Radiator conversion

[Hammerhead]

(05-04-2023 )Smiling lemon Wrote:  I'm down in Tennessee, I don't have a major or leak but it is a drip coming, I have heard about the dimpling, how many cores are the most efficient? I have seen 5 cores and they seem to have the dimpling but I talked to a guy before(he may not know what he was talking about) That had a 5 core and when he put a 4 core in it, it cooled much better.

If you're at a small drip, you have some time to explore your options, but not a lot.
You may want to reduce the pressure in your cooling system if you need some time to source and plan this job.
Lower PSI rad cap or something. The surge tanks have a separate pressure cap on the overflow side now. If you ever have a pressure cap go weak, you may want to keep it as an emergency pressure reducer...or buy another one and remove the valve, yup I've done that :lol

The core count becomes a tradeoff.
The more cores you have, the smaller each tube is.
The smaller each tube is, the lower the coolant volume it can hold.
Lower volume means larger surface area contact for the volume of coolant, which is more cooling.
However, as you increase the number of cores, you also create more resistance to airflow through the core, which results in less heat radiation.
Cooling is all about heat exchange, you must have airflow or you don't have cooling.

I have never used anything more than a 3 core rad, with average GVW from 170-220k lbs. and nothing legal dimensions.
Worked fine moving anything across all 49 states, 10 provinces, and 3 territories...