Civic race radiator install

[iLLeffeKt vr-4]

According to DSMLink the car actually runs cooler now.
Temperatures at idle before the civic swap were around 197*-205* and now around 187*-193*.
Cruising before was 190*-193* and now around 179*-183*.

I paid $150 shipped for the radiator from ebay. its 2.5" thick and looks very well built.
The fan is a 14" SPAL pull style High Performance Curved Blade Fan 1720CFM and it was $119 plus another $10 for brackets.

For the bottom mounts I used a set of dsm radiator brackets which I cut in half. then I drilled and tapped the front cross member and bolted them in. for the top I just reused a bracket that I had on the stock radiator.

the top radiator hose had to be trimmed about 1" or so to clear the fan. The bottom hose also had to be be cut about 1.5"

the civic radiator doesn't have a tap for the sensor that turns on the fans, but since I don't have AC anymore I used the sensor thats in the water neck. so its all plug and play.

180* thermostat
25/75 coolant/distilled water
1 bottle of water wetter


on to some pics:

radiator with the fan mounted on it.


side shot.


2.5" thick .


right bottom mount.


left bottom mount.


top view.


coolant temperature after letting it idle for almost 2 hours in my garage. outside temperature was about 86*

 

Got a link to the actual ebay item you purchased? Looks nice.

 

[iLLeffeKt vr-4]

civic race radiator but I don't think its available from them anymore. you might have to get in touch with them and ask whats going on.

 

[324vr4]

I have the same setup and I'm glad someone else does too with some results. How can some people run their radiators on these cars without fans?! I was leaning more towards the no fan idea for awhile until I've seen so many people with upgraded radiators still using fans and getting near stock temps....looks good and thanks for the results of your radiator mod!

-Lieb-

 

[ggsxkid]

my buddy did the same thing with his galant he also got good results from using it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

haha, I've been trying to tell people for soo long that these radiators are a great alternative to more expensive ones, and they give up sooo much more room in the bay.. Of course the naysayers wanted their "Facts" so there it is. God I love the Irony.

Way to play!

 

[atc250r]

Very nice! The stock GVR4 hoses were of the correct diameter to clamp onto that radiator without being too loose?

John

 

[a_santos]

Nice write up. Way to go to silence the nay-sayers.

Looks like a very nice way to free up some room in the engine bay.

 

[TWEAKD4]

Quote:
civic race radiator but I don't think its available from them anymore. you might have to get in touch with them and ask whats going on.



It looks alot like this one HERE. Actually there are alot like this one on Ebay from all price ranges.

 

[Rausch]

^^^ only difference is the one you linkes is only 1 1/4 inch thick...that might not be enough... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[TWEAKD4]

I tried to find dimensions on that auction and must have missed that line.

 

[Rausch]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[iLLeffeKt vr-4]

Quote:
Very nice! The stock GVR4 hoses were of the correct diameter to clamp onto that radiator without being too loose?John



the inlet and outlet on the civic radiator is a tad smaller so the stock hose slips on easier than on the stock radiator. but if you tighten up the clamp good there shouldn't be any issues. I've put about 400 miles on it so far and it doesn't leak at all.

 

Ive got the same one for sale $135 shipped !!!

Tom

 

What temp was it outside when you logged, i did mine in traffic with the same setup fan always on and got around 196-200?
Also strange how i did a more in depth write up about the same exact thing with the same exact mounts placed in the same way like 2 months ago and all i got was grief about it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

Here is a link to there website web page

 

[iLLeffeKt vr-4]

*Update*
After installing this radiator I started having problems with pushing coolant into the over flow. It wasn't much and it wasn't all the time and it took me a while to figure it out. I tried few different radiator caps with no luck. I didn't know what else to do so I removed it and took it to a friends shop to have it checked out.
He told me that the flange was warped/bent and the radiator cap wasn't sealing properly.
I had him cut it off and weld the hole shut. I then purchased a DSM water neck and mounted it on the thermostat housing. No more pushing coolant after that.

 

[1990ggsxnj]

Wow great info. Has anybody here installed these while keeping the A/c? If so, how did it perform in comparison to what was already mentioned?

 

Real nice cant wait till i do mine

 

[alansupra94]

I am tempted to do mine but I might wait until after I break in my motor first.

Last thing I want is an overheat on a brand new built motor /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif