What's the *best* radiator for M50?

[Fusion]

Where do you guys get that upper rad holder with the two "arms" and rubber stubs?
Will I be needing one?

[Hartge_H27]

well since u r going with he m42 rad. here is a pic of my s52 swapped car with factory fan. no temp issues at all.

[5mall5nail5]

I just ordered 17111469176 from autohaus for $165 not bad.

Will a mechanical fan work with that radiator?

[Fusion]

Haha, go for it :)

Have you settled on a choice for the radiator?

Yep. Ordering the m42 rad.
Turns out the Nissens part is the same as the following OEMs:

1711.1.247.145
1711.1.469.176
1711.1.723.990
1711.1.728.905
1711.1.728.907

BMW 3 E 36 (90-) 318 is M42 440x439x32
No aircon, petrol, manual gearbox.

For future ref.

[5mall5nail5]

Hey guys -

Have a '87 325(E) and doing an M50TU. I like the stockness of having the E36 318 radiator with the expansion tank. Will a mechanical fan fit? If so, which one? I have an M50 fan clutch and fan and an M20B27 fan clutch and fan. Trying to figure this all out.

Thanks guys

[dude8383]

I'm probably going to take fraudulant action and copycat that idea :D
I was going to get an E34 M5 oil cooler but they're hard to come by and I was a bit afraid of mounting it low and hitting it somewhere.
There's tons of room behind the passenger lights and I can delete the high beam on track days, as I do on the driver side for cool air intake.
New project to add to my to-do list.

Haha, go for it :)

Have you settled on a choice for the radiator?

[Fusion]

I'm probably going to take fraudulant action and copycat that idea :D
I was going to get an E34 M5 oil cooler but they're hard to come by and I was a bit afraid of mounting it low and hitting it somewhere.
There's tons of room behind the passenger lights and I can delete the high beam on track days, as I do on the driver side for cool air intake.
New project to add to my to-do list.

[dude8383]

THANKS GUYS!

Dude: is that an oil cooler behind the right lights?

No problem man! That is indeed an oil cooler, I bought one because I wanted to make sure temps are kept in check at the track.

[Wishno87]

I have a 12 inch puller with my m42 rad and it has kept the temp right in the middle so far but then again the car has not seen much more than 80 deg since I installed it. Probably upgrading to a mishimoto this spring.

[DREWHALL]

So are you saying no fan at all? Or just electric fan? If you've got a decent electric in there you should be fine. I've heard of a few people running no fan, but there are too many lights and traffic around me to get away with that and feel comfortable IMO.

[tomgt325]

I have both the m50 and m42 radiator. I am leaning towards the m50, only because I am running the fan delete mod. Does the m42 radiator have enough cooling capacity to handle no mechanical fan, lower temp thermos, water wetter, etc?

[tonywonder]

interesting. i have the e36 mishi rad in my 318is. the top rad hose and the overflow hose to expansion tank, are also extremely close together. also a PITA to put those hoses there with clamps.

[samiam3356]

Newer version of the Mishimoto is a PITA for the 2 lines that come from the block and the Expansion tank. They are right on top of one another and make it hard to get the lines on and clamped down. I went with the Mishimoto but might have went with something else to make it easier to bleed and what not.

[BDSax]

AC Condensor. i just installed a spal puller so i can go AC

[Devil Inc]

Maybe possible road debris damage, I've thought about why that is also.