38 replies to this topic

[Bungle]

I would still think about installing twin fans they realy are good . :grin:

[Teapot]

Yes, two core for the MG engine I was told when I bought my pickup. It sat on the M25 in a heatwave in a traffic jam after Southern Mini Days ands kept a lot cooler than the occupants.
But to complicate matters there's been a thread on the forum about whether the two-core allows the engine to warm up properly in winter, anmd whether this can cause damage. Anyone remember what the verdict was?

And incidentally Mr Clubman, what kind of engine steady/steadies do you use?

[miniman5]

if your going to thrash the nuts of it then a 4 core will be fine but if you going to drive it properly and have the odd qwick blast then a 2 core should do the trick!

[Madmax]

pardon? 2 core radiators are cooler than 4 core...(thats why there called 'super cool 2 core rads', they have less gills per inch but allow the air to flow through much better

i spent a while choosing mine, and went for a 2 core in the end, to be honest an absolute bog standard radiator will do the job for most road applications, unless you've got a rip snorting monster of an engine you wont need anything else

we'll thats from my experience anyway

oh and think about what fan your using, the standard 10/12 blade fan is appropriate up to RACE use

[Madmax]

and i dont understand how a 4 core rad can be more damaged than a 2 core? their both just as fragile

what's going to be damaging it anyway?

[Jammy]

Not sure, but its says on the MiniSpares website that the 4 core is more prone to dust and dirt damage, although it also says damage from off-road use, so I would of thought normal road use would be fine.

[Dan]

There appears to be some confusion here.

The two core from Minispares is the best design of radiator available for the Mini at the moment unless you want to spend several hundreds of pounds on an alluminium version.

It is the two core which is more fragile however as there are more gills per inch and larger cores meaning the actual gill openings are smaller which means they are more likely to clog up when you are off road or grasstracking. So if you are going grasstracking you need to use the four core, which was the best available untill the two core was developed.

The late standard item is pretty much junk. For the last few years they were made with cores to the old Cooper S layout which sounds like a good thing, but they came with plastic top and bottom tanks rather than copper ones. These plastic tanks have a habit of leaking, and also being plastic they don't conduct heat. It is OK for most modern cars to have plastic capped rads as the caps are at each end, but on the Mini the caps are at the top and bottom and since heat rises it's a good idea if the top tank conducts heat away from the rad. This rad is only just adequate for the standard 1275 engine (and I mean when you do the maths based on its cooling ability and the engines heat output). Two fans shouldn't be needed on a car but that's the only way Rover could get it through all their product testing.

Two core rads made by some other people have been know to be less well designed than the Minispares version, generally being some other make of two core body bunged in between Mini rad tanks in order to jump on the two core bandwaggon.

The two core Minispares rad is ideal for pretty much any Mini in any state of tune, I've been running them for several years now and my cars always heat up fine. DON'T run a two core without a thermostat, that really is overkill.

Get some fan blade spacers when you buy one. As has been said the core is a little thinner than the standard item and you will want to space the fan out a little to keep it a good distance from the core.

Silicon hoses are fantastic things, I have them all over the place!

[TimS]

lol dan strikes again with his unlimited knowlege!

[Dan]

[MiniMoi]

Unbelieveable :saywhat: Great info as always Dan.

[Jammy]

Have you ever thought of going on a gameshow with that knowledge?! You may as well make some money with it!!!

[Guess-Works.com]

As a small note, during the winter I have the larger of the two pump pulleys on the water pump, which means the fan and water pump are slowed down.. giving the engine more of a chance to warm up properly...

I then swap to the smaller puller in the spring summer, usually about MOT time when every thing gets a good check anyway which is May.

Oh.. ps... Minispares 2 core rad !

[Dan]

Hey that is a good idea!

I can't do that though, damn 12G295 head on an A+ block combo won't allow it. The larger pulley disagrees with the underside of the thermostat part of the head.

[Guess-Works.com]

Just checked and there are actualy 4 different sizes... 4.725" diameter (85 on), 4.57" 1275 Cooper S, 4.265" , and 3.875" ( pre 1985 ) but it's more a question of gettin hold of them !

[Dan]

Oh, now there's something I didn't know. I thought there were only two standard ones. The 4.57" one would probably fit but I don't think I'd ever be able to get the belt on or off it without taking the pulley off. I really would like to slow down the pump as I'm sure there's some water cavitation going on at high revs, not to mention the wasted power. Cheers for that Guessworks, I'll look into it.