I ordered the v6/turbo rad for mine, and it too sat real high.  So, I went back to the 4cyl and it sat a little lower.  I just measured, the top of the cap is 2" taller than the top of the core support.



I wouldn't get it any taller than 2.25", and 2.5" might be too much. 
What you could do is to redrill new holes in the core support and lower the rad down what you need.  But that all depends on the fan shroud.  I thought about just lowering the v6/turbo rad down, but I wanted everything to fit in it's proper spot, and not have to modify anything.