[Pete.J]

I cracked my radiator couple of days ago, it cracked at the plastic end tanks were the upper radiator hose fits.

Now I can't decide whether I should buy an OEM Behr radiator or a CSF 7001 fully aluminium radiator. The CSF radiator has welded aluminium end tanks and it'll stand 40% more pressure before it bursts compared to the OEM Behr rad. And obviously it'll cool more efficiently than the stock radiator.

The prices of both are as follow:

Behr OEM rad: $289 AUD shipped
CSF 7001 rad: $677.50 AUD shipped

I live in Melbourne, Australia. Prices are a lot higher here. The highest temps we see in summer are 45 C degrees (113 Fahrenheit). But I doubt I'll ever be tracking at these temps. But it's still annoying when the car pulls timing if you drive a little bit hard on a hot day.

Would it be a complete waste of money to go with CSF? I'll be going to the track about 4 times a year, may be even more. If I have more time I could even track once a month!

These are the CSF 7001 radiator specs:

[Pete.J]

Bump! Any thoughts?

I am really sorry to be that needy, but I am kinda of in a rush to make a decision. Because the car is undrivable atm, and I want to get it back on the road asap.

Thanks

[Tom Droze]

Originally Posted by pitos_7

I cracked my radiator couple of days ago, it cracked at the plastic end tanks were the upper radiator hose fits.

Now I can't decide whether I should buy an OEM Behr radiator or a CSF 7001 fully aluminium radiator. The CSF radiator has welded aluminium end tanks and it'll stand 40% more pressure before it bursts compared to the OEM Behr rad. And obviously it'll cool more efficiently than the stock radiator.

The prices of both are as follow:

Behr OEM rad: $289 AUD shipped
CSF 7001 rad: $677.50 AUD shipped

I live in Melbourne, Australia. Prices are a lot higher here. The highest temps we see in summer are 45 C degrees (113 Fahrenheit). But I doubt I'll ever be tracking at these temps. But it's still annoying when the car pulls timing if you drive a little bit hard on a hot day.

Would it be a complete waste of money to go with CSF? I'll be going to the track about 4 times a year, may be even more. If I have more time I could even track once a month!

First off, I believe the ECU pulls back the timing based on the ambient air temperature so a different radiator has no impact on this. Also, a larger or more efficient radiator in and of itself will not make the car run any cooler. I live in Arizona and have done track time on warm days and my coolant temperature never went higher than 220 degrees Fahrenheit. The oil temperature was another matter entirely. If it were me, I'd save the money on the radiator and put the money towards an oil cooler.

[Pete.J]

Originally Posted by Tom Droze

Also, a larger or more efficient radiator in and of itself will not make the car run any cooler.

Can you please elaborate more on this? Because a lot of N55/N54 owners have installed CSF aluminium radiators and they claim it makes a significant difference, specially on track.

Here are two reviews by a 335i and a 135i owners:

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/my-tho...ato-1745809742

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1121751

Originally Posted by Tom Droze

The oil temperature was another matter entirely. If it were me, I'd save the money on the radiator and put the money towards an oil cooler.

Yeah I already got one, all N52 in Australia came with an oil cooler from factory. I think Australia is one of those countries that received all its cars equipped with hot climate package. Heat and humidity can get out of control here in summer. We also get a 800W radiator fan instead of the 400W fan some cold climate Euro countries get.


If you look at the design of the OEM rad, you'll see it has 2 plastic end tanks at both ends. This is where mine cracked, I circled the exact location with red in the image below.






In comparison, by looking the photos below, you'll see that the CSF rad has aluminium end tanks that are welded to the rad core and most likely if I went with this option, this will be the last radiator I buy for this car lol. Cooling system could definitely still fail due to faulty thermostat, hoses or water pump. But it won't be rad related again!

[justpete]

Originally Posted by pitos_7

Can you please elaborate more on this? Because a lot of N55/N54 owners have installed CSF aluminium radiators and they claim it makes a significant difference, specially on track.

