KOYO vs Fluidline vs Godspeed radiators
10-10-12, 04:41 PM
#126
Our GS rad dropped in pretty and easily as could be; S5 car of course. No leaks, cools so well the e-fan hardly comes on while idling fully hot in 100+ Texas heat. We bought ours off of ebay from aero_designs for $189 shipped. Very pleased with the purchase.
Bummer yours didnt work work out for you Scrapp.
Bummer yours didnt work work out for you Scrapp.
10-10-12, 04:58 PM
#127
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Join Date: Jul 2011
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Jeez...sorry you had to go through all that. If that happened to me I would be royally pissed. Glad I heard about this so I won't make the same mistake buying one.
I guess you really do get what you pay for sometimes.
I guess you really do get what you pay for sometimes.
10-10-12, 05:33 PM
#128
BTW Im in Houston too.
I *thought* I *needed* a better radiator to protect against the heat, specifically bought it as a reliability mod to keep from splitting my endtanks... I've never heard my clutch fan kick in so much while in traffic. I was stuck using this shitty thing for the past 2 hottest months in Houston, and thankfully my car is still running.
Seriously... I took a chance cause people said it works... Everything on it leaked. Stock air box did not fit with it... Plus no word from the "main vendor" of this junk? Might as well place him in my "scammer" category. cant believe I have not gotten a new one or much less heard from him in the almost 3 months its been since I sent it back, AND I had to pay another $30-40 to ship it back. I should contact him sometime soon, just to get money back, or take my chances on another shitbox, but you would think if you received a return, as a business owner who SAID to return it, you would ACTUALLY ship out another, or at the very least contact the customer...
(Why have I not contacted him? Well one because I have a friend acting as the middle man since he was the one who ordered it for me, but mainly because in the time its taken me to get to the point of writing this post, I went to mazda and bought the replacement parts to put my stock radiator back in, and have spent the last 3 months happily enjoying the **** out of my car, rather then wait for a new shiny piece of crap.)
I'm sure I'm that unlucky 1 in a million, but its true. horrible experience with this radiator, shoulda bit the bullet on something name brand.
(and we still have not scratched the surface on if the radiator performs well... from what Im gathering of what I read "Its not the radiator, its how you use it" meaning, you have to duct/setup the radiator to work at full capacity, and from what Im seeing from the people who love them, they have crazy air tight v-mount setups.... Anything should work amazing in those kinds of conditions. As for a stock setup, I'll have to buy name brand.)
I *thought* I *needed* a better radiator to protect against the heat, specifically bought it as a reliability mod to keep from splitting my endtanks... I've never heard my clutch fan kick in so much while in traffic. I was stuck using this shitty thing for the past 2 hottest months in Houston, and thankfully my car is still running.
Seriously... I took a chance cause people said it works... Everything on it leaked. Stock air box did not fit with it... Plus no word from the "main vendor" of this junk? Might as well place him in my "scammer" category. cant believe I have not gotten a new one or much less heard from him in the almost 3 months its been since I sent it back, AND I had to pay another $30-40 to ship it back. I should contact him sometime soon, just to get money back, or take my chances on another shitbox, but you would think if you received a return, as a business owner who SAID to return it, you would ACTUALLY ship out another, or at the very least contact the customer...
(Why have I not contacted him? Well one because I have a friend acting as the middle man since he was the one who ordered it for me, but mainly because in the time its taken me to get to the point of writing this post, I went to mazda and bought the replacement parts to put my stock radiator back in, and have spent the last 3 months happily enjoying the **** out of my car, rather then wait for a new shiny piece of crap.)
I'm sure I'm that unlucky 1 in a million, but its true. horrible experience with this radiator, shoulda bit the bullet on something name brand.
(and we still have not scratched the surface on if the radiator performs well... from what Im gathering of what I read "Its not the radiator, its how you use it" meaning, you have to duct/setup the radiator to work at full capacity, and from what Im seeing from the people who love them, they have crazy air tight v-mount setups.... Anything should work amazing in those kinds of conditions. As for a stock setup, I'll have to buy name brand.)
10-10-12, 09:40 PM
#129
Man... Sorry, I just had to come back and say, I had gotten over the drama this radiator caused me, but this thread resurrection just kinda reminded me how annoyed I am.
It might work well, but I had a lot of trouble with mine... If I ever get a replacement I might give it one more try... After spending the $40 to have a shop test it before I put it in... (Should just buy a koyo, lol.)
It might work well, but I had a lot of trouble with mine... If I ever get a replacement I might give it one more try... After spending the $40 to have a shop test it before I put it in... (Should just buy a koyo, lol.)
10-10-12, 10:15 PM
#130
What the Hell?
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Scrapp, what part of houston do you live in? I'm on the northeast part near Atascocita. I'm also a member of Rx7 club of Houston but it's been a while since I've gone to one of the events. Just been too busy with life to have much time. Btw after hearing your experience with that gs radiator I will happily pay $400 bucks for a good koyo radiator.
