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seangfy May 8th 2010 22:27

radiator question
 
hay guys just wondering what kind of radiators you guys are using in your Subaru conversions such as aftermarket aluminum ones or something retro fitted from another car just looking to get an idea of what size i need and how much $ i need to save up thanks for any info.

SCCAbeetle May 10th 2010 08:56

First, how much is your budget?

Look consider these things about subarus:
1. They get hot, trust me I own a WRX.
2. The engines aren't cheap- and the cheap ones are usually on their last leg
3. Have you beefed up your transaxle yet?
4. Taken into consideration that you are going to need a whole new CUSTOM exhaust/intake system?
5. Thought about the fact that you are going to need to do some SERIOUS electrical work to get that EFI system to sync up with your gauges.

Its not just some drop in mod.
Its a lot of work, and a lot of expensive work. To do a turbo one right- I would price it about... 10000 dollars easy.

DORIGTT May 11th 2010 02:37

I'm using a pair of original Mini radiators in either side of the nose of my Ghia.

Eatoniashoprat May 11th 2010 15:58

I had a 4 core rad built, however I could have easily made one work from another car. I just wanted one with very specific dimensions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCCAbeetle (Post 75860)
First, how much is your budget?

Look consider these things about subarus:
1. They get hot, trust me I own a WRX.
2. The engines aren't cheap- and the cheap ones are usually on their last leg
3. Have you beefed up your transaxle yet?
4. Taken into consideration that you are going to need a whole new CUSTOM exhaust/intake system?
5. Thought about the fact that you are going to need to do some SERIOUS electrical work to get that EFI system to sync up with your gauges.

Its not just some drop in mod.
Its a lot of work, and a lot of expensive work. To do a turbo one right- I would price it about... 10000 dollars easy.

Some good information here but I'll offer my 2 cents :)

1. I wouldn't say they run 'hot'. I have a EJ22 in my bus with the factory subaru rad and fans, and the ej20 turbo in my bug and both run right on 180F no matter how hard you're driving or how hot it is.

2. You can find good used engines for pretty decent prices, it just depends a lot on where you are though.

5. The electrical is a lot of time if you're up for it its not terrible to do, or you can buy a harness already cut and ready to go



I agree a turbo conversion is much more expensive, but when I did my bus, I had $4000 to get it on the road including purchasing the bus that had been sitting for 20 years. You can definitely do it for less than $10,000 depending on what you can do yourself. If I were looking to do it on a serious budget I'd put a 2.2 SOHC in a beetle, requires the least amount of work (don't have to move transaxle, less stress on transaxle, and no engine bay cutting).

Mike

jakriz May 11th 2010 17:34

I did my Subaru Turbo Conversion for $3800 Aus, engineered & on the road. That was Xmas 2004 & it has done over 162,000klms since. Thats daily driving & track work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5KoIWijI84
They do not run hot, if they do, something is wrong with the cooling system.
I used a Holden Camira Radiator layed on an angle in the spare wheel well with another smaller alloy radiator for the intercooler above it.
If u do most of the work yourself u can save a fortune. there have been conversions in Australia that have run into the tens of thousands of dollars! all well & good if u have an open cheque book.
Hope this helps
regards
Jak

SCCAbeetle May 11th 2010 18:02

Also, will people please get more specific with the subaru engines!

I am sick of EJ20T, and SOHC STi!
I am a former Subaru guy- Those two things dont exist!

Subaru DOES NOT use the "T" that is a Nissan thing.
STi engines are ALL DOHC.

There are a TON of Subaru engines- be specific, because saying I got an STi engine means you could have one of about five or six engines that I can think of off the top of my head- 2.0s, 2.5s, single scroll, twin scroll, TGV system or non-TGV system.

Also, for the record, unless the twin turbo (EJ20H/R/206/208- these being the four varieties) is sold in a vehicle in your country, don't bother. I have heard horror stories about those buggers.

seangfy May 11th 2010 21:32

ear
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by SCCAbeetle (Post 75860)
First, how much is your budget?

Look consider these things about subarus:
1. They get hot, trust me I own a WRX.
2. The engines aren't cheap- and the cheap ones are usually on their last leg
3. Have you beefed up your transaxle yet?
4. Taken into consideration that you are going to need a whole new CUSTOM exhaust/intake system?
5. Thought about the fact that you are going to need to do some SERIOUS electrical work to get that EFI system to sync up with your gauges.

Its not just some drop in mod.
Its a lot of work, and a lot of expensive work. To do a turbo one right- I would price it about... 10000 dollars easy.