Here are two reviews by a 335i and a 135i owners:

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/my-tho...ato-1745809742

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1121751

Those are reviews for cars with FI engines. Completely different problem compared to our lower power NA engines.

[Pete.J]

This is a YouTube video showing my actual radiator crack leaking in the location I marked in my above post.

So many BMW and Mini with cracked radiators all the over the internet forums lol, the cooling system seems to be a bit weak on these cars. Water pump and thermostat failures, and cracked radiators!

[Pete.J]

Originally Posted by justpete

Those are reviews for cars with FI engines. Completely different problem compared to our lower power NA engines.

These were the only reviews I could find unfortunately, what would you do if your OEM radiator cracked? Just replace it with another OEM one and call it a day?

[justpete]

Originally Posted by pitos_7

This is a YouTube video showing my actual radiator crack leaking in the location I marked in my above post.

So many BMW and Mini with cracked radiators all the over the internet forums lol, the cooling system seems to be a bit weak on these cars. Water pump and thermostat failures, and cracked radiators!

Yeah, that's why I had C&R make a custom drop-in using their NASCAR Sprint Car radiator core.

[justpete]

Originally Posted by pitos_7

These were the only reviews I could find unfortunately, what would you do if your OEM radiator cracked? Just replace it with another OEM one and call it a day?

see above

[justpete]

Originally Posted by pitos_7

These were the only reviews I could find unfortunately, what would you do if your OEM radiator cracked? Just replace it with another OEM one and call it a day?

Said C&R radiator, fwiw

[Pete.J]

Originally Posted by justpete

Yeah, that's why I had C&R make a custom drop-in using their NASCAR Sprint Car radiator core.

Yeah I just had a look at their website, unfortunately they don't sell their products in Australia. To import a radiator from the US will end costing me more than buying a CSF Aluminium radiator already in the shops here in Australia.

Does your new custom radiator have aluminium or plastic end tanks?

I just don't want to buy an OEM radiator and have it crack on me again at the track in a few months time. And then I'll have to re-do the job again. But in terms of coolant temps and overall cooling performance I have no complains with the OEM rad. It's the reliability and longevity side of things that I am worried about.


Thanks.

[Pete.J]

Lol you just answered my question I posted above at the exact time I posted it, thanks!

It looks awesome btw!

[justpete]

Originally Posted by pitos_7

Yeah I just had a look at their website, unfortunately they don't sell their products in Australia. To import a radiator from the US will end costing me more than buying a CSF Aluminium radiator already in the shops here in Australia.

Does your new custom radiator have aluminium or plastic end tanks?

I just don't want to buy an OEM radiator and have it crack on me again at the track in a few months time. And then I'll have to re-do the job again. But in terms of coolant temps and overall cooling performance I have no complains with the OEM rad. It's the reliability and longevity side of things that I am worried about.

Bummer but just as well as it was stoopid expensive...

[justpete]

Originally Posted by pitos_7

Lol you just answered my question I posted above at the exact time I posted it, thanks!

It looks awesome btw!

Yeah, thanks, it's pretty amazing. I had an M12 port added below the return port to add a temp sensor for the datalogger. It's a lot lighter than stock too but it cost me a new radiator being shipped to them so it'd work just like stock. Had to sacrifice it for a better radiator and no idea what the shop did with the one in the car either come to think of it.

[techwhiz]

I bought an aluminum radiator for my E36 M3 and now my 335i.
It's worth it just no to have plastic tanks.

[SDemetris]

If it's your daily, I really don't see why you shouldn't just get another OEM one... Really shouldn't make a difference

[Efthreeoh]

OP, you said "I cracked my radiator"... Does that mean you were trying to remove it and broke the plastic side tank trying to remove the top hose?

[avocet]

I am sure you will be just fine with an oem rad, but awesome upgrades for the sake of awesome upgrades are A-OK in my book.

[Rickygst]

I bought the CSF for 335I and it does seems to cool better. Only had it on for a couple of weeks now so need more time to say for sure.