Radiator upgrade for 280z

[chris frizzell]

hi all any thoughts on rad upgrades . temp gauge is spot on but its as hot as hell in the engine bay so going to replace the stock rad . any recommendations also thinking of rapping new exhaust when it comes thanks chris

 

[jonbills]

The Chinese ones on ebay work fine.
But they don't cool your engine bay, only your engine.
Wrapping or ceramic coating will help reduce the engine bay temp.

 

[chris frizzell]

theres loads on ebay but i didnt know if they are any good .any one brand ? thanks chris

 

[Rob Gaskin]

What fan do you use?

 

[jonbills]

theres loads on ebay but i didnt know if they are any good .any one brand ? thanks chris

As far as I could tell, they were all the same so I picked the cheapest.

 

[Farmer42]

As far as I could tell, they were all the same so I picked the cheapest.

Not necessarily. The 280z has a straight pipe at the bottom of the rad so should be OK but the earlier rads have an angled pipe and these vary in structure and quality. Some have various bit of pipe welded to make the angle and the hose doesn't sit right so it leaks. You need to ensure the pipe has a smooth bend.

The more cores you have the better as they cool better however if your engine bay is hot it wo t be solved by a new rad. The oem viscose fan is designed to do 2 jobs. 1 to draw cold air through the rad and 2 to push the hot air back andout of the engin e bay. Electric fans seem to reduce the effectiveness of 2.

As for rads if you can afford the extra the Mishimoto rads seem to be good quality although unless you are overheating or leaking it sounds like you don't need one.

 

[johnymd]

Both my L-series cars use the original engine mounted fan and it does the job perfect. Zero to go wrong and always keep the temperature spot on. I'll never downgrade to an electric fan again. All just IMO though.

 

[chris frizzell]

running the orig fan so best to keep that i think .Sean making me a nice new ss exhaust coming in September so thinking of rapping it . looks like i need a 3 core alley rad from ebay the mishimoto are twise the price but if there way better i may get one . thanks for the advise chris

 

[SeanDezart]

Just buy the ebay one from Holland (£125). The standard fan works fine to cool thze rad AND the engine bay (Johns' words are wise). I've run an AZC rad with 280Z bonner grills and neverf, ever had a problem.

 

[chris frizzell]

thanks Sean thats what i was thinking . would you rapped one of your mega exhaust to help keep the heat down or just look at its curves naked . The exhaust not me Chris

 

[SeanDezart]

The image you invoke......!

They survive wrapping better than mild steel because any moisture trapped won't rust the stainless-steel. That said, if you can't get it inexpensively ceramic coated, fit a full-size heat-shield from inlet manifold down to the chassis rail or just before.

Lastly....despite global warming, you might not need anything judging by this months' weather.......: think of the engine bay as a kilt - recirculating air keeps all the parts cool and fresh and a stock rad fan would help.