Hears what I'm working with i have a turbo 2.0 the block came from a Japanese legacy which was a twin turbo motor but i will be using wrx components and making it single turbo.

as far as a transmission my car is has a 901 5 speed thats stock i have another gear box im building for more power down the road but the 901 should hold up for now.

Ive got the ecu figured out will be running a magasquirt system as far as gauges go i am modding my dash to use the Subaru gauge cluster from 05 wrx

i was just curious as to what others were doing for a radiator just get ideas i think im going to uses a after market wrx aluminum radiator with two 12 fans just need to do some more measuring

THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVISE AND HELP LOVE THE GERMANLOOK COMMUNITY:)

SCCAbeetle May 11th 2010 22:10

I hope the caps weren't a sign of rage.

Ok, that is actually a great idea.
Reason being those are the tougher crank cases.

That might be best, just using the aftermarket. The WRX's stock fans have two speed settings- which I am guessing are programmed into the ECU.
Getting two POWERFUL fans would keep it cool.

Kudos for dropping the twin turbo system, those turbos are... bad.

seangfy May 11th 2010 22:24

No the caps were a good sign i do mean it every one on the forums hear has been super helpfull love it

evilC May 12th 2010 07:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCCAbeetle (Post 75901)
Also, will people please get more specific with the subaru engines!

I am sick of EJ20T, and SOHC STi!
I am a former Subaru guy- Those two things dont exist!

Subaru DOES NOT use the "T" that is a Nissan thing.
STi engines are ALL DOHC.

There are a TON of Subaru engines- be specific, because saying I got an STi engine means you could have one of about five or six engines that I can think of off the top of my head- 2.0s, 2.5s, single scroll, twin scroll, TGV system or non-TGV system.

Also, for the record, unless the twin turbo (EJ20H/R/206/208- these being the four varieties) is sold in a vehicle in your country, don't bother. I have heard horror stories about those buggers.

Calm down!

No-one referred to EJ20T or SOHC STi!
Please use your knowledge in a more pleasant and readable way. Antagonising people from who you may need useful information is counter productive.;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by seangfy (Post 75841)
hay guys just wondering what kind of radiators you guys are using in your Subaru conversions such as aftermarket aluminum ones or something retro fitted from another car just looking to get an idea of what size i need and how much $ i need to save up thanks for any info.

I have a long term build project that keeps changing direction but in relation to the cooling requirement I have considered various options including OEM rads from other vehicles but have settled on a specific approach. Whilst I have at least three rads lying around, all of which could be pressed into service I came to the conclusion that it would be better to use a made up special since making a standard rad fit into spaces not designed for it borders on bodge engineering. Also, I would never trust a used rad and even considering a standard rad it would need to be new - a rad failure is an annoyance that I do not need when firing/using an engine for the first time. If you are into a new rad then a special is not too expensive an alternative and at least it can be sized for the available space to to get the most effective air flow and packaging.

Clive

Joel May 13th 2010 06:52

Agree with Jak,
they run cool as and dont need big radiator setups

mine only has a tiny radiator from a 1.5L mazda

it sits at 88c and never moves
in 4000kms my fan has only come on twice

ricola May 13th 2010 07:56

It's more about getting cool air in and getting the hot air out properly rather than absolute radiator size...

spannermanager May 14th 2010 04:58

ricola's capped it, and it needs stressing as "ducting is the key", a bug is not the ideal shape to have a top exit duct, but i have managed it, so everyone builds a 'bottom breather ' again, mine is les compromised as its a track car, but a high rad with a lean back angle makes it more efficient, slowing the air in the rad, and exposing more gill area to the air blast, a vertical rad is less efficient, the height helps coolant air bleeding. hope this helps..

seangfy May 14th 2010 11:17

thanks for all the advise guys! :)

volkdent May 14th 2010 16:02

I had mine custom made, it fits behind the spare tire well and in front of the frame head, only possible with the suspension I have.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/399334.jpg

Ducting is a HUGE part of cooling, and even though my radiator is relatively small, it hasn't been a problem with cooling, mostly do to ducting, as the radiator never sees clean air tucked up under the front end.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/241582.jpg

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/680177.jpg

Excuse the ugly gun barrels... but this scoop gathers up a lot of air and forces it through the rad.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/247656.jpg

The other issue not mentioned here is BLEEDING the system. If there are air bubbles trapped it doesnt matter how big the rad is or how well it is ducted. Here is my bleed area on the high point up front.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/247653.jpg

Here's where I ran the coolant lines. They are in air flow so they aid in cooling, are easy to get to and protected

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/266772.jpg

This is how the lines are currently attached, in the previous pics I had just mocked them up. This method is really simple and effective, I used a Dremel and a cutoff wheel from the inside to create the slots to run the hose clamp through.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/680175.jpg

Jason


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