radiator for supercharged engine

[lifespeed]

Those of you who have supercharged engines, do you still use the stock radiator or did you encounter cooling issues? Which type of supercharger?

It would seem under most conditions the engine doesn't produce more power than stock, and when it does make extra power there is plenty of airflow. I suspect the stock radiator won't cut it, just wanted to learn from other's experiences.

[Mackdombles]

I have an eaton swap, and am actually combating it being too cool. I deleted the cot as well as added a second cot delete kit in the rear top ports of the heads. All 4 top coolant ports lead to the thermostat housing. Then i did a rear head cooling mod and those feed the heater core. I first put in a 160 stat thinking it would run hot as my heat exchanger is directly in front of the radiator. Found out pretty fast i needed the oem 190 stat. Even now i struggle to get to 190. The oem radiator is plenty good enough. Granted the mods to the cooling system helped, i believe quite a few guys run the oem cooling setup with eaton swaps with no issues.

[lifespeed]

I have an eaton swap, and am actually combating it being too cool. I deleted the cot as well as added a second cot delete kit in the rear top ports of the heads. All 4 top coolant ports lead to the thermostat housing. Then i did a rear head cooling mod and those feed the heater core. I first put in a 160 stat thinking it would run hot as my heat exchanger is directly in front of the radiator. Found out pretty fast i needed the oem 190 stat. Even now i struggle to get to 190. The oem radiator is plenty good enough. Granted the mods to the cooling system helped, i believe quite a few guys run the oem cooling setup with eaton swaps with no issues.

Thanks for the info. Also, please include your outside air temps and if you have ever loaded it by towing or miles of hill climbing. Worst case info is the most helpful.

As for your over cooling situation, please see my post here: (https://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1551699#post1 551699)

[RubberCtyRauder]

oem radiator, ported trilogy, 17 psi, tuned for 170 tstat, head cooling mod, no issues . lower temp tstat won't help unless tuned for it.

[RubberCtyRauder]

I have an eaton swap, and am actually combating it being too cool. I deleted the cot as well as added a second cot delete kit in the rear top ports of the heads. All 4 top coolant ports lead to the thermostat housing. Then i did a rear head cooling mod and those feed the heater core. I first put in a 160 stat thinking it would run hot as my heat exchanger is directly in front of the radiator. Found out pretty fast i needed the oem 190 stat. Even now i struggle to get to 190. The oem radiator is plenty good enough. Granted the mods to the cooling system helped, i believe quite a few guys run the oem cooling setup with eaton swaps with no issues.

did you have the tune changed for a 160 stat?

[lifespeed]

oem radiator, ported trilogy, 17 psi, tuned for 170 tstat, head cooling mod, no issues . lower temp tstat won't help unless tuned for it.

What kind of weather do you run in? Any miles-long hill climbs on hot days?

[RubberCtyRauder]

summer temps, 85-90, humid. have killer chiller too so iats stay around 100. no towing, not many long uphills, the car wont be in constant boost. A few have changed rads. Motown, CWright wih is now owned by member vkirkend. my car is at 495 rwhp, roger and chris were700 and 600 + cars

[Marauderjack]

The AC Condenser is the KILLER for me!!:argue:

On 100*+ days my coolant can run as high as 225* in traffic with the AC on.......turn AC off and back at or below 200*!!:beer:

I read somewhere the AC Condenser can run up to 275* and it being in front of the radiator spells H-O-T coolant!!:(

[lifespeed]

The AC Condenser is the KILLER for me!!:argue:

On 100*+ days my coolant can run as high as 225* in traffic with the AC on.......turn AC off and back at or below 200*!!:beer:

I read somewhere the AC Condenser can run up to 275* and it being in front of the radiator spells H-O-T coolant!!:(

There you go, someone from the south. It routinely gets over 100F here in northern California as well, although you're pumping more humidity out of the air using the AC.

Edit: Do you have the stock fan, radiator support cover and lower air dam (in good condition, they seem to get wrecked over time) directing airflow?

[camelgrundle]

No iissues here even on 90+ days with ac blasting, have tuned for 170 Tstat. Stock radiator, mustang fan and shroud. Don’t see a lot of traffic here unlike Cali

[justbob]

With my Trilogy I ran a stock radiator, fan, and thermostat with no difference over stock readings for four years. And we see plenty of hot humid days here in Chicago.

