet to fit - I have crushed it down but I think I am going to have problems when I eventually do fit the bonnet at the end of this marathon re build

I think mine is made worse by the Burton toothed pulley set up.

What would be of assistance to me is if you could measure the distance between you rad and the cam cover so that I can see how much further I need to go in order to get the bonnet to fit without unduly fouling the intake hose

Jon
Attachments
4.JPG and
3.JPG and
2.JPG and
1.JPG and
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PostPost by: Apx » Wed Sep 04, 2013 2:26 pm

Guys fantastic response and its why i love this site, all questions answered and further questions that i had have been answered either by the photos posted or in the replies, Cheers all.

Jon on mine the distance between the rad and the cam cover is 2 inches.

Cheers Neal
IF EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING WELL, YOU HAVE OBVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED
SOMETHING.
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PostPost by: Apx » Thu Sep 12, 2013 11:29 am

IMG_0836.JPG and
Update and hopefully a conclusion.

Well, I went with the coolex system and the guys there were, as said, easy to deal with and it was delivered the next day. The system looks standard and i had it painted black, with one fan but with the lugs for a second as insurance for the future, I had the temperature switch fitted. The fitment was not as simple as others above, the radiator cap was too tall and hit the bonnet on closing, with the radiator located on the first bolt holes, to attach via the second and lower the radiator i had to grind the fibreglass lip on either side and slightly redirect the loom and the ambient temperature line. It would have been easier if the bolt holes were elongated to allow for some adjustment. I had to slightly relocate the expansion bottle via a new made bracket and the washer, bottle none of which were problematic. Sadly the weather has turned cool so its difficult to say how good it is yet but indications are from the runs so far is good, i can't get it hot enough to activate the fan even stationary.

Neal
IF EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING WELL, YOU HAVE OBVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED
SOMETHING.
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PostPost by: coolexperts » Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:20 pm

Sorry about that!! our radiators are made on a jig that conforms to the original Triumph radiator. We have heard that about one in five of the radiators we sell need slight modification to the side frame or fibreglass body. This is a common occurrence on hand built cars like the Elan, but this rates as a little sacrifice for owning such a spectacular car!!!!!!!

Steve 8)

Coolex Heat Transfer Ltd.
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PostPost by: rgh0 » Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:56 am

Hi Steve
I believe that when Lotus modified and adapted the original Triumph / Stanpart design with the relocated filler and the reoriented inlet pipe they also trimmed the lower section of the side plates to enable it to fit into the body without hitting the shell.

I have only measured a limited number of radiators but that is my conclusions as those I have measured including the one I fitted to my car needed trimming. But maybe Lotus modified them individually to fit the shells and not all needed changing based on your 1 in 5 comment.

cheers
Rohan
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PostPost by: Harvey » Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:56 pm

I just finished installing Coolex's Series 3 full width aluminum radiator with twin Kenlowe fans. Steve was very helpful with the installation and quickly replied to my questions. I just returned from a trip in my '71 Plus 2S to the California coast. During the trip my ambient temperature gauge from a sensor in the nose of the car read between 40-45C while the car was moving yet my coolant gauge stayed below 85C. When the coolant gauge did reach 85C while stopped in traffic, the thermal switch triggered the fans and quickly brought the gauge down below 85C. This is a dramatic improvement over my original reduced length radiator even with a thicker core.

To get the rad to sit low enough for the cap to clear the bonnet I had to slot the mounting holes in the flanges. This wouldn't have been a problem if I had elected to order the rad without the filler opening at the top but I wanted the traditional look. Since the fans are mounted in front of the rad instead of at the back they need to act as pusher fans pulling cool air from the nose into the radiator. This requires the fans' polarity to be reversed so that they spin counterclockwise. The curved blades on the fans makes them quieter than the straight bladed fan I was using with my original radiator. Although the picture I'm enclosing was taken mid-way through the installation and does not show it, I later wired the fans through a relay to protect the switch. I'm very pleased with the outcome and, of course, an end to worrying about coolant temp.
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PostPost by: coolexperts » Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:25 pm

Thanks for the good comments. Following you comments we have managed to obtain a set of +2 side brackets and note that they have an extra pair of holes mid point and the lower holes are slotted. We shall incorporate these mods in the future. We shall also mount the left hand fan further to the right to give greater carb air pipe space.

Thanks again for the comments

Regards

Steve 8)
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