What Material is the Car Radiator Made of?
4 Answers
The car radiator is primarily made of aluminum or copper. Below is a relevant introduction to the radiator: 1. Function: The car radiator, also known as a heat exchanger, is a key component in the car's cooling system, designed to dissipate heat. The coolant absorbs heat in the water jacket, flows to the radiator where the heat is dissipated, and then returns to the water jacket to circulate, achieving temperature regulation. It is an integral part of the car engine. 2. Working Principle: The coolant flows inside the radiator core, while air passes outside the radiator core. The hot coolant cools down by transferring heat to the air, and the cold air heats up by absorbing the heat dissipated by the coolant. Thus, the radiator acts as a heat exchanger.
Recently my old Jetta's radiator started leaking. When the mechanic opened it up, he found the cooling fins were all aluminum, while the end tanks were made of black plastic. He said this aluminum-core-with-plastic-end-tank combination is now mainstream - lightweight, affordable, and provides sufficient cooling for daily use. I remember back in the 90s, copper radiators were popular in domestic cars, with those golden copper fins that indeed conducted heat better. But they cost twice as much and weighed over ten pounds more than aluminum radiators. Nowadays, copper radiators are mostly seen in racing or modified high-end cars, having virtually disappeared from regular family vehicles. The veteran mechanic warned me that aluminum radiators are most vulnerable to alkaline corrosion - you must use qualified coolant, as mixing with tap water causes scaling that can clog the fins within 2-3 years. When replacing the radiator, I noticed he handled the welding points with extra care, explaining that aluminum sheets are more brittle than copper and prone to cracking from impacts.
Having worked in the auto parts market for ten years, I've handled no fewer than a thousand radiators. Nowadays, 99% of car radiators are made of aluminum alloy cooling cores with plastic water chambers, and the aluminum cooling fins are arranged like shutters, with a thickness of less than 0.2 millimeters. The copper radiators used in older models like the Santana have long been phased out. Although copper conducts heat faster, the soaring price of copper makes the cost unbearable—the material cost of an all-copper radiator alone is equivalent to half the total cost of an aluminum radiator assembly. However, heavy-duty vehicles still use copper-aluminum composite radiators. For example, bulldozer radiators have copper tubes wrapped with aluminum fins, balancing heat dissipation and shock resistance. The most easily overlooked part is the sealing rubber strip. Inferior rubber deforms under high temperatures, causing coolant to leak from the seams between the plastic and aluminum sheets. Once, a customer bought a no-name radiator to save money, and it overheated during a long-distance trip.
My cousin's tuning shop had a case where a customer complained about high coolant temperatures in their supercar. Diagnostics revealed the stock aluminum radiator couldn't handle the heat. They custom-ordered a pure copper radiator with 0.3mm copper fins and brass framework. Copper offers 60% better thermal conductivity than aluminum, but adds 8kg in weight and costs four times more. For regular cars, copper isn't necessary - modern aluminum cores meet cooling needs by increasing surface area. The radiator's bottom brackets are steel for load-bearing purposes. Many tuners overlook the thermal deformation issue with plastic end tanks, which can warp and leak above 130°C.
