[duneomatic]

I am going to upgrade my stock radiator to a high performance aluminum unit. Many companies make them but I don’t know which one to choose. If you have any good or bad experience on this subject I would like to hear it.

Thanks
Bob

 

[KOMotors]

Aluminum radiator vendor

I have the same question regarding aluminum radiators for a V8. Mine is a 2004 final edition that is leaking. Does anyone have any experience with Wizard Cooling (Custom Radiators for Show Cars and Specialty Industrial Applications - Wizard Cooling). They advertise V8 radiators for $649 on ebay and their website.
Thanks,
Ken O

 

[EspritV8Pilot]

Spoke to the guy at Wizard. He said he can cut us a deal if we can get together a group buy. I'd say 5 would do it. It'll be probably in the mid to high 500's. Let me know if anyone's interested and I'll shoot him an email.

 

[lotus4s]

That's a good deal and anybody that's slightly interested should take advantage of it.

That radiator will also fit the later 4 cylinder models as well from 1988 on I believe.

 

[floobydust]

My stock radiator also started to leak after a couple years... the right side end-tank solder seam apparently had some contamination and started to leak.

I would recommend doing something a bit more custom with brackets to mount a trio of Spal fans as I think the stock ones and their mounting are not that good. I took this approach and it's worked very well. I'm not using the stock fans or the mounting shroud assembly. As I ended up with a thicker core section (stock frame dimensions) I also had to fabricate a bracket to tether the A/C condensers in the center. My final setup also weighed in at a 10 pounds savings over stock and much better cooling.

Unfortunately you can still heat-soak the system as the oil coolers have no fans and if you're not moving there's no cooling on the main radiator either. Once I get some free time I plan on adding fans to the oil coolers and some additional fan control to provide a level of air flow under all conditions.

 

[markjayw]

Vikiing Motorsports in Cali has a nice V8 radiator upgrade. Might inquire as to what they want for their setup.

 

[floobydust]

One of the owners I know was inquiring with Ron Davis Radiators for a custom upgraded version as well. They might have one available based on this... also, JAE was offering one with the trio of Spal fans some years ago (pretty sure it was sourced from Griffin), not sure if Jeff is still doing these or not but worth a check.

 

[EspritV8Pilot]

The guy from Wizard just emailed me back. If I can get the price down between 500-550 would anyone be interested? Of course that does not include tax and shipping but I think it would be a great deal. Respond to this thread or PM me and I can get the ball rolling. I need a minimum of 5 buyers.

 

[EspritV8Pilot]

That's a good deal and anybody that's slightly interested should take advantage of it.

That radiator will also fit the later 4 cylinder models as well from 1988 on I believe.

I think you're right.

 

[KOMotors]

Wizard

I am interested in a Wizard radiator, but does anyone have any experience with them? TJ at Fox Valley Motor Cars never heard of them.

If we can confirm that their radiator is sound, add my name to the shopping list.

 

[Wayne Ellison]

Esprit Replacement Radiator

I spent 2 years designing an intercooler system for the Esprit. Part of that system was a high performance replacement aluminum radiator which would also handle the additional BTU's transfered from the intercooler heat exchanger mounted in the "stack". I looked at all the aftermarket replacement radiators and spoke with most of the builders/distributors none could provide "hard" engineering thermal data on their capabilities. I contacted C&R racing and sent them my thermal requirements. They designed a total radiator solution including specific Spal fans to meet my requirements. What resulted was the largest radiator which would fit in the OEM space (using a slightly different mounting method), spal fans with a plenum and anti-reversal flow flaps. I have tested, and have logging data, for this radiator in 115* ambient temperature with sustained boost of 11 PSI with no adverse temperature rise.

This radiator solution is not cheap however, $1075.00 complete with Spal fans. I own the design and C&R will not sell them direct without my approval. If I can get 5 ordered at the same time, I have negoiated a reduced price from C & R Racing. If there is any interest in this solution I have complete photos of the radiator and installation.

Wayne

 

[lotus4s]

There you go, a C&R rad with Spal fans setup that's been engineered and tested for an Esprit for around $1000 is a good deal.

Wayne, are the fans mounted directly to the radiator or is there a shroud of some kind?

