Radiator dimensions.

[jaistanley]

Onward and upward..

I'm trying to spec a rad for the S50B32 engine swap I'll oneday get round to.

I know the E36 M3 has a large radiator, from what I can gather it's 550*410*42mm. Are there any other rads that have a similar core size and an expansion tank built in?

I've been looking at an E36 328i Auto with aircon: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Radiator-BMW-Z3-1 ... dZViewItem

Will this be OK spec? They sell the E36 in warmer climates than ours with the same rad so I guess theres a little scope for down sizing...

Jai

[old_skool]

I'm not sure that the rad with the internal expansion will be any good Jai.

I seem to recall that the S50 rad was the one to use, maybe due to the core volume or was it the elevated 2bar operating pressure and the need for further expansion other than an integrated vessel; Maybe the need for extra cooling - these things pass me by at my age...

I bought a brand new one for £140, I think a second hand unit could be bought for much much less. I guess you are trying to avoid locating an expansion tank with the conversion? The E30 expansion tank is identical, apart from the cap BTW (1.4bar E30 - 2.0bar S50)

I used the E36 tank mounting albeit with a few mods (chop chop) and a LHD feed pipe (I have the Part no.)

Hope that helps bud

[jmc330i]

I bought a brand new one for £140

Do tell more....

I need to source a new rad for mine

[DanThe]

X5 and 324d rad are near enough exactly the same size as the E36 M3 Jai, maybe others aswell. You really ought to be using the E30 expansion tank to clear more space that can be taken up by radiator as you will need all the cooling you can get.

I bought a brand new Valeo E36 M3 rad from my local motor factors for around £85 last year. Couldnt get it to fit with my air filter so sent it back.

Ive got an aircon spec M20 rad atm and its working fine even with the aircon condenser in front of it.

I do plan to fit an M3 rad at some point, the airbox will need some serious chopping though.

[jmc330i]

I bought a brand new Valeo E36 M3 rad from my local motor factors for around £85 last year.

ECP want over £200 for an M3 rad

Ive got an aircon spec M20 rad atm and its working fine even with the aircon condenser in front of it.

Thats what I fitted to mine, but I ended up using that rad in the touring, so I may as well get an S50 rad now.

[ste]

I have the auto 328i aircon rad you mention Jai. Looks very neat as the built in expansion tank means you can remove the E30 expansion tank.

Sat still idling on my driveway with a temp probe stuck in it, it seemed to be coping easily. Yep mines an M52 but does an S50 make that much more heat?

Actually thinking about it, would an alloy block hold heat less than an iron one?

[jaistanley]

If the surface area of the two is the same, the radiated heat from the aluminium will be a tiny bit higher but insignificantly so.. Aluminium is a better thermal conductor too but I seriously doubt it is enough to affect the heat soak of the coolant system.

I would imagine the S50 will kick out more heat but only under higher power outputs. Seeing as the only time I'll need any power output is when I'll be moving rather quickly, I can't see there being a problem in these small differences. Also: I intend on using the electric two speed E30 aircon fan setup, worst comes to the worst I can imagine the cycle duty on the fan will be slightly higher in traffic after a spirited drive on an S50 car over an M52 one.

Does anyone know where I can find an Aircon M52 Auto rad? I also need a 328i manual propshaft. I think I'm going to suck it and see what happens. If the radiator isn't up to the job I'll definately find out, and because it has a high capacity anyway it wont be catastrophic.

Does anyone know what coolant pipes will be best with the S50 and this 328i auto rad?

From what I can see the 328i Auto Aircon rad has a core size of 440*440*32, the M3 rad has a core size of 550*440*32 meaning the 328i has 80% of the cooling capacity. If the M3 is sold in countries like Japan/South Africa/Australia with the same rad, 80% capacity should be OK in the UK no?

Jai

[DanThe]

I bought a brand new Valeo E36 M3 rad from my local motor factors for around £85 last year.

ECP want over £200 for an M3 rad

Yeah, that was with a nice big dollop of discount but they did fuck up on part numbers somewhere because they listed it as an E30 325 aircon rad but the sticker on the box said M3.

I wish id kept it now because I doubt I would get the same rad if I ever ordered it again.