Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me the differences between the stock radiator and an aluminum one? I assume that the aluminum would be lighter and more efficient.
That being said, would there be a point to putting one in a car (CRX) that is only going to be driven daily and occasionally at the track?
I spent some time researching the subject on honda-tech, but didn't find what I was looking for.
Thanks for helping out a noob.

 

Aluminum radiators are usually thicker and have welded aluminum endtanks. The thicker core and welded endtanks are the primary advantages over a stock radiator. The thicker core give you more cooling capacity, and the welded endtanks aren't prone to failing like the plastic endtanks on stock radiators.

 

plastic endtanks?? huh?

 

Thank you for the info, would there be any weight advantage or would it actually weigh more because it is thicker?

 

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Go out and look at your stock radiator. The endtanks are likely plastic and bonded to the core with crimps or adhesive. If you don't know what an endtank is, it's the cap on either side of the radiator core(the core is the part with the fins that exchanges heat from the coolant to the air moving thru the radiator) where the inlet and outlet are located. If you don't know what plastic is, it's a chemically derived polymer material, commonly used for a variety of functions.

 

hey man.. i never noticed they were plastic.. my bad.

 

copper/brass is actually a better conductor than aluminum--the aluminum radiator ususally make the car run cooler because they are thicker and there are simply more fins/surface area to dissipate heat.