Aluminium Radiator
 

When are we going to allowed to have aluminium radiators in stock ??? This would be a great saftey help since the older steel radiator can split and dump all the water on the back tires. Also this would not be a performance enhancement as this does not change temp of the car. This has been extensivly tested at our loca track. Any input would be appreciated.



Jeremy Waibel
K&N B/SA 69 camaro
2231

Older steel rad? Does that "steel" maybe have a slight copper or brass coloration to it?

I doubt NHRA would "buy" the safety aspect but it makes sense to allow them only because every other lightweight component is already legal.

hahaha...."slight copper/brass color to it."
You funny man P. Had a guy ask us yesterday why he should have aluminum radiator in a street car. Typical guy - "on a budget." I said there isn't a good reason to spend the money on one. Spend it somewhere else.





The world is the grindstone and life is your nose.

Aluminum radiators offer less weight on the front of the car. On a small tire application, such as stock, that offers an advantage. Also, aluminum radiators cool down faster than copper core radiators. That would offer an advantage also, especially when hot lapping in later rounds. I would suggest the Yellow pages in your area for a qualified radiator repair shop. They can clean and pressure check your radiator so you can again feel safe while traveling down the dragstrip. Millions befor you have traveled safely with one of those antique radiators with no problems. Or if you are really bothered by this issue, you could build a stocker that came from the factory with an aluminum tank and plastic end tanks glued on. Then you would be in compliance with the rules that state the radiator used must be for make / model and year vehicle claimed.

I went through this with NHRA on my Corvette stockers (Fred and Barney, not the 96). As early as 1995, AC Delco saw fit to replace MOST brass radiators with Alum/plastic units; I asked: " If the O.E replacement is Alum/Plastic, why is THAT not legal?" They answered with a question: "is it a direct bolt in replacement?" The answer is "yes". It's LEGAL! The unfortunate part here is that AC Delco neglected to make a direct fit replacement for the 69 and 70 model years (Camaro and Nova) due to bracketry on the tanks as opposed to rubber saddles on the bottom of the core support and a sheet metal saddle bracket/fan shield on top like the 71-72 cars. A crafty guy would sneak a 20044 AC Delco radiator in there with some 72 saddles and top mount. Done nicely it would take a pretty serious purist to notice and "who cares?" By the way, my trick alum/plastic radiator with my Flex-A-Lite dual fan attached is a whoppin' 1.5 lbs lighter than my brass junker. I took nearly 10 times that much weight off the nose with an ATI balancer and a Meziere water pump; both legal. It's another rule that could stand a little "enhancement"

fitment
 

there are so many combinations in stock that you are sometimes only able to find copper and brass oem radiators. if you dont run a muscle car combo the parts are pretty hard to find

all I am saying is if some stockers are allowed to run them than everyone should be able. I have ran both in the car and saw ZERO et change yes it did cool faster. So I get going hot laps like I did in valdosta,ga 2 years agao and Iam hotter than some one with an aluminium radiator. Who has the advantage there?????????????????????? I am just trying to get everyone to be able to have the same cooling abillity...thats all......And by the way a stock 2 core radiator weights the same as a 4 core aluminium......

That's questionable reasoning when it comes to stockers. Some production cars had aluminum radiators as far back as the mid-1960s, but that has never been a justification to allow them for every competitor. Corvairs came with air-cooled engines and no radiators, so we should all be allowed to not run a radiator???? Some stockers are allowed to run aftermarket 780 cfm Holleys, so we should all be allowed to run them???? I'm not objecting to the aluminum radiators, just that the argument should be more substantial. In the interest of (1) providing all cars to be equallly equipped so they can compete in race conditions where there is rapid turn around for rounds ("hot lapping"), (2) safety of equipment and (3) protecting the $$$ investment in race engines in intense situations are all good reasons to allow them.

There is so little weight advantage with the aluminum radiators that weight reduction is not a serious issue. The majority weight of a radiator is in the volume of water it contains. It's like worrying about the weight of Hard-Blok when the volume it takes up in the water jackets is normally filled with water. The difference on a BBC is only about 4 pounds. Like you said, your high performance aluminum radiator weighs the same as the OEM.

There is a place to run what everybody else runs, it's just not stock.

The combos are based on the intelligence of the individual putting the combo together, (see Bob Shaw) not on getting the rules changed after the fact.

If you want a racecar with an aluminum radiator then build one that has one.


Bob

>> That's questionable reasoning when it comes to stockers.

Kinda sorta like 'late model computer cars can shift automatically, so everyone should be allowed to use the E-Shift controller'. Right?