Ron Davis Radiators

yankster · Oct 15, 2018

Bebop said:
Any chance cooling a 550hp 6.2 with a 28x16 radiator or am I day dreaming ?
Use is going to be trail riding with the occasional beatdown.

The size is the max the builder will fit in the front and I really want to avoid a rear mount rad...

Mine is 24"x18"x3" on a 525 hp LS3. Temp gauge doesn't move trail riding and may rise 10*-15* when whooping on it.

Chaz · Oct 16, 2018

Edit never mind found the cfm ratings on their site.

Chaz · Oct 17, 2018

Would one of these units cool better compared to the same size griffin rad? I have a new buggy 31x19 single pass griffin, derale fans rated at 4000cfm and mine gets hot just cruising access trails. Looking at either a double pass griffin or going with one of these double pass rd combos. The rad is behind the seats so airflow is minimal, are the rd units guaranteed to cool more than the others?

redneckengineered · Oct 17, 2018

Robbiem said:
Would one of these units cool better compared to the same size griffin rad? I have a new buggy 31x19 single pass griffin, derale fans rated at 4000cfm and mine gets hot just cruising access trails. Looking at either a double pass griffin or going with one of these double pass rd combos. The rad is behind the seats so airflow is minimal, are the rd units guaranteed to cool more than the others?

In general I would say yes, just because Ron Davis is better quality than Griffin and dual pass is going to cool better than single pass. However, a 31x19 is a monster radiator and 4000cfm should be plenty of air flow. I think you have something else going on. Can you tell us more about your setup like engine specs, type of riding you do, etc? I have a 31x15.5 single pass Griffin with smaller fans than you that sufficiently cools my 580hp 402 in pretty much all situations. Before you start throwing money at the issue let's dig into it a little bit more.

redneckengineered · Oct 17, 2018

I'm guessing this is your buggy? http://www.hardlinecrawlers.com/forums/index.php?topic=55816.0

If so looks like it is brand new. First thing I would do is start chasing down air pockets. Do yourself a favor and buy this. I have to thank the late great John G for the tip. Best thing ever for evacuating air pockets from the engine.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A6AS6LY/

Second thing, get a 160 degree stat if you're not already running one. Night and day difference in cooling in LS motors.

Chaz · Oct 17, 2018

Cool, I ordered that funnel just now. Engine is dbc lq9, tsp 228r cam, fast 36lb injectors. Steam port is tapped into the top of the water pump and I have coolant flowing steady between the steam port-tb-pump. Running the 160* tstat already (I verified it works on the stove with a thermometer) also tried a 180* and it gets even hotter obviously.

Normal trail riding minimal bouncing except boat ramps. Say I just unload it from the trailer and keep it at 3-4K (converter is 10" 3k) rpm heading to the trails, the temps will continue to rise until I stop. Driving the road at my house I can hit 230-240. Reading using an obd reader and the dash gauge. Trans cooler is right in front of the rad and those temps never get above 150.

I suspected tuning but the tuner says that's not the problem. I don't think there's too much heat being pulled off the trans cooler to make it get that hot.

redneckengineered · Oct 17, 2018

Robbiem said:
Cool, I ordered that funnel just now. Engine is dbc lq9, tsp 228r cam, fast 36lb injectors. Steam port is tapped into the top of the water pump and I have coolant flowing steady between the steam port-tb-pump. Running the 160* tstat already (I verified it works on the stove with a thermometer) also tried a 180* and it gets even hotter obviously.

Normal trail riding minimal bouncing except boat ramps. Say I just unload it from the trailer and keep it at 3-4K (converter is 10" 3k) rpm heading to the trails, the temps will continue to rise until I stop. Driving the road at my house I can hit 230-240. Reading using an obd reader and the dash gauge. Trans cooler is right in front of the rad and those temps never get above 150.

I suspected tuning but the tuner says that's not the problem. I don't think there's too much heat being pulled off the trans cooler to make it get that hot.

Sounds like an air pocket to me and considering it's a brand new build I would start there. You will be amazed at how much air that funnel will get out. Here's my procedure for the funnel. Get a 12 pack of beer and make sure you have about an hour to kill. Get the funnel hooked up, crank the motor and let it get to temp. Once it gets to temp and the thermostat opens start raping on the motor pretty hard. Rev it up to 5k or so and let it drop. Do this several times. It helps if you have a 2nd person to watch the funnel to let you know bubbles are coming out and to add antifreeze as needed. Then shut the buggy off and let it cool. Start back up and repeat. Do this 3 or 4 times at least. Go home, then come back the next day and do it again. Once you've verified no more air is in the system see what your temps are and we'll go from there.

Chaz · Oct 17, 2018

Thanks! I'll try it.

Chaz · Oct 20, 2018

Bubble city. Fingers crossed. Already got in trouble apparently 7am is too early for these ****ers. Even had the garage closed

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

redneckengineered · Nov 7, 2018

Boom. Custom build from CBR. This thing is a work of art and puts a Griffin to shame frankly. Only cost me $250 over the Griffin and that was with the AN fittings and custom tweaks I made. I was probably on the phone with CBR 4 times or so, there were very responsive and their answer to everything I asked for was "no problem." This is now the second custom piece I've ordered from them, first was a new massive fluid cooler. Both times they've knocked it out of the park on product and service. My temp gauges are going to be purely for looks from now on :****:

EddieHall · Nov 8, 2018

Sweet set up how much

redneckengineered · Nov 8, 2018

EddieHall said:
Sweet set up how much

$1050 to the door.

Bebop · Nov 8, 2018

What size ?

Price is really not that bad for what it is.

Did you add the PWR core option ?

redneckengineered · Nov 16, 2018

Waffle said:
I'm pretty sure that all CBR stuff uses pwr cores with the R fin. The R fins leading edge is hemmed for strength and the only option I know of is 14 fpi vs 18 fpi, 2 rows of 1" vs various widths of extruded tube. Great looking rad btw! 31x16 with 14" fans?

Just for reference..... I recently got a quote from Ron Davis for a 26x19 stock car rad for $310. Not bad considering its the base rad for the shrouded offroad version, 18 fpi and has a 22" wide core for more cooling surface area vs some other brands. They also quoted me $135 for a custom blank shroud to fit a Volvo fan. Looks like a Northern Hurricane blank fan shroud #Z40022 will fit as well.

Yep, it is their CBR1002 (https://www.cbr-performance.com/off-road/). 31x16 with 14" fans, 3440 CFM.