My standard rad just isn't coping as well as I'd like when drifting. My question is, is it worth buying the aftermarket alloy rad below or fit an E39 one seeing as it looks to be just a larger version of E36's? Any experiences with either/cooling and fitment wise. Thanks in advance BMW E36 M3 Z3 3.0 3.2 97-03 ALUMINIUM HIGH FLOW ALLOY RADIATOR RACE | eBay BMW 5 SERIES 2.0/2.8/3.0/3.5 E39 1995-1998 RADIATOR BRAND NEW - 2 YEAR WARRANTY | eBay
Mine overheated to start with but I just take the bonnet off now & it's fine.( 328i not the one in my avatar)
i've got the ones similar to your first link, from winner racing, on both my M3s. they work very well. i would suggest though if you find your car is overheating it's usually the fault of a) water pump b) lack of fan shroud c) viscous clutch d) thermostat I used to run a 4cylinder rad on a previous 328, and with a new fan clutch, good fan blades, proper bleeding, a new thermostat, metal stat housing, and the correct shroud fitted i had zero temperature issues.
have you flushed all the shit from your cooling system ? Drop a few steradent tablets into your water bottle and run the car for a while, then drain it all. Really helps shift the sludge from your rad etc and brings the efficiency of your cooling system back into normal parameters.
Sweet, do you know if the coolant pipes are the same? Cooling system was overhauled with new thermostat, housing and pump less than 2000 miles ago. However, I have no viscous or shroud as they didn't come with the car (has an electric on the rad instead) but I've bought a brand new one to go on too. Just wanted to make it 100% un-overheatable for the future
m3 pipework different as it runs a remote header tank. you'll need to accumulate these pipes. Fit a viscous and shroud and your issues will go away.
