I recently got a top mount kit and i need to get a half radiator. My question is how are these radiators for driving a few hours away here and there and just street driving?

 

ive never had any issues with mine overheating.. or even acting like it was going to over heat.
I got the stm kit tho.
and, i have a large oil cooler with a spaal fan on it....
and , no a/c

 

I ran a Koyo half rad for 3 years with two spal fans. 3-4 months out of the year, weather temps are 120F and sometimes more.
I would not recommend a half rad for hot climate. Whenever I got stuck in traffic, temps would slowly climb up beyond my comfort zone. For normal street driving, and cooler weather it would run just fine. Loved the space saving. It made removing/installing the turbo a breeze. But I went back to a full radiator. It made the car driveable during summer and I stopped getting nervous about the temps.

 

Virginia may not be too bad except for maybe the hottest days. Extended boost may push you into excessive heat

 

If you’re going to run a half size I suggest you monitor temps with an actual mechanical or digital gauge rather than the dash dummy gauge. Wouldn’t trust that for the life of me

 

I have the ETS FF kit on my car with a Koyo half rad. I live in southwest Florida, I've never had any problem with it getting warm. Even sitting in stop and go traffic.

 

Have you verified that with a gauge other than the dash?

 

If the gauge on the dash doesn't move, it's fine.

 

I verified mine with a gauge. For two years.

Keep in mind though we do have excessive hot weather here. It is not uncommon for temps to hit 125F with humidity.
118F is the usual daytime temps, 107F at night. Usually from June to mid September.

I had two spal fans on the half rad. One pushing, one pulling. Both fans kick on 100% at 185F, my main issue was that, when the fans kick on, they do not bring the temps back down, it would maintain the temps or it would slowly creep up no matter what I did.

After switching back to a full radiator, I comfortably drive the car now. Stopped worrying about the temps spikes. Even after several pulls in a row, temps are very consistent. If I ever go Forward facing, I'd go with a better quality half rad than Koyo.