Just thought I'd share this with everyone...

We all know C4 vettes run hot, or at least what we think is hot... In the South Florida heat 210 - 220 degrees seemed average for my car, then when it started creeping up to 230 degrees - I started getting nervous. So, last time this happened - I took the radiator shroud apart and grabbed the vaccuum and sucked out all the leaves and debris. Normally, this would be a quick fix - it worked before. This time I put everything back together, started her up and much to my disappointment... 230 again!

Well, the radiator had been flushed, new coolant, added those worthless additives like the glow in the dark purple stuff... nothing worked.

I am proud to say that I decided to add an aftermarket radiator. It was a direct bolt-in, with absolutely no modifications required. The radiator is a work of art! It has metal tanks and looks a lot larger than my stock radiator. Before I mention the brand of the radiator, here's the temps... These temps are with the same water pump and same 160 degree thermostat - only changed the radiator, no other modifications -

Normal driving - 169 degrees!!!!!!
Sitting in traffic - 179 degrees!!!!!!!


Even horsing around town in low gears (automatic tanny) the hottest temperature so far has been - 181 degrees!!!!!!!!!! Haven't been to the track yet, but I can't wait!

Are these numbers scientific? No, I'm just relating the numbers from the dash gauges - and I have no idea how accurate they are, however, I'm using the same gauges for all references (before and after). I kind of believe these numbers have to be somewhat accurate, as my fan rarely comes on anymore.

OK, where did I get my radiator???

RON DAVIS RACING RADIATORS

Yes, they are expensive and yes they make custom radiators for corvettes!! I wish I would have done this years ago!!! This was one of my best upgrades ever!

No, I don't work for them or have any finacial benefit from this post, it's just that I had met another '87 owner who put a different (expensive) aftermarket radiator in his show car - he only gained 5 degrees cooler.

So, if you're planning on an upgraded radiator - do your homework, I did mine. 110% satisfied that I made the correct choice!

 

Pretty wild looking car there azzkickr....different but I like it!

 

I'm just wondering when people say they are running at XXX temp. Do they mean Oil or Coolant temp? Thanks for clarifying.

 

IBTB. My system really never goes above 190/200 coolant/oil during driving, with 180 stat.

At hot idle, it will eventually kick on the fan at 228 then drop again, but at the drag strip, I can pull it down to 185 with the fan override, takes exactly 2 minutes.

 

I read your post...and looked up ron davis racing radiators. I also have an automatic..1993. Says on their page that the shroud needs some cutting....can you give me a price and part number for the radiator that you have? Im willing to give it a try. thanks

 

My 90 runs about those same temps with the stock rad. When I bought it the temp gauge would get very close to touching the red line, in traffic. I cleaned out the shroud area and pulled the rad. out of the car and cleaned between the fins, as outlined in the paper in the tech tips section https://www.corvetteforum.com/techti...D=53&TopicID=2 . That is really the trick to cleaning one. The small grains of sand and grit off the road get into the fins and block them completely. It takes longer to do it this way but it has to be done. If the air can't flow around the fins there will be very litle cooling.

 

Well now I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Great article. I kept looking at my shroud and it looked like you had to remove the AC lines to get it off but apparently I was mistaken. So now I think I'm ready to tackle the job. Got the tools got the anti freeze so wish me luck. Oh the only thing I'm missing is the cooler of beer but since its a little chilly here I'll settle for my Coffee and Bailey's Irish Cream.

"WAVE"

 

If you go to their website, you can download their CORVETTE ONLY CATALOG, they have two different catalogs, one for general vehicles and one specifically for corvettes. - I think it was a .PDF file. That catalog will list part numbers and have photos of the products. I don't recall if it listed pricing. You may have to call for pricing. My specific application required no modifications, simply bolted right in - tight squeeze.

If you have to modify your shroud, a Dremel tool or other rotary tool will do - I had to cut my shroud for an aftermarket air intake system. Easy to do if you have a little patients... remember, measure twice, cut once! Again, my particular application was a direct bolt in. No cutting.

If you're installing yourself (kind of easy for me, and I'm NOT a mechanic) Make sure you plan to have everything in advance such as Thread Tape (you will have to unscrew the 2 transmission lines that go to the radiator - easy to do) Also, check the condition of the coolant level sensor connector! The little plastic ears broke off of mine when I was reinstalling. Mine is located under the fill kneck, it's a single green wire on my application. I simply plastic tied the connector to the radiator until the little plastic connector arrived. Obviously make sure you have fresh coolant and distilled water. I didn't replace mine- but it is suggested to replace the rubber cushions inside the shroud (cheap & easy to do) I didn't think about that in advance, and I wasn't going to wait with my installation. So far no problems. You may / may not want to also get a new radiator cap.

When I received my radiator, it was very nicely packaged with no damage. It came with easy to follow instructions and how to care for this all aluminum radiator including preventative maintenance.

Note: they didn't have my radiator sitting on the shelf, so I had to wait a couple of weeks for them to manufacture it. Your car is newer, they may have one...

Let me know if this helped or if you need more info.

 

I agree, and that may be an inexpensive fix. When I installed my new radiator, I examined the old one (which had already been replaced some years ago) and the fins were not bent and it looked pretty clean (inside and out). Airflow isn't much of a factor sitting intraffic. This Ron Davis radiator is not for everyone - I would recommend it if you live in a hot climate such as Florida, Arizona, etc. especially if you sit in a lot of traffic. Additionally, I'd recommend it for race applications, Nitrous applications, etc.