 

[Wayne Ellison]

The fans are mounted to a plenum/shroud that unbolts from the radiator for cleaning out the debris.

 

[carbuff]

The new radiators from Wizard are a good deal if they are well made.
:clap:


Just FYI it cost me almost $500 to have my stock radiator re-cored the last time, here in NJ.


Also of interest are more modern variable or multi-speed fan controls as modern cars have. A low amperage, high efficiency set of fan motors would be the bees knees.

++++++++++

Leakage issues aside, the biggest problem with Esprit radiators is their tendency to suck up road debris, which significantly cuts cooling efficiency.

I was aghast at the buildup of crud both times I removed my radiator...and yearly, I blow out the unit from the fan side. anic: Some kind of access port to the front side of the radiator would be nice!

 

[lotus4s]

Atwell,

One of the big reasons that the Esprit rad gets so plugged up is that the fin spacing is so tight. Some of the aftermarket ones that I've seen have addressed this with a smaller fin count per inch. You lose a little bit of cooling surface but air flow is greatly increased and more debris will pass through instead of blocking the flow.

I'm curious if Wayne's design or the one from Wizard has addressed this.

 

[floobydust]

I spent 2 years designing an intercooler system for the Esprit. Part of that system was a high performance replacement aluminum radiator which would also handle the additional BTU's transfered from the intercooler heat exchanger mounted in the "stack". I looked at all the aftermarket replacement radiators and spoke with most of the builders/distributors none could provide "hard" engineering thermal data on their capabilities. I contacted C&R racing and sent them my thermal requirements. They designed a total radiator solution including specific Spal fans to meet my requirements. What resulted was the largest radiator which would fit in the OEM space (using a slightly different mounting method), spal fans with a plenum and anti-reversal flow flaps. I have tested, and have logging data, for this radiator in 115* ambient temperature with sustained boost of 11 PSI with no adverse temperature rise.

This radiator solution is not cheap however, $1075.00 complete with Spal fans. I own the design and C&R will not sell them direct without my approval. If I can get 5 ordered at the same time, I have negoiated a reduced price from C & R Racing. If there is any interest in this solution I have complete photos of the radiator and installation.

Wayne

Hi Wayne,

You were the owner I was mentioning... been a while since we swapped email... glad you finished up the radiator project. Hope the car is running well.

 

[Wayne Ellison]

Hi Kevin long time No hear!

I have not been on this forum before but saw the thread on the radiator and thought I would present what I had done. Radiator technology, like every thing else, has moved forward. More tubes and fins is no longer the way to go. Lower fin counts using "louvered" fins to promote better air flow and better thermal transfer is the current technology.

I published the results of my entire intercooler and radiator replacement project, with pictures, on TLF. There are a couple of data loggin sessions charts and graphs late in my thread.

http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/index.php/topic/33622-intercooler-project-finally-finished/

Now that I have IAT and ECT under control I have started work on recalibrating the ECU to provide more boost, correct the AFR at higher boost and add just a touch more timing advance.

 

[EspritV8Pilot]

Here's the websight for Wizard's radiator setup with or without fans. I like the look of the one with the fan setup plus it's a pretty darn good price. I think we might be able to get the price down lower with a group buy.

1988-04 LOTUS Esprite w/Fans | Wizard Cooling Inc.

 

[carbuff]

Atwell,

One of the big reasons that the Esprit rad gets so plugged up is that the fin spacing is so tight. Some of the aftermarket ones that I've seen have addressed this with a smaller fin count per inch. You lose a little bit of cooling surface but air flow is greatly increased and more debris will pass through instead of blocking the flow.

I'm curious if Wayne's design or the one from Wizard has addressed this.

^^^ Me too. Sounds as if it has! :clap:

I deliberately did NOT go to a three or four row core as I felt the OE rad had good enough cooling (the original was a two core design on my '88, don't know about newer models).

 

[Wayne Ellison]

The Lotus OEM radiator was a two row, single pass, with 0.330" tube centers and 24 fins/inch non louvered, very dense.

My replacement radiator is two row, single pass, with 0.440" tube centers x 1.02" width and 14 fins/inch louvered, header to header lenght of 32" and tank thickness of 3.02". Very much less restrictive, lower air pressure drop and less likely to clog with debris.

Wayne