m73m95

I'm not referring to you directly.... Just in general. The Ron Davis unit is spendy. Is it worth its price? (Providing you need more radiator....)

The Wizard unit seems to fit the bill, if the cooling is ~the same (It also looks strangely like the radiator Chris White sells )

nick_968

I found a big difference in replacing old factory for new factory rad, I think they lose their cooling capacity with age. I had tried an aftemarket, slightly thicker rad and that did not cool as well. I have a large front mount IC with a very coarse tube and fin core designed to flow lots of air through to the rad.

Thom I think the problem I found when I looked at the SFR IC is that it disrupts airflow to the rad and this affects cooling. Also the 3.0 block is slightly more reliant on oil cooling that the 2.5 block and with the additional heat from the turbo it may require better cooling. This is something I have not looked at yet but I thought you fitted another oil cooler, did it help?

Chris White

A couple of notes –
The stock radiator mounting system works fine – as long as you have decent radiator mounts and you tighten them correctly. The radiator is held in place with 4 rubber bushings that are clamped down by a set screw. There is no ‘stop’ on the set screw and if you keep tightening it until it feels ‘snug’ then you have way over tightened it and you are damaging the radiator. Use new mounts (at least the upper ones) whenever you replace a radiator.
The Wizard radiator is similar to the one that I have been using/offering. I have been working with the Wizard guys (Scott) to refine the design to make it fit better and to add some more features. The earlier Wizard radiators were hand cut and now they are laser cut (more precise) and the thickness has been maxed out for the 944 fit. The list on the newer radiators is $600 but I can match the old price that Wizard lists on Ebay ($550) and I will throw in a set of upper radiator mounts!

One more note – as I have always said – the stock radiator will do the job if it is in good shape and the rest of the system is functioning properly. The aluminum radiator is a nice upgrade but by no means is it ‘required’ unless you are making enough HP to be arrested in most states!

Thom

I installed a Kiss oil cooler set up and it works, just as well as the original radiator still works in my car, but only at sustained speed.
The problem is, unsurprisingly, that I get better cooling driving at highly illegal speeds than driving at normal speeds. Though the SFR IC does not help, I had this issue with the original intercooler already.

Maybe I should have stayed with the 2.5 engine instead of pretending to build a 3.0T shopping trolley

CurtP

I just installed a Wizard radiator this last weekend - the thing is a monster. It is absolutely beautiful, but it is a tight fit and I had to cut off the three tabs from the bottom radiator mount so it would slide down into the lower mounts correctly. It sit about an inch closer to the engine, and all the hoses have to be shortened.

The biggest problem with the Wizard radiator is the upper radiator and overflow tank fittings - they're too close together. You cannot use the LR silicone hoses. You could use one or the other, but not both at the same time. If they separated them by 2mm it would resolve the problem.

The one thing I like about the Ron Davis radiator over the Wizard is the threaded inserts for the cooling fan mounts. The factory clips don't really fit because the metal is a lot thicker, and the screws end up being too short. An easy enough fix, but it would have been nice if Wizard either had the threaded inserts or included new speed nuts and longer bolts.

docwyte

Hey Chris,

I don't know if I'm making enough power to be arrested, but I am making more power than most 951's with turbo motors. I recently dynoed at 372rwhp.

In talking with the local 944 Spec racers, they pretty much replace the old radiator immediately, saying they're just too gunked up to work properly on the track.

I may do that, I just don't want to spend the $333 for a new stock radiator only to find out it still isn't quite enough and I should've gotten a Ron Davis one instead.

2bridges

outside of the P-car world Ron Davis stuff is racers quality stuff.
A little pricey, but exceptional quality and more importantly on track proven results.

Can't say I have had a 944/951 RD unit, but I would not hesitate personally.

m73m95

I'm sure (I hope anyway) Chris White will chime in on this.... But, the Wizard "updated" description on Ebay says it has tabs on the radiator for the coolings fans... The Ebay description is better than the description on the Wizard website - weird.

So, you can cut off the factory tabs, and not have the problem your having?

MooreBoost

i know a guy in town that has a ron davis radiator on his 951. he told me that when he got his car back from powerhaus he had overheating problems. he tried a new stock radiator and it still was overheating. once he put the ron davis in all was fine

CurtP

I guess it was a little confusing the way I worded it. The mounts on the radiator for the fans are fine. You have to take the speed nuts off of the factory radiator or get new ones. The problem with using the original speed nuts is the metal thickness on the Wizard radiator is a lot thicker so they're difficult to install. Since the metal is thicker, the screws are too short. Very easy fix, but an inconvenience.

The clearance issue is with the crossbar on the radiator support - the bar that holds the lower rubber mounts. I had to cut the tabs off of mine. The tabs hold the leading edge of the engine pan. You may not have to cut the tabs off, but I needed the radiator to drop down a little bit so I could tilt the top of the radiator into position. Cutting the tabs off wasn't a big deal since I attach the engine pan to my CPR batwing.

m73m95

Ahh ok. Gottcha.

Good to know though. I was/am planning on getting that radiator.

George D

You get what you pay for. RD makes great radiators. It's all they do. They also stand behind their products. My old RD radiator started leaking. They fixed it for free. It started leaking again, and they came up with a new flex design and offered it to me at cost. The leaking radiator was not a faulty unit, my car was flexing too much and causing the leaks. The installer also was overtightening the mounting screws.

The issue was my fault, and they still provided me great service and pricing. Companies like this keep customers for life.

George D

Here is what I have.

Thom

George, thanks.

George D

Thom,

Heat extraction when pushing these motors is very important. I also switched to Evans Coolant. http://www.evanscooling.com/

We added much oil cooling capacity in addition to the other cooling mods as shown in the picture. My car was running hot after we built the 3.1 motor, it could not be safely tracked. Sucked, but as shown, we did some good modifications. It now runs cool. So far, looks like it will stay cool no matter how hard we run it or where. I'll no more once it's properly broken in and does a few events in Phoenix this summer. If it does well in 110 degree weather pushing it hard, I'll know for sure these mods are working as well as we expect.