Coolex Radiator

[saildrive2001]

I am looking at replacing my narrow S4 original rad with the Coolex wide aluminum rad & I have a couple of ?s for anyone who has installed one. The top tube seems to be at quite an angle facing outward, has this been a problem for anyone & what rad hose did they use. In comparison my original rad has the tube at a right angle to the rad & the hose goes straight from the thermostat housing into the rad.
Second ? what temp sensor did you get, Coolex have several ones of different temp ranges listed.
Any comments as to the choice of plain aluminum or black painted?

[Verve]

In our UK Weather ( which I`m sure is getting hotter in the Summer ! ) , I`ve been very happily using the Coolex Fatboys in my S4`s for over the last 10 years ... without any overheating issues whatsoever ... not even when queing to get on the Le Mans Track Parade , for over 45 minutes at idle in temperatures above 80 degrees ...

However , as road cars only ... used all year around ... I use a 92/87 fan switch ( equates to approx 95/90 on the upstream dash "gauge" ) ... which is nearer the original Lotus recommendations ... because I want a fast warm up , a nice hot heater ... & general efficient running ....

I am aware , that the power boyz recommend a much lower rad` switch ( say 82/76) .... but I don`t see the point on a road car , running around with the fan inefficiently ( & unnecessarily) on most of the time ... with all the problems a too cold engine can also bring ...

I`ve also never needed to have a manual overide switch ( to bring the fan on early in traffic ) , as a well maintained system like the Coolex one , works & copes perfectly fine as it is ...

Hope this helps : )

Paul .

[nmauduit]

I have installed the wide coolex in my '68 Fed S4 a few years ago, it fitted like the stock one (some initial fettling with the angle to clear the fan, that I later replaced with an electrical one). The stock radiator has a bit of an angle so that the hose clears the cam cover, I did not have specific photos of the new radiator, a sign that it did not raise any issue (I found a few unrelated ones to show clearance : no problem with a stock hose - rad cap is as high as originally, so I cut the foam around it so that it would not press up). I opted for a black finish, alloys can be a pain to get the paint to stick and they did a perfect job at it, it looks very much stock from a distance.

stock S4 Fed radiator

Coolex radiator

[saildrive2001]

It's interesting that your original wide rad is on an angle, is that typical for them? My narrow width one is parallel to the engine.

[William2]

I fitted a Coolex rad to my S4 and I found the angle of the top hose tube to be fine with the standard rubber hose. I fitted my own sensor and didn't opt for their one. As far as I am aware the rad should be parallel with the front face of the engine.