Upgrading the Radiator

[midwestTI]

Hey guys, new poster here, let's see how this goes....

I'm currently driving a '95ti and I love to autocross and take as many driving schools as I can afford (which right now is none, haha). But I was trying to find a radiator upgrade for my baby, and all i can find is the new fluidyne for the E36 6-cylinders.

Would this be a viable option for the dimunitive 4? Too much coolant doesn't seem like it would be a problem, but, then again, I am relatively new to the upgrade scene.

Oh yeah, I also found an oil cooling system at victoryproductdesign.com. I don't race much now, but I plan on becoming increasingly involved, is this a smart upgrade to make?

Thanks muchly dudes and dudettes

[ClubSport]

Why do you want to upgrade your radiator? Is the car overheating on the track, or just getting a little past normal? Do you just want to get something without plastic end tanks?

I think you should get an oil temp gauge first, before you blow a lot of money on an oil cooler. Your oil temps may not actually be getting that high. Knowing the exact oil temp during track sessions is essential if you're thinking about an oil cooler.

[GDB]

If you are looking for an upgrade to your radiator, then look at the radiator from the M3's. I'm not sure what all is involved in the swap, although I know someone on here with a ti has done it (he's got a black ti with the cali top in his sig, and he's running the DASC with aquamist if that helps you any).

[midwestTI]

ah yes, once again reason prevails....thanks much for the guage suggestion......

also, are there any slim fan upgrades? I've seen radiator/fan combos for DTM cars and whatnot, I was curious if anybody offered a slimer fan solution for the ti.

[RAiMA]

We would suggest not to upgrade the radiator. From our experience, the radiator from BMW is more than adequate to do the job.

We're still using the stock radiator from BMW on our 258rwhp 318ti. From our data logs of circuit racing, coolant temps started off on 92C/198F degrees and increased to 97C/207F degrees on the warm up lap. Once we started to give some stick and get some airflow through the radiator, temps dropped down to 85C/185F degrees.

Normal daily traffic temps can get as high as 105C/221F degrees.

At the end of the day, it's your decision to upgrade the radiator or not. I hope this data helps to give you some insight :)