Performance Radiator Anyone?

[2wheelin&dealin]

Just wondering how you guys felt about upgrading to a performance aluminum radiator such as a Mishimoto. In my 350Z, came with a Mishimoto and have never seen the slighest bit of over heating, no matter how hard I drive it. I just saw that they released an entire motocross line, so I was wondering if anyone else is running an upgraded radiator.

I consistently worry about the temperatures when I am rippin on the bike during the summer. This year, I want to be prepared

[turtlemann14]

i don't see a point to...

i mean, unless you have the money and you want a little more protection

[gscx]

I got a pair of aftermarket rads for about 170 dollars. And it is worth it i think. The cooler your engine runs the longer it will last

[2wheelin&dealin]

^^ Awesome. Thanks for the replies guys!

Anyone else think that they would be beneficial? The temps get to 90-100*F around me in the summer. A few buddies and I found a nice big trail to be riding on, but it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. The last thing I want is to overheat and have to deal with that.

[gscx]

overheating isnt really too big of a problem for a bike. Even if it does then you just have to stop for a bit. But the reason i would get them is for the security, having a busted radiator will end your day quick. There are alaways rad braces for bending and such but not for a puncture

[off_road_4_me]

engines are designed to operate at a certain temperature range, too cold can be as bad as too hot, why do you think we have thermostats?

[gscx]

Then why would they offer aftermarket radiators in the first place?

[off_road_4_me]

Then why would they offer aftermarket radiators in the first place?

because bikes that are put through conditions that dont allow them to run with in the operating temperature (aka a bike thats ridden through tight, gnarly and slow stuff will overheat because there isnt a heck of alot of air flowing through the radiators) as an example, James Stewart's yz450f ran a race with duct tape covering 2 inches of the radiators, why? because it was running too cool.

And heres where I first ran across this info.

bikes in question are yz250f/450f
poster is an a class mx racer.

With the dyno testing I've done I learned that these bikes like to run hot. It seems the hotter they get the more power they produce, as long as it is not so hot that it is damaging parts. As long as the coolant is not boiling off, no parts will get hot enough to damage, so from a performance stand point you want to run pretty close the boiling point without boiling over.

One advantage to radiators that cool a lot is that you can always block them off a little on days that are cool and dry like James Stewart does. Then when you are in mud, where you are more likely to get the bike hot, you can just pull the tape off and have the extra cooling capacity at your disposal

[turtlemann14]

^ we generally run coolant in cars at close to boiling point to, that is why we have pressured radiator caps(it raises the boilding point by adding pressure)

you also have to protect the oil from over heating

wr has this on lock
but gscx has good points to

[off_road_4_me]

something else to keep in mind
metal expands as it warms up, hence why on most bikes you check the valves with the engine WARM