Replacement Radiator from China

[Roadrunner]

My present radiator seems to be intact although the finned body has some pretty big holes in it and would like to improve appearance (it doesn't leak). I suppose I could remove and have the component fully refurbished but wonder whether I might better just buy a new alloy rad on Ebay. At around £180.00 seems attractive but would need to get it painted black to look right. Does anyone have experience of the import?

[Hawaiis0]

It is a popular topic here at the moment with 2 or 3 in use so far

see http://www.lotusexcel.net/phpbb/viewtop ... t=radiator

you can use the search box at the bottom of the threads to key word search for stuff

[Hawaiis0]

My present radiator seems to be intact although the finned body has some pretty big holes in it and would like to improve appearance (it doesn't leak). ........................

Just read this again.

Law 1 - if it aint broke, dont break it

[MrCoolA]

My present radiator seems to be intact although the finned body has some pretty big holes in it and would like to improve appearance (it doesn't leak). I suppose I could remove and have the component fully refurbished but wonder whether I might better just buy a new alloy rad on Ebay. At around £180.00 seems attractive but would need to get it painted black to look right. Does anyone have experience of the import?

Yes I have. Superb. And it fitted straight in. Oh and no import tax. ( well not for me)

[alanbell]

lotus bits will supply an upgraded three core rad for £240 delivered, better cooling for only 60 more than the chinese item. i hate to say it as i feel for jerry, but the risks of untried parts from unknown makers is self evident, your car your choice.

[Roadrunner]

Really appreciate the response. I have a '74 Datsun 260Z and the experience on that forum has been 'mis-matched fixing', 'poor weld quality' and 'crude appearance'. Its good to hear positive experience. Although mine isn't exactly broken the degree of matrix loss is very significant. Looks as though boulders have been thrown through it. I have noticed that the temperature gauge does rise very quickly in standing traffic and I wondered that the matrix loss may be a factor (the fan works ok). Have recently fitted a new thermostat and flushed the system.

Frankly I would prefer to buy a UK product but sadly I have many other things to address on the car and need to watch my spend.

[shaunw]

I have an aluminium rad and its really solid. Far better than the flimsey recon rad it replaced which came from a popular supplier and lasted less than 5 years. Personal preference but i think that it looks better too so i didnt paint it.

Shaun

[AndyC]

I'm undecided whether ali rad is better or worse than brass, I guess it depends on the actual items, as ali is a better conductor but is more prone to oxidation in the event of damage (even a scratch)and is not as strong so is normally thicker than the equivalent brass item. I know brass rads have been around for many decades (I guess even the first open carriages had them), but accept that ali rads are pretty much the norm now, so may well have been used on more vehicles than brass ones. Maybe the ali ones will not last as long as a brass one, but we don't really keep using the brass ones in Lotus car right up to the point where it's beyond all hope, I guess we (or I) replace/repair when doing restoration/working on that section and it looks a bit ropey.

What really puts me off ali fr an Excel radiator is, the position means it's exposed to small stones (or not so small if the mesh in front has failed), so it would be prone to puncture/perforation following oxidation following damage. there's then a second problem there in so much as, if a brass one does get hit by a really bad stone and punctures, at least it can be soldered and be almost as good as it was, ali would be a nightmare to do anything other than chemical weld with some of it having to go inside to be really secure.


Still undecided, guess I'll have a while yet before needing to make choice for the celebration model.

[Roadrunner]

Thanks for the lead and I have now looked at a related thread concerning the Chinese product. In fairness the product is advertised as an 'alloy' although there seems to be an interpretation in thread that this is an 'aluminium' (ie a pure element') radiator. Alloys are of course a combination of metals which may or may not respond differently than anticipated with other metals in water contact. Am I reading too much into this? I am aware of the potential issues of metal mixing in cooling systems.

[MrCoolA]

Thanks for the lead and I have now looked at a related thread concerning the Chinese product. In fairness the product is advertised as an 'alloy' although there seems to be an interpretation in thread that this is an 'aluminium' (ie a pure element') radiator. Alloys are of course a combination of metals which may or may not respond differently than anticipated with other metals in water contact. Am I reading too much into this? I am aware of the potential issues of metal mixing in cooling systems.

Mine has aluminium radiator, aluminium engine and mild steel header tank. I think people worry about the wrong things. It's a good radiator and they have a good reputation and it's £180 what's the worst that can happen? And trust me I know what the worst is that can happen (£4.6k) and it isn't taking a risk on a radiator

[MrCoolA]

lotus bits will supply an upgraded three core rad for £240 delivered, better cooling for only 60 more than the chinese item. i hate to say it as i feel for jerry, but the risks of untried parts from unknown makers is self evident, your car your choice.

Bit of a leap that Alan. Cam belt to radiator? Risks are slightly different. and I get way better cooling than I ever did with the other radiator

[richardw]

I think it's well worth the extra to get a rad from LB who are there if anything goes wrong. Some Chinese products are fine, but there are many stories of products that don't last or perform as well as they should. I know engineers who tear their hair out trying to get reliable quality components from China as they are sometimes made to fit a cost rather than a specification.

ATB Richard

[Lotus-e-Clan]

I looked into brass versus alum rads and yes, it's a fact that brass/copper conducts heat better than aluminium and alum corrodes rapidly electrolytically IF connected to steel. But in my experience copper /brass rads replacements just don't last (copper fins dissolve at a rapid rate), they are heavy and the soldering isn't always watertight.
Btw. Alum SHOULD be cheap (it's one of the most common minerals on this earth) so it's misleading to devalue them as a lesser quality alternative based on price!

I'm not using water in either the Lotus or Clan and both have ally rads (the Clan has 3!) so internal corrosion will never be a worry .. and none have steel fittings so I'm pretty happy they'll out last the previous recon brass rads ..which were toast after 7-8 years. I made a mistake by fitting a VERY thick 3 core ally rad in the Clan - low-speed air flow suffers compared to a 2 core rad ...but the Winner racing Lotus ally rad is 2 core and very efficient.
My current problems is OVER cooling so I will never understand ANY concern over the cooling efficiency of an ally rad replacement in the Excel.

And we can all cite issues with Chinese copies - I've had Chinese wheel bearings on the SMART that didn't last 7000 miles - but the latest Winner Chinese rad is a good product - they have taken on-board the criticism from this forum and improved the product which is now a straight fit without any modification.

I can't understand the concern because the brass alternative isn't that good in my exerience!

[MrCoolA]

Plus I would say that any competition we can promote in terms of parts will only be good for us as cutomers (especially as my expenditure is relatively high on Loti )

[Lotus-e-Clan]

..and why don't all you doubters replace your oil coolers with brass/copper ones if you are worried by the longevity and efficiency of ally radiators?

I've been using 2 Mocal ally oil cooler rads for water cooling very low down in the nose/spoiler of the Clan for donkey's ...using both water coolants and now EWC. Even though they are tiny (10 row) the impact on cooling is significant enough to cause overheating if I close the valve to cut them off.


In terms of tax on import ...customs law application/practice changed in 2014/15 to tighten things up so not a lot gets through without import duty now unfortunately. You will have to pay tax on top of the eBay price (I think it was about £30 IIRC).