And you thought you knew about LX radiators...

[MattRobertson]

Lets babble on with some useless background before we get to the point:

My fanaticism regarding cooling overkill -- given the oven I lived in for 27 years until recently, and the track duty my car gets and is slated for soon (I have held of this season due to my heads having Comp 918 springs) -- is well documented. Search for 'Frankencooler' if you don't know what I mean.

As part of Something Big I have been looking at beefing some things up. The cooling system was one of them. I found FOUR radiators for the LX platform. Their designations are real and my labels on them are tentative (I have spoken to The Chicken for what clarification we can get).

1. Radiator -- this is the basic unit that the po' people get. The stock LX unit for 5.7L basic, 3.5L and 2.7L motors.

2. Severe Duty - This is what 5.7L owners get when they order the Towing Package. It is Better but we know not by what measure.

3. Severe Duty II - I had no idea this distinction existed. This is the SRT radiator. It has capacity additional to Severe Duty, but once again the amount is unknown.

Which of the above is the police radiator, which we also know to be designated 'Severe Duty'? I haven't the foggiest notion. I'd bet it is Severe Duty II but its just a guess.

So the above is pretty much the community's general understanding of LX radiators, except the distinction between the SD radiators was largely unknown. So thats it right? If I want to be the ball when it comes to radiators, I want SDII?

No. There is another...

Bring on the 'Maximum Duty' radiator. It is bigger by virtue of the fact that its name says so. And it costs fifty bucks more than SDII. And it is on export restriction, so supposedly you need an LX in some far-off land (probably where sand is plentiful) to get it.

But who knows what it is, precisely? Its capacity? Will it fit?

Don't freaking ask me. I only bought the dam thing thru a savvy supporting vendor -- Jeff@MPSC. I don't know what it does. But I sure am looking forward to getting my hands on it, and I have it on good authority that others were ordered within days of mine.

I won't be able to install mine for awhile. But I sure look forward to hearing more as these get out into the community. If anybody learns anything concrete... or knows it already... bring it on!

[Redfox0099]

Damm you were not supposed to find it....hide quickly...the black helicopters are coming....deny everything, save yourself






















Sorry, I can't sleep.....let us know what you find Matt

[hemiwagn]

Don't worry about the choppers, just stay "cool" <groan>.
Seriously, nice find Matt!

[RobAGD]

Humm how much did it cost ? Did you price out any of "custom" solutions ?

-R

[Charg-um]

I wonder if the distinction is maybe the radiator has plumbing fittings for oil or trans fluid or steering fluid plumbed into it ?

[moparman53]

Let's see some pics when you get a chance.

[MattRobertson]

Humm how much did it cost ? Did you price out any of "custom" solutions ?

About $350 plus shipping. No I didn't price out a custom radiator but I was thinking of that until I found this. Just too easy of a solution to at least try.

I wonder if the distinction is maybe the radiator has plumbing fittings for oil or trans fluid or steering fluid plumbed into it ?

Interesting thought but I doubt it. The police package has entirely separate coolers, and the tranny cooler for us all is built into the top of the condenser. But we'll see when the thing gets here.

Let's see some pics when you get a chance.

Count on it. Either from me or one of the other guys who ordered one may beat me to it.

[Redfox0099]

sorry for the silly post last night Matt...in all seriousness is it needed...are people really having a problem overheating?

[gremlinsteve]

lemme know. ill take pics of mine of you need em..


steve

[TxCowboy]

I don't think its an issue of over heating either, Red, but I feel our cars do run a little on the hot side thus wearing parts, fluids, power, etc quicker. I've been watching Matt's posts for a while on this subjuct and am thinking of adding some addtional/beefier coolers myself.

[MattRobertson]

Sorry I took a powder on my own thread guys. Somehow I missed the last few posts.

Red I agree with you that for most folks there is no need to go this route. But if you track your car you need to take Steps and this is where I am coming from. After two different track days last spring I had tranny temps around 265 degrees. Thats ok but uncomfortably hot. If I hooked up my frankencooler in series with my stock tranny cooler (which is presently disconnected) I would take care of that problem, but then I would be back to dumping buttloads of heat into the engine again. Instead of having water temps hovering at 210 (using a 180-degree tstat) I'd be at least 225 and probably 250.

And then there's the fact that oil temps -- also on a track day -- are still really high (according to Meister... I don't have an oil temp gauge but he does and was on the same track I was on the same day). Not fatally high but higher than I like to see them. I am putting in a Mopar oil cooler to supplement the 25-row Frankencooler... and that dumps still more heat to the water cooling system.

I can balance the whole system out with a big radiator. I have the base radiator now and I'd be moving up three steps. As you know from your own experience, just adding in a super-low thermostat is not a perfect solution (based on what you told me quite awhile ago about your 165-degree tstat). But add more fluid and you add more capacity.

I've got two track days coming that I have signed up for, and I'm hoping to add more. Lots of time available for testing.

[Mr. iNCREDIBLE]

hmmmm:

5175367AA
$372.00
Cooling system - Radiator
Radiator, charger, magnum, 300, maximum duty 2006 - 2007


www.moparpartz.com

hmmmm...


thanks for the heads up Matt

[MattRobertson]

No problem Mr. I, but I paid only about $350 for mine. Talk to Jeff@MPSC. I got mine from him.

[Fast56k]

The SRT has a larger hose connector on the bottom than the 5.7. Which connector does your super duty radiator have? Did you intstall yours yet?

C.

[MattRobertson]

I have no freaking idea, unfortunately. The radiator is at SVS up in Sacramento and I have yet to even see it yet. I know its there, but thats it. :-(