Coolex Aluminium Radiators

[les87GTE]

I've seen these rads on eBay and wondered whether anyone has had dealings with the company or bought an ali rad from them? They look the part but looks can be deceiving. Also, is there any real advantage in fitting the 70mm version over the 55mm version on a standard 2.0GTE road car?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401482399714

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403908741211

Any feedback would be welcomed 😁

[Jessopia74]

Bit shoddy from my experience. Have one fitted in the Silver coupe. Paid fir it to be painted black, they packed it with paint still wet so card was stuck to the paint on delivery, contacted customer service who wanted me to pay for it to be sent back to them. The dude tabs are also the wrong length.
Quality wise average, but guess they are cheap enough 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Jessopia74
Add pic

[Metalbasher]

I have one ready to install, bought at the NEC restoration show at a decent discount, so if you can afford to wait until March, do so. I can’t comment on performance or fitting but looks ok, as Jessopia suggests it fits the price bracket. I’ve found Coolex a decent company to communicate with, they did a great job refurbishing my heater matrix

[seanpren]

I am having one made by grp4 fabrications in Ireland at the moment. Fantastic to deal with and top quality 

[bris jas]

I have one in my 400r turbo, rad works great. Only issue to mention when it turned up it was very dull and marks where it had been welded, when i mentioned this to them they said it should of been buffed/polished, i could of sent it back but to much hassle so polished it myself

[Jessopia74]

1 hour ago, seanpren said:

I am having one made by grp4 fabrications in Ireland at the moment. Fantastic to deal with and top quality 

Seen their work and that is where I will go for my future rads 😎👍

[les87GTE]

16 hours ago, seanpren said:

I am having one made by grp4 fabrications in Ireland at the moment. Fantastic to deal with and top quality 

Sounds good, may I ask what the overall cost is to have one made and delivered. Have you asked for a like for like size etc. ?

[seanpren]

6 hours ago, les87GTE said:

Sounds good, may I ask what the overall cost is to have one made and delivered. Have you asked for a like for like size etc. ?

It's approx €370 to have it made. They've made some for manta b with c20xe before so have all the correct dimensions. Still in production at the moment so can't comment on the actual item yet but have seen first hand the quality of all their other stuff and it's top notch 

[les87GTE]

On 14/12/2022 at 20:02, seanpren said:

It's approx €370 to have it made. They've made some for manta b with c20xe before so have all the correct dimensions. Still in production at the moment so can't comment on the actual item yet but have seen first hand the quality of all their other stuff and it's top notch 

Thanks Sean,

Sounds good. A little more than Coolex, but sounds like a better overall product and a little less than can be bought from Germany with similar feedback. I would be very interested in your thoughts once you have received it and tried it out on your car. 🤔

[seanpren]

5 hours ago, les87GTE said:

Thanks Sean,

Sounds good. A little more than Coolex, but sounds like a better overall product and a little less than can be bought from Germany with similar feedback. I would be very interested in your thoughts once you have received it and tried it out on your car. 🤔

No probs I'll post about it when I get it 👍

[seanpren]

Fits perfect in standard mountings and quality is top notch. Very happy with it 

[Jessopia74]

3 hours ago, seanpren said:

Fits perfect in standard mountings and quality is top notch. Very happy with it 

That is well worth the extra, very good job. I like how the top mount tabs are spaced to hold it properly. On the coolex they are not and it can move left/right pivoting on lower fixing

[cam.in.head]

only trouble is TO ME  they all look homemade and spoil an otherwise good looking engine bay. same  as fuel tanks and swirl pots and pointless catch tanks.  !

radiator wise ,as far as im aware you can get a 3 layer recore done to the original end tanks which doesnt look out of place.

[H-400]

1 hour ago, cam.in.head said:

only trouble is TO ME  they all look homemade and spoil an otherwise good looking engine bay. same  as fuel tanks and swirl pots and pointless catch tanks.  !

radiator wise ,as far as im aware you can get a 3 layer recore done to the original end tanks which doesnt look out of place.

I did this with my GSI, a radiator restorer fitted the same core as my "400" in a std. Manta radiator. Had to pay 180€ for it.

[les87GTE]

18 hours ago, seanpren said:

Fits perfect in standard mountings and quality is top notch. Very happy with it 

All looks very nice indeed Sean, good luck with it 👍.

 

Re; cam.in.head & H-400 - I hear what you say and part of me agrees but, like with every other part of our cars, it's all a matter of preference by the individual. Some will stick to original spec no matter what and others will modify until there is nothing left to change, with the rest of us somewhere in between. As always, it's good to hear other peoples opinions and I thank you for taking the trouble to post. 😁

[Jessopia74]

They look more original when painted black. 

[Sutty2006]

I have never had an issue with my recored original radiator with my XE. I heard folk were buying up ally rads left right and centre so I asked a good friend who recored mine, and runs Applied Radiators in stoke. He said that aluminium doesn’t disperse the heat as effectively as the original copper core rads (or brass, I forget which) so decided to stick to original. But if they work and do the job, and look shiney, there’s nothing lost!