Quote:
Originally Posted by MteK
Harold told me the upgraded radiator is making a huge difference. I'll wait to see what he comes out with because 1000 for a radiator (AR) just too much.
The upgraded oil cooler made a significant difference for me, but the upgraded rad should double down on that.
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$1,000 for a good high capacity radiator with aluminum neck (I assume) is CHEAP. I have "connections" and it still cost me $800 for a radiator for my E30 318is, and I am almost certain there were no mark-up on that and I got "jobber" price.
And an upgraded radiator will go a very VERY long way to solving some limp issues but not all. The issue is inherent with the long engine block. The last 2 cylinder just isn't getting the proper cooling air and water flow and forcing the oil to do more work to keep the engine cool. To "solve" limp problem on the N54 you need an entire OVERHAUL of the cooling system and even then there's no guarantee it'll work.
I'd suggest:
Upgraded radiator
Additional aux. pull fan
2ndary oil cooler in addition to the OEM one
Reprogrammed water pump to flow at higher capacity (ala Dinan)
Air duct altering underbody air flow to redirect ambient air to the last two cylinder
Automatics need not apply. There's just no way to build enough heat exchanger to allow the system to evacuate heat fast enough because the radiator needs to cool down transmission fluid too. If it's an automatic I wouldn't even bother tracking it.