Radiators- aluminum vs copper/brass

[LowchevyII]

what are the advantages and disadvantages in the different radiators?

[sikryd]

Aluminum cools better, but copper / brass in my opinion lasts longer than aluminum. I have owned two aluminum radiators in my life and both had welds brake within a couple of years. That was on a street car with daily driving, if you don't drive your car daily you may have longer life. I may just be unlucky though, others may have different opinions on this issue.
I will be running a 4 core copper / brass radiator in my 67 Camaro, 468 bbc with dual electric fans.

[LowchevyII]

yeah because ive been hearing in terms of price and durability, brass/copper was the way to go, but aluminum cools better and is close to impossible to repair. i'm looking for a radiator for my 70 nova that is soon to have a 383 with about 500 horse. its also going to be my daily driver though.

[sikryd]

Originally Posted by LowchevyII

yeah because ive been hearing in terms of price and durability, brass/copper was the way to go, but aluminum cools better and is close to impossible to repair. i'm looking for a radiator for my 70 nova that is soon to have a 383 with about 500 horse. its also going to be my daily driver though.

I would personaly go with the copper / brass. The nova has a decent size grill, so as long as you get a 4 core you should be fine. You will also need a good electric fan, I'd say a single 16" 3,000 cfm would be good. A dual setup would be better, I ran a dual 11" spal fan setup in my 88 mustang with a 460 CID pushing about 550 HP and it worked great.

[mazspeed]

Originally Posted by sikryd

Aluminum cools better, but copper / brass in my opinion lasts longer than aluminum. I have owned two aluminum radiators in my life and both had welds brake within a couple of years. That was on a street car with daily driving, if you don't drive your car daily you may have longer life. I may just be unlucky though, others may have different opinions on this issue.
I will be running a 4 core copper / brass radiator in my 67 Camaro, 468 bbc with dual electric fans.

Copper cools better then Aluminum. But Aluminum is a better way to go.

[MaxHarvard]

I have had both and i would never go back to a copper core radiator. The advantages of having an aluminum one far out weigh the cons. My temp never gets above 190*... the copper one would run 200-210 on most days. Plus an aluminum radiator just looks better in my opinion.

[clill]

My understanding is copper will transfer heat better than aluminum if both pieces are equal but aluminum radiators can be made with thinner material than copper and that is when it transfers heat better than copper.

[71Nova]

LowChevy2 aluminum is way better. I have run both in my 71 nova. You need to watch out for Electrolysis because it can quickly ruin an aluminum radiator. Read about it and how to avoid it at this link to Ron Davis Tech. http://www.rondavisradiators.com/tech.htm It shows how to test for it before you have a prob. I could not be happier with my RD radiator They use the stock Nova radiator mount and just drop in.

David

[deuce_454]

I just recieved two radiators from ron davis, one fro my 32 ford, and the other for my dads 65 mustang and the craftsmanship is just awesome, the fincount is higher that nay brass radiator ive ever seen and the fan shroud is just awesome.. i can only recomend them..

[kennyd]

heat transfer is better on copper and brass than allum. . but they cannot make brass in a big tube like a allum.
i prefer allum also , easier to make it shine .