M20 RADIATOR UPGRADES

[austin360]

was looking into this what raidator upgrades is there for the 325is m20,was thinking about doing a viscus delete and fittin a bigger rad and a slimline fan what choices is out there /what you are useing ,also am i right in thinking a larger rad with more coolent will help cooling

[daimlerman]

Is your car overheating?

[DHFiS]

Has the engine been modified?

[DanThe]

Tropical rad with a different top hose is as good as it gets, although expensive. An E36 aircon spec rad with side tank is also a good upgrade

[sweep]

Tropical radiator here if needed.

[cliff_costa]

A diesal rad is big

[DanThe]

A diesal rad is big

Same as tropical

[austin360]

no not over heating at all ,just when i out messing in it the temp does creap,was told that if i got a bigger rad would help cooling , what does the tropical rad look like

[bss325i]

The standard radiator in good condition should be sufficient to keep a 325i cool even on track.

Make sure the rest of the cooling system is tip top.

[zaust]

When the rad needed replacing on my mrs sport I put the e34 one in I had spare. Perfect fit and cool running in the summer.

[madmax1410]

When the rad needed replacing on my mrs sport I put the e34 one in I had spare. Perfect fit and cool running in the summer.

i was thinking of doing this for extra room in the engine bay! so it is just a matter of takeing the old one out and sliping this one in?

[nickphine]

I run an 318is rad in mine, just for neatness really as the header tank is built in and the core is exactly the same spec as the 325i one that came with the engine I put in.

As someone said, the temp creeping up will indicate something not working as it's supposed to rather than an inherent design fault.

When I rebuilt my engine recently I noticed how small the water holes are on one side of the head gasket, once you get a crud build up in the block it gets stuck and no amount of flushing seems to budge it, head off job combined with a proper flush so it doesn't happen again.

Cheers, Nick Hine

[zaust]

When the rad needed replacing on my mrs sport I put the e34 one in I had spare. Perfect fit and cool running in the summer.

i was thinking of doing this for extra room in the engine bay! so it is just a matter of takeing the old one out and sliping this one in?

Yes fella. And if you want to put a leccy fan on a e32/34 air con fan is the easy option.

[madmax1410]

When the rad needed replacing on my mrs sport I put the e34 one in I had spare. Perfect fit and cool running in the summer.

i was thinking of doing this for extra room in the engine bay! so it is just a matter of takeing the old one out and sliping this one in?

Yes fella. And if you want to put a leccy fan on a e32/34 air con fan is the easy option.

great! i will defiantly have to do this! makes ya wonder why bmw didnt do this them selves! i suppose because the e30 was ending production by 92 of the sport and the e34 started in 89 wasent it?

[austin360]

yea the cooling systems is fine i run it on goods grade coolent i have fitted a new fan last year i be out messing in my yard doing a few circles doesnt take long to lift the needle ,as i was thinking a larger core rad that holds more volume of coolent would help me

[Simon13]

is your car facelift? the tropical rad as mentioned is 100mm deeper and and 100mm wider than a stock rad so its alot bigger than stock

[Morat]

i was thinking of doing this for extra room in the engine bay! so it is just a matter of takeing the old one out and sliping this one in?

Yes fella. And if you want to put a leccy fan on a e32/34 air con fan is the easy option.

great! i will defiantly have to do this! makes ya wonder why bmw didnt do this them selves! i suppose because the e30 was ending production by 92 of the sport and the e34 started in 89 wasent it?

Because there was no need. The mechanical fan is reliable and theoretically more energy efficient. Electric fans make sense when they are controlled by the ECU, but that came later.

[austin360]

is your car facelift? the tropical rad as mentioned is 100mm deeper and and 100mm wider than a stock rad so its alot bigger than stock

its a 1988 325i mate not sure if its facelift/or pre can someone post a pic of the rad so i know what it look s like if they can and will the viscus fan still have room to move or do i need to do i fan delete

[Simon13]

you'll be a facelift then

[chrex]

was going to do this myself...put an elec fan on just to free up the engine a bit. I know someone who had an e36 m3 and even that revved up better without the viscous. That tip about the e34 aircon fan is handy...i'll look into getting one.

[Simon13]

the e34 fan doesn't just bolt in. you need to cut a hole in the top off the slam panel to get one to fit

[zaust]

Correct no bolts required at all. You need universal fan to rad mounts (item number 380368397196) then away you go.

[GooneriC]

Staying on M20 radiators , would it make a difference in buying an air-con rad although a car doesnt have an air-con setup? Would it be any different in terms of cooling and hose connections? I already have hoses for a non air-con radiator.
I am asking because there isnt much of a price difference between the two , and should i decide to have air-con put in my car in the future i figure might as well buy the air-con rad with that in mind.
However i dont want to buy it then realise i need a different set of hoses.