Radiator Recommendation

[beefaroni]

What radiator would you recommend for a direct fitment (does not require custom mounting brackets or hoses) for use on a daily driven car that gets tracked occasionally?
Looking for something that would be a cooling upgrade and reliability upgrade (no plastic).

I see Mishimoto, CSF, ECS tuning, and others.

Any input or personal experiences on success stories or units to avoid will be greatly appreciated.

Thank

[Tbonem3]

Stock Modine. There are no "plastic" issues on our car like e36. Run less coolant in your mix for better cooling.

[Obioban]

Another vote for new stock, though I’d stick with 50:50

[beefaroni]

Good to know, The PO of my car (intelligent man, BMW guy, knows what he is doing) had a shop do some work and seemed to think they installed some random radiator they had sitting around. It sounds really dodgy, and im not sure if this is true or not, but I will try to find a part number tonight to confirm what it is for my own sanity. Modine is good stuff. My AC condenser is so badly oxidized that im sure the lines will burst upon the first rogue pebble that makes its way through the grille at speed, so I will be "in there anyways"

[Tbonem3]

If you're in that harsh/cold of a climate, maybe do stick with 50/50 coolant.

[M3Guy]

Koyo here, no complaints.

[pawa_k2001]

Mishimoto. Deleted my puller fan, just have the pusher, no overheating on track or in traffic, even with A/C on. Will be deleting pusher and installing a electric puller since I have on laying around.

[Ramps]

I’ve been running Koyo for a few years with no mechanical fan, just the aux fan. No issues and it fit perfect. Really nice piece and likely the last rad i’ll ever buy for it.

[ethan]

New OE from FCP. Plenty of cooling capability with the stock system, so no need for a fatter aftermarket part.

[Speed Monkey]

When my sled’s odo hit 100k miles, I had the entire cooling system replaced, with “Genuine BMW Parts” from ECS. After that, my car ran cooler than when I first took delivery of it. Since then, I had Active Autowerk’s heavy duty fan clutch installed at around 150k miles (to replace the 2nd fan clutch along with another new genuine BMW fan blade just as a precautionary measure), and it all works great.

[PenguinScotty]

+1 for stock from me. 182k miles, quite a bit of tracking down here in Georgia in the summer. Not had much problems with heat. May refresh just because since she's getting old!

[Speed Monkey]

From an online magazine called Moto IQ, they some years back, installed a Koyo radiator in their E46M. They produced a good write-up with many pictures. The web address to original article and the article itself is below.

https://motoiq.com/project-e46-m3-part-16-koyorad-radiator-installation/

[duracellttu]

Do we still think the gold standard is Zionsville?

[Obioban]

Do we still think the gold standard is Zionsville?

Zionsville is the only one I would consider putting on my car other than OE(M).
(and only if I was having overheating issues-- as it is heavier than stock, and on the nose of the car)

[Onefastsicilian]

OE or Zionsville.. Thats all.