Ron Davis website only claims about a 20 degree improvement in most applications, I'm averaging about 59 degrees cooler from the original 230 degrees.

I'm just sharing my own personal experience with everyone.

 

Generally we're talking about coolant unless we specify oil. Generally, new owners of corvettes are concerned when their car is running 200 - 220 degrees hot (coolant) But, by design, they are supposed to run hotter than the family car. New corvette owners generally are not aware that these high temps are normal.

Hope this helps...

 

Thanks! I bought the car about 10 years ago - BONE STOCK. It was never planned to become the car it is today, it just kind of evolved that way - one part at atime over the years. Don't forget to check out MY CORVETTE PHOTOS for a few more pics including the motor. I wish I could figure out how to post some more current photos as I've upgraded the front spoiler and added more graphics. Before anyone says anything - I changed the spoiler about 6 months after the radiator - so that had no affect on the temperature claims in this thread.

By the way, your car looks really clean - nice ride and thanks for looking!

 

I think years ago, when my motor was stock I was running close to your posted temps - I think I was around 195 & 210. The more the motor got modified, the hotter she began to run and the worse the gas mileage. Also you'll get the temp at the track down to 180 with the motor off and the fan on, once you have the motor running again you'll probably go back up to your posted 190. I can sit with the motor running at 171, which is great because I spray laughing gas and it doesn't work at its peak performance above 180. (from what a few other forum members claim) I'm not saying this is for everybody, I'm just sharing my personal experience.

By the way, I checked out your photos - nice clean motor and engine compartment.

 

I would definitely recommend cleaning first, I've done it in the past and gained 10 degrees cooler simply cleaning out the leaves and debris. The last time there was no change and I really wanted a high performance radiator as my motor has been modified somewhat. You won't have to touch the AC, but you will have to disconnect the tranny lines if you're an automatic. (easy to do, just inconvenient) Good luck with your project and stay warm! NOTE: check your little plastic connector on the back of your radiator (Coolant Level Sensor) Mine broke off the little plastic rabbit ears when reinstalling - the plastic was old and brittle. You should probably try and have a spare before trying a radiator removal. About $10 any aftermarket catalog Eckler's etc.

 

The coolant actually heats up when you shut it off. For the first 15 minutes anyways.

I leave mine idling, which lets the radiator pump cool coolant through it to pull the heat out. When you shut the motor off, all that heat has nowhere to go, so it just dumps into the coolant and that's when it's under the most pressure and highest temp, and most likely to boil over and leak.

 

Its called a "hot soak".

 

Its been my expierence that radiators last about 10 years.
Replacing it with a good aftermarket unit is a good idea.

If a car is 10 to 15 years old a new radiator is the way to go.

 

Good info. Thanks!

 

I have had similar issues with my 87. I finaly got the manuel out and was suprised that normal operating tempatures are 124 to 255 degrees F. The warning indiactor does not come on till 255 is reached. I often have temp at 185 F at 60 mph go to 215-220F at 80. Oil temp is often in the 210F to 220F degree range but I was shocked to read that the out of normal temp range for oil is 300 degrees F! I was under the impression that oil looses its lubrisity over 200 degrees . This is often given as a reason to use synthetics which handel the heat better. I try to keep the radiator free of debris as it can and does suck up a lot of strange stuff but evidently our cars are designed to run hot.

 

As long as the coolant is pressurized it won't boil over up to its maximum operating temperature. It becomes explosive if you remove the pressurization at the higher temps say above 180 or so. Like when people try to remove the surge tank/radiator cap while it is still hot.

 

Of course, that's kind of common sense. Most people can't leave their car running beween rounds - depending on how many people are at the track - at a test & tune night or racing at an event. Most people park, shut off the car and raise their hood - then they either run their fan (bypass switch) and / or place an ice pack on their plennum to try and reduce temps. But, the average street driven car & driver will start their car several times in the staging lines, then after they do their burn out, their motor will heat back up to their respective "normal" engine temp, which is generally 190+. I've even seen guys spray water on their motor between runs - trying to stay consistant - which is really what it's all about. With my factory radiator, my temps would vary by as much as 20 degrees. Add in climate changes such as qualifying on a hot afternoon, then running in the evening and things turn into a guessing game trying to "dial in". (Not to mention colder, dense air and track conditions) With my Ron Davis radiator, my temps are consistant day or night varying between 169 - 171 degrees. A full 20 - 30 degrees (or more) cooler than a comparable vette with a factory radiator. Additionally, this radiator is larger and is completely metal (no plastic tanks) So, it disapates the heat much better than a factory radiator when the motor is turned off. Besides, all of my previous radiator failures were ultimately caused by a crack in a plastic tank.

As I was trying to state in my original post - this radiator is by far -superior to a factory radiator, it runs coolor and is more consistant, even in changing conditions.

Now, we've basically been talking about racing, however, some of us live in hot climates that affect our regular operating temps. Getting stuck in rush hour traffic in South Florida for any extended amount of time (which is a daily occurance) can be a nightmare... temps can soar 20 - 30 degrees just sitting in traffic with no air flow, add running the AC, headlights and cranking the stereo - and now you sit there watching your engine temps rise and your battery charge drop. Now, I have no fear whatsoever sitting in traffic. One time my temps went up to 181 degrees sitting in traffic, I just smiled and thought what a great radiator and reaffirmed to myself - that this was money well spent!

The bottom line... while most people are trying to get down to 190 degrees, I've never been above 181 degrees (yet) My highest temps are 10 - 20 degrees cooler than most peoples lowest temps.