I had to change to a smaller and relocated radiator, 170 stat, and smaller fan (with shroud) for the Procharger F1 due to no space. I never seem to run over 185 unless I idle for over 20 minutes with the A/C on in 85* and up temps. Even still, it just starts to raise and raises very slowly. Never been an issue even in rush hour traffic. I also no longer have any air diverters and could run 100 MPH all day with low temps. I’ve even recorded IATS 4* below ambient on the highway with my big 4” Procharger intercooler! In town rarely 10* over, so no heat generated from there.

I wouldn’t bother changing to a bigger one myself. Too many S/C Marauders of all flavors out there running perfectly cool in stock dress.




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[MOTOWN]

A lot of it depends on what part of the country your living in and how your car is setup , with my Vortec build when I was in Houston the car ran on the warm side around 210* to 230* cruising , stop and go was a no go , moved back to Atlanta and the car went into the 230* to 250* range instantly!
I had a custom radiator built , and Spal extreme duty fans installed (3,000cfm each) and I could do stop and go traffic on 95* days with ease , most will be fine with the oem radiator but there are instances where oem will simply not cut it , mind you at the time I was running a 6" thick Pro Charger intercooler and a 3K stall converter so every build will have different needs.

[sailsmen]

The OEM Rad Fan Shroud was specifically engineered to provide max airflow for the rad and a/c condenser. Check to make certain you are getting the airflow over the rad including the air deflector on the bottom of the rad.

The cowling between the fan and the radiator needs to be intact.

Radiator expels the most heat based on air flow. I think the OEM Radiator with the OEM designed air flow can handle 600+RWHP.

An old post;

As respects the fan, which is critical ~20mph-40mph, the key is the shroud.

Study the OEM shroud and you will see why. The OEM shroud enables the air that is drawn by the fan to flow over the entire rad cooling area.

Over 40mph the front air dam becomes effective.

I have a non-oem fan and shroud. I have Flex-a-lite 480 twin fans.
Numerous tests have revealed the following as respects my Marauder.

The Reische Thermostat increases flow which reduces the duration of peak temps.

Redline Water Wetter also reduces max temps by several degrees.

The water to coolant ratio affects max temps.

Removing your front grill reduces max temps 5*-8* and reduces the duration of peak temps.

Turning off your a/c reduces max temps 15* to 20*.

And this info;
reischeperformance
"Most people think a larger radiator will improve the capacity of the cooling system but a big factor that is often overlooked is airflow. Increasing airflow will have a dramatic effect on the cooling ability of any radiator which is why most choose to do so when prepping a vehicle for race use. Some common ways to get more air through the radiator are:

Increase the size of the lower air dam
Box in the radiator to force air to flow through it and not around it
Additional hood and fascia vents
Additional or more powerful cooling fans
This is also why you never want to remove or obstruct the lower air dam on a modern vehicle. Not to mention it will reduce the life of the radiator fan(s) and could even cause overheating."

My Question - "Do you think your Thermostat will help?"

Reischeperformance answer - "It should lower the temps at speed a bit but in traffic the 210* is likely from lack of airflow. At 210* either a 170* or a 180* thermostat will be wide open, the 170* will only give you a little more time before everything gets heatsoaked and the temps start climbing."

A theromstat does not increase the capacity to extract heat from the system.
If as you say the open Mustang Shroud is not the problem then why did Ford go to all the trouble to put on a Marauder Shroud? Why just save a lot of money and put on the Mustang Shroud? Are you saying the open Mustang Shroud draws the same air as the Marauder Shroud?

[lifespeed]

No clear cut answers here, but I am tempted to run a new stock radiator. I was looking at the mounting and serviceability of the stock radiator and AC condenser. That would be really hard to duplicate with an aftermarket setup, and even if you did you would end up with custom brackets welded on the radiator tanks. And of course radiators are wear items, so when it springs a leak you're hosed. Literally. Can't just bolt in a new one, have to fab again. Not good.

I have to agree the stock airflow directors and fan should be retained to the extent possible or there might be overheating to pay. I have to stick an air/air intercooler and engine oil cooler up front so that won't help. I guess I'll find out, at least I can do so without too much wasted effort and $$. Not that hard to pull the stock radiator out again if I have to.

Thanks to all who responded, good information.

[stevengerard]

I have a Vortech, stock radiator as well. Only time I had issues was when running an electric water pump, temps varied too much for me.