New 80 rad from Milner

[Chris]

I was in Milners today chatting with Carl. It seems that they really are trying to stock products for the more discerning owner. Some people would rather buy a £10 part and fit one every week than get a decent one at £100. But he realises that 'we' actually want some better kit. He acknowledged the problems that they've had with rads and he showed me their new line. It's from Koyorad. It comes in a branded box, not the usual plain carton, nice packaged too. It has plastic headers which looked very well moulded and the fins / core etc were very strong. All round, if I was looking for a new rad, I would give one a go. He got a load of stock in and someone took all but two that he kept. So look out for some parts wholesaler selling these. His price is around £220. I didn't get a pic I'm afraid. Well worth a punt I didn't get a look inside to see how many cores it had, I was in a bit of a rush. But if I am over there again, I shall have a look.


Chris

 

[Bat21]

I bought a pattern rad a couple of years ago for around £175 Chris. It to looked a very nice jobbie

But, it was only a single core and couldn't cope with the excessive heat in the South of Morocco, I have now ore placed it with an original one from Mr T and are £412 lighter for the privilege.

If you do get back there, do let us know if it is indeed 3 core like the OEM one

 

[Chris]

Yes, I remember going through all of this at the time. I loved the one from Autokool. Top notch thing. But Fireman Sam stoved it in when he prised open the bonnet of me cruiser to put the fire out. And then they started shipping crappy ones.

Chris

 

[Ecoman]

Yeah I was wanting one of those ones Chris but all I got was a cheapo equivalent.

 

[wobbly]

I'm looking at changing the rad on my 95 at the moment.

Its working fine, and is still spotlesly clean, but there have been an increasing amount of autobox woes caused by the transmission matrix in the bottom of the rad corroding and letting coolant in to mix with the ATF.

There are cheapo patterned rads about, at the £100 to £150 mark, but I'm not at all confident that they will last and quality is a worry at that price.

My Toyota rad is original, and so 17 years old - I will need to pay £400+ for a genuine item, or much less for a pattern part - what I would really like to find is a rad company that I know is similar quality to Mr T but at a lesser price (I dont mean the cheapest price, just cheaper).

Am in 2 minds about Milners - am following a thread on a brand new head of theirs that looks to be very poorly manufactured, maybe their pattern rads are the same? I'm not saying they are, just worried that they might be.

Also a technical question - by 3 core what do you mean, I assume it means there are 3 cores in depth, whereas 1 core means just 1 core in depth running top to bottom?

I would like to buy off Milners, to support a company that supports LC owners.

Pete

 

[Bat21]

Also a technical question - by 3 core what do you mean, I assume it means there are 3 cores in depth, whereas 1 core means just 1 core in depth running top to bottom?

Pete

Imagine the rad in place.

All cores run top to bottom, single or 3 core.

The difference between the two is a single core is one elongated 'hole' running front to back. A 3 core has three 'holes' one behind each other front to back.

Have a look at the photo below and you can just see two of the cores, I couldn't get all 3 in the shot at the same time:-

 

[Chas]

Please excuse this question from an ignoramus, but what difference is there between single core and three core, do they pass different amounts of water? obviously a single core is cheaper to produce than a three core, but if the volume of water passed is the same then the cooling capabilities should be similar

 

[Rob]

Chas its all about surface area to volume ratio, the higher it is the faster the rate of heat transfer. A single core rad may hold more coolant than a 3 core rad, this to some may mean that the single core rad can store more heat energy and therefore is better. But what is the point of that when the primary function of the rad is being a heat exchanger i.e. to transfer heat energy from one flow to another? A larger volume of coolant with less surface area means that you get a lower heat transfer efficiency. As you need to remove heat from the engine you would be better off with the 3 core rad due to higher heat transfer efficiency, especially in hot places like northern Africa. Think of everything that needs to be cooled, they all have large surface areas like computer heat sinks. Compare this to things you want to keep warm like boilers for your hot water, they have minimal surface are to keep the water hot.

Simple thermodynamics.

 

[Bat21]

Rob was doing the theory while I was playing with the 'crayons'

Imagine cutting the top off the rad and looking down onto it.

A single core can only disperse it's heat through the sides of each core.



While a 3 core does the same + it disperses heat between each of the 3 cores


Hope this makes sense?

 

[wobbly]

Thats great, its what I thought it meant, but best to ask if not sure.

So any thoughts on a quality alternative to Toyota?

If I was more confident, I'd fit a rad off a manual, and a seperate oil cooler.

Am I right in thinking that the 80 has a seperate oil cooler?

Pete

 

[Chris]

Nope. Same as Colorado

Chris

 

[wobbly]

Ok, it would've been a bit overcooled I suppose.

 

[Chris]

Been into Millner today and had another look at their new Koyorad. I'd say again that it's a decent looking thing. But for those with an interest, it's only 2 core. They are pretty decent sized bores if I am honest and as I have said, if I were in the market for a rad, I'd have a go. I'm not planning a desert crossing. But I do have a 3 core which is usually half blocked with mud and even on the hottest days it seems to cope.

So now we know.

Chris