[Lmandrake]

I have been using the same homebuilt setup for a long time - when I started with water it was homebuilt or nothing. Running a danner 350 with 1/2 inch silicone and a chevette heater core ducted to some generic 120 mm fan. The heater core is inside the case and I am thinking of upgrading the rad and the fan at the very least.

I am not spending the money for a thermochill. So I would like to know if a Black Ice or some other rad would be an improvement over my heater core. If so, what should I get?

Second, I have a totally wacked out idea. My pump is mounted at the bottom of the outside of my case on a vibration isolating mount I rigged up. The inlet points straight up. I've been looking at motorcycle radiators on e-bay. They are single pass and presumably thinner than heater cores but otherwise have the same shortcomings in terms of airflow. By eyeball, those from ATV's and MotoX bikes look to be good for 2 to 3 12o mm fans. I am thinking of mounting one of these vertically off the back of my case, running the line from my cpu out the back top of the case and then have rad drain into the pump inlet.

Has anybody ever used a motorcycle rad? Are they generally aluminum? (this means no soldering and galvanic corrosion). If I leave the chevette core in the loop am I going to choke flow too much?

Finally, has anybody ever settled the unending debate over a good fan for the chevette core?


Thanks in advance for any input.