Champion 26" Radiator Review

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Not going to go with electric fans at this point. Looks like #3673820 could work. I would like to find someone who has tried this to see. I'm trying real hard not to waste money on a shroud that will not fit.
 
Just adding my 2 cents. I switched from a stock style radiator and Taurus fan that had issues keeping up, to a CC374 unit with Contour fans. Not only does it look better but it also cools way better! I run an electric water pump with NO thermostat or any restrictors. I have it wired on two relays. One of which turns the fans on at 185 degrees and the other at 200 degrees. I accomplished this with two temperature ground switches in the intake. Thus far, I have not seen this engine hit 186 degrees. When those fans kick on, they work! I don't drive my car lightly either. I drive it like it was built to do and it stays cool all the time. Waiting to see what the summer temps will do to it. The only thing I did different than my wiring diagram shows is that I used two 40 amp breakers (one to each relay) instead of a 60A fuse and the 160 temp sensor is 185. These pictures are as I was putting it together. I don't have a final full wired picture yet.













I used these clip nuts instead of using the aluminum plate that others used.

 
I also used the twin contour fans, they work great and fit right in, and they aren't very expensive. Great idea with the clips to attach the fans.
 
My champion worked just as could if not better then the $1200 Be-cool cross flow rad. and fans I have now. I waisted money for sure.
 
26" 3 core for me, electric water pump. 11.3:1 383 with iron heads and cools no problem
 
The 26" Champion Radiator and the dual Contour Fan's keeps my 408 blown Duster cool in bumper to bumper Cruising the Coast Traffic.
 

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cdwmotorsports said:
Are you guys opening up the radiator hole in the core support to 26"? Mine is only 22"
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You don't need to. I didn't, my car had a 22" radiator and core support and now has the Champion 26" radiator, and I haven't had any issues with cooling. The radiator support opening only controls air flow from the front, with a proper fan shroud the fan will still pull air over the entire surface. And it's not like the edges of the core aren't exposed to the air, they aren't in contact with the radiator support. There's still an air gap around that part of the radiator core. It just means the very outer edges don't get direct air flow from the front. I suppose it reduces the efficiency slightly, but at least for me it's not an issue at all.

Also, think about when the uncut radiator support has the biggest effect- it's when the car is moving, which is when you're least likely to have overheating problems. Keeping the car cool when it's not moving, or moving slowly (traffic) is usually the biggest problem. And in those situations it's the fan that's moving all the air. So, if the fan shroud on the back covers the whole radiator, the fan will still pull air across the entire core. The radiator shroud sitting out in front of the edges of the core isn't going to stop the fan from pulling air through the radiator.
 
So I see no issue with putting a 26 in a 22 hole but is there that much more to be had in doing so really? is there a BIG gain, I have my remote filter mounted on the forward end of the pass frame rail and would need to relocate again if I was to run a 26" and Im just not seeing the gain in it as such, thoughts?
 
crash520 said:
So I see no issue with putting a 26 in a 22 hole but is there that much more to be had in doing so really? is there a BIG gain, I have my remote filter mounted on the forward end of the pass frame rail and would need to relocate again if I was to run a 26" and Im just not seeing the gain in it as such, thoughts?
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Well, the 22" radiator has a core that's roughly 18x22, while the 26" radiator has a core that's 18x26. The math works out to say that the 26" radiator has 8% more surface area, which is actually a pretty big deal when it comes to heat transfer. And if you're comparing an aftermarket radiator with an OE radiator, the aftermarket ones are usually 3 core instead of 2, so, more cooling again.

I don't think they're always needed. Most people can keep their engines cool with a 22" radiator as long as the rest of the cooling system is up to spec or improved (higher flow water pumps and a good fan). If your 22" radiator keeps your car cool, you don't need one. In my case I was swapping from a /6 to a LA engine so the radiator had to change anyway, and the 26" 3 core isn't much more expensive than a 22" 3 core. And since nothing is numbers matching on my car anyway I figured I'd rather install the 26" and be done with it. The 22" would probably have worked fine, but the 26" also allowed me to use the Ford Contour dual electric fan set up, which works great and it less expensive than the fancy aftermarket electric fans, despite having a great cfm rating and being designed and tested to last hundreds of thousands of miles in its OE setting.

cdwmotorsports said:
Is this a common problem with these? I don't want to buy something and regret it.
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The most common problem with them is the radiator having a little warp to it across the mounting points. Some are worse than others. The mounting flanges on the radiator are generic, so you have to drill new mounting holes in the flanges to use the stock mounting points on the radiator support. I've never heard of one missing any welds, and the weld quality on mine is great.

The quality control is a little lacking, not all of them are perfect. I think the biggest thing is to buy from a seller that you trust and that has a good return policy, in case you get one you're not happy with the first time around. Or you can pay 2-3x more and get a quality brand name, but not all of those are always perfect either.
 
Keep in mind there are two 3-row 22" radiators available from Champion, the CC526 and the CC2374.

I've heard the new Champion 26" radiators are a bit taller too and require some "massaging" to the lower core support. Is that true? I went with the CC526 22" Champion. It has a bit more cooling capacity than the CC2374

FYI-

The core measurements for champion radiators are as follows:

CC2374- 22" 3-core- 15.88" x 21.5"
CC526- 22" direct fit 3-core- 17" x 22.5"
CC374- 26" 3-core CC374- 16.25" x 26"
 
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