83turbo280zx Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 So i've been dealing with radiator problems for a while, so instead of spending the $200+ for a stock replacement, or biting the bullet and spending $300 on an aluminum radiator for my zx i invested in a 3 row aluminum radiator for the s13 chassis with an sr20 swap. The radiator cost me $89 plus shipping, CX Racing, its kind of like OBX another ebay brand but they've gone way up in quality since they first came along. A buddy of mine runs one in his 2jz powered s14 240sx. Anyways, here is a write up on how to adapt this radiator into the s130 chassis, im sure with a little more modification it could fit into an s30 no problem. Instead of running 3/4 of the way on my temp gauge with the stock radiator and a pusher puller combo of electric fans, i now have only a puller fan operating and it cools under halfway on the temp gauge, this is with plenty of 80mph plus WOT pulls down the freeway. I also live in Texas one of the hottest parts of the country. So start off pulling your old radiator out You have to make sure you do get the SR20 radiator for the s13 because the KA24 radiator has the upper radiator hose connection at the opposite side of the L28 Radiator. The S13 radiator is about 1/4" wider on each side, which is no problem, but you're not going to retain the stock mounting positions, the s13 radiator is also a little thinner, and shorter, so you want to make sure you mount it level and high enough so the radiator cap clears the radiator support. i made some brackets out of some steel from home depot so that it would mount up flush and level Your lower radiator hose will still work fine with this radiator, but the upper radiator hose doesnt extend far enough to the hose connection on the s13 radiator, so you have to substitute for a different radiator hose. Its gates part # 22165 which fits a 1994-1997 Mazda Miata 1.8L 4 banger. Its a pretty tight fit so be patient, it took me a little while to get it to fit just right, but it will fit. Once you get all that connected, hook up your electric fans and fill with coolant and you're good to go. I have my fan wired to a thermal fan switch (radiator probe). Its Hayden part # 3653, available from o'reilly auto parts or summit racing, etc. I was running two fans one puller one pusher hardwired to the key with the stock radiator and still running close to 3/4 hot on the factory gauge, now im running right at operating temperature, well see how well it does in the texas heat this July . Im not sure how the factory fan shroud would hook up to this radiator as i did the electric fan conversion a while back. If anyone has any questions or wants some brackets made, etc. feel free to e-mail me sk84life1122@sbcglobal.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Do you have the dimensions of the radiator? It would be nice to see how it would fit in an s30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozconnection Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 S15 aluminium radiator is also an eBay Chinese special...very cheap...but looks and fits OK into P230 coupe chassis. I made some aluminum brackets with thick rubber strips to encourage airflow through the radiator instead of the air going around it as the radiator itself didn't completely fill the available space. May I suggest rubber mounts top and bottom to isolate the aluminium from the chassis....some sort of sacraficial erosion to avoid I've heard. Up front is a tranny cooler that will work as the heat exchanger for the water to air intercooler I'll be using. Please don't think this as a Hijack 83turbo280zx ....I certainly don't want you to think that for a second! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83turbo280zx Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 haha dont worry oz connection, i wasn't looking to be the first to ever swap a s chassis radiator in lol, and actually i just realized i posted this a while back, i know i posted this on Z car but i couldn't remember if i made a thread for hybridz.org, oopsies, oh well lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr jdm Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 haha dont worry oz connection, i wasn't looking to be the first to ever swap a s chassis radiator in lol, and actually i just realized i posted this a while back, i know i posted this on Z car but i couldn't remember if i made a thread for hybridz.org, oopsies, oh well lol. Did you have to notch the frame rails? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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