Is It Any Good/ Any One Have Experience

[brian wilson]

Is anyone using one of these?

Is it good

Are there any uprated alternatives available

[boxer]

TT's Alloy radiator is excellent--though I notice on his own car he uses a version with a thicker core.This may of course be an original radiator or,more likely ,a requirement for endurance racing with a large horsepower engine.
TT also like to run engine temperatures lower than some believing ,probably correctly,that there is more horepower from this setup at close to 70 degrees.

[john-c-elan+2]

There was another guy at Stoneleigh selling similar rads, I got his card as I may consider one in future. He is Howard Emes, email:[email protected]
Rgdsj

[steveww]

I have the Howard Emes version installed in my S4. The rad is not alloy, just a biger copper rad. I have installed it right in the nose of the S4 along with an electric fan switched via an otter switch in the header tank. There are some pictures under "Big Rad" in the photos section on the Yahoo groups site.

This version is considerably less expensive than the TTR version and being copper rather than ally will weigh a bit more. As I am not racing the small extra weight does not bother me. Sinse fitting this new much larger rad I have not had any overheating problems and the engine stays right on the thermostat setting when moving. In stationary traffic on a hot day the engine has never gone over 90C. I run the engine with a 72C thermostat having been told by more than one source that you get a bit more power this way.

Hope this helps B)

[BillGavin]

I have the TTR radiator in my S2 and am quite pleased with it. I had temperature problems with the original radiator, so I decided to upgrade to the TTR setup. I eventually discovered a leak in the heater core, that was letting air into the system, so I think the original radiator would have been OK, but the TTR system seems to run 10degF cooler on very hot days.

There are less expensive alternatives, including the Griffin 'Scirocco' radiator available from Summit. I talked to someone at Donington in 2003 who was selling a nice crossflow radiator with header tank at a very reasonable price - I can't find his card right now, good chance it's Howard Emes.

I really like the original 26R look of the TTR setup. I have only two complaints - mounting it was a bit of a chore, and there is no provision for a switch for an electric fan. I was able to work out a satisfactory mounting system, and a bung for a fan switch can be added when that becomes a priority.

- Bill

[storrar54]

For road use I dont think you will get better value that Howard Emes (no vat), however instead of his header tank check out the Burtonpower thermostat housing which is neater and has a threaded hole for the fan switch, avoiding the dreaded otter, and is measuring engine temp more accurately.

[steveww]

I have been looking at the Burton thermostat housing as I think it is a neater solution. Just need to check that it will fit under the bonnet (hood). I will investigate further once Ihave put the engine back together after its top end rebuild. Just waiting for the right shims now

[patrics]

I made up my own system many years a go. I think the thermostat housing was from a Mk3 Escort and is the same as the Burton one and it does fit under the bonnet. I would have to check which switch I used but I think it was from a Peugeot 205 automatic which cuts in at lower temps than all the others that I found. I also fitted a degas tank as well.
The TTR is expensive but then the quality is also far better than anything else on offer. I'm sure Tony said it had a F1 spec core and that he could do it a lot cheaper by lowering spec. The whole system only weighs a few kilos.

Steve

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi,
I have seen this mod done several times. Fitting the Escort thermostat housing onto the twin cam provides a tapped hole for a thermoswitch and more importantly acts as a header tank (a bit on the small side) & coolant filling & bleeding point at the highest part of the cooling system. Using this housing then gives you the freedom to use any modern suitably dimensioned (thermally & geometrically) comercially available crossflow radiator in your Elan. I have a Behr 4 row BMW radiator in my car & it works very well with 185 bhp. Others I know have used VW Golf radiators.
John

[cliveyboy]

The Burton power thermostat housing with filler cap has the wrong orientation and wrong hose size for the Twincam. I bought one to see if I could modify it but it is not feasible. You will need to start buying and sourcing different hoses if you use the Burton one.
Co-incidently I am in the last stages of machining a mock up of a similar type thermostat housing for the twincam with correct orientation and hose size and temp take off for a casting company to evaluate making me some.
If anyone else is interested let me know.
Clive

[steveww]

Why not just buy some samco or similiar hoses? Surely this is an easier option to re-engineering the thermostat housing?

Let me see..... You will need a 90 elbow, a joiner and a straight bit. Looks easy enough to me B)

[cliveyboy]

Steve
The Burton housing will fit under the bonnet of my Sprint with a suprising amount of clearance, and like you say can be plumbed up with different pipe.
The reason I did not fit the one I bought was because the orientation is 90 degrees out to the original which points about 20-30 degrees away from the engine so when installed will face the back of the car more than the front so you would need more than one elbow and connector. I thought it would look untidy and have too much unsupported hose.
(Also I have a new Samco top hose for the Elan and want to use it.)
Clive