Use a radiator with the two biggest cores you can find. More smaller cores is not better.

Aluminum will cool whatever you can throw at it and weigh and cost less than other matériels.

Use a high flow water pump. The Milodon and Flowkooler pumps are both great and I’ve use both. Last time I looked the Milodon was cheaper than the Flowkooler. The both work equally the same.

Use a Stewart Components high flow thermostat.

Make sure your water pump is turning crank speed at the MINIMUM. If you can get the water pump turning 10-12% faster than the crank it’s even better. Even 6% overdriven is better than 1:1 and never underdrive the water pump.

It’s a system. You can’t neglect one area and expect the best cooling.

If the system is correct, your engine should rarely run hotter than your thermostat rating. In other words, when the cooling system is correct and you decide a 180 thermostat is what you want the engine even on the hottest days should never go above 190 degrees. And that should be at a stop light and as soon as you get rolling the temperature should go back to 180.

In the same example if your temperature is at say…195-200 degrees with a 180 thermostat then your cooling system capacity, coolant flow (which includes fan speed for slow driving conditions) or both are incorrect.