10-10-12, 11:12 PM
#132
Clark are you talking about out in Humble? Thats crazy because I work RIGHT there. If you ever see a red blur go speeding off into the distance... probably me. Any moment now Im gonna create my own version of "smokey and the bandit" with some of those cops out there.
(I live nowhere near Humble though... BTW, last night was the meet. every 2nd Tuesday of the month.)
(I live nowhere near Humble though... BTW, last night was the meet. every 2nd Tuesday of the month.)
10-11-12, 09:02 AM
#133
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I live very close to Humble...around the Lake Houston area. I've been thinking about going to the meet but my 7 had been on jacks for two weeks. A rear brake caliper seized up and warped my rotor. O'reillys has continually given me the wrong parts, making for lots of downtime. First they gave me the wrong rotor,then they give me the wrong caliper. All this is special order so it takes a day or two each time. Today is the last day, if this other caliper they get isn't the right size I'm going to NAPA . Maybe next month I'll show up at the meet.
05-21-13, 01:03 PM
#134
bumping this because i've noticed lately a few godspeed radiators missing the U-flow block off plate welded to the passenger side of the end tank.
what this causes is coolant to go straight through the passenger side endtank and bypass the radiator core completely.
you can clearly see the block off plate weld seam on the left in this picture:
some i've seen are missing this seam and the passenger side end tanks run extremely hot while the driver side remains totally cool to the touch. which is too bad because the rest of the quality is just fine.
so beware, if you notice this seam missing question the radiator. there is no quality control on these radiators, the ones i recieved are still in the original chinese cardboard packaging and have not been double checked for shipping damage or proper build standards, which is too bad because a faulty radiator can kill an engine and it only takes 10 minutes to do an inspection and repackage the part.
i have bought a few but i am starting to question whether it is worth it if you do wind up having to deal with a return or faulty parts due to the poor quality control. even though i have the ability to notch and tig weld in a plate it's almost not worth the hassle versus buying something else if you do wind up with one from a bad batch.
i just finished working on a car that is exhibiting signs of a bad coolant seal(rebuilt by someone else a few years ago), hot passenger side end tank/cool driver side and NO seam. i will eventually check with a borescope but i simply can't envision the plate being there without the seam to hold it in place. i have had very good results and very bad results with them.
what this causes is coolant to go straight through the passenger side endtank and bypass the radiator core completely.
you can clearly see the block off plate weld seam on the left in this picture:
some i've seen are missing this seam and the passenger side end tanks run extremely hot while the driver side remains totally cool to the touch. which is too bad because the rest of the quality is just fine.
so beware, if you notice this seam missing question the radiator. there is no quality control on these radiators, the ones i recieved are still in the original chinese cardboard packaging and have not been double checked for shipping damage or proper build standards, which is too bad because a faulty radiator can kill an engine and it only takes 10 minutes to do an inspection and repackage the part.
i have bought a few but i am starting to question whether it is worth it if you do wind up having to deal with a return or faulty parts due to the poor quality control. even though i have the ability to notch and tig weld in a plate it's almost not worth the hassle versus buying something else if you do wind up with one from a bad batch.
i just finished working on a car that is exhibiting signs of a bad coolant seal(rebuilt by someone else a few years ago), hot passenger side end tank/cool driver side and NO seam. i will eventually check with a borescope but i simply can't envision the plate being there without the seam to hold it in place. i have had very good results and very bad results with them.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 05-21-13 at 01:24 PM.
06-06-13, 12:47 AM
#135
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Great, I've noticed this problem with mine as well but didn't think too much about it. Engine temps never went above normal so I never questioned it. Guess I'll be forking out more money for a koyo.
06-06-13, 07:21 PM
#137
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I checked my godspeed radiator that I haven't installed yet and it doesn't have the weld on the side tank.I removed the sensor plug and shined a flashlight in the bottom hose.You can see a divider the fits pretty well and has small welds on three sides.After I install it I'll check temps with a infared thermometer.
06-09-13, 01:59 AM
#138
Vintage sportcars
I just got a Koyorad for my S4 NA. The build quality of this radiator is outstanding 
It is the best workmanship I have seen to date on a radiator.
I suppose the stock rad would do fine if it were clean and well ducted. But there is too much crap in front of the stock rad that blocks airflow. My Koyo will be mounted standing at 90 deg, we just cut out all of the sheetmetal from the original support and the round bar underneath and removed some crap that resides in front. Excellent ducting is the key.
It is the best workmanship I have seen to date on a radiator.I suppose the stock rad would do fine if it were clean and well ducted. But there is too much crap in front of the stock rad that blocks airflow. My Koyo will be mounted standing at 90 deg, we just cut out all of the sheetmetal from the original support and the round bar underneath and removed some crap that resides in front. Excellent ducting is the key.
06-09-13, 01:26 PM
#139
I checked my godspeed radiator that I haven't installed yet and it doesn't have the weld on the side tank.I removed the sensor plug and shined a flashlight in the bottom hose.You can see a divider the fits pretty well and has small welds on three sides.After I install it I'll check temps with a infared thermometer.
06-10-13, 11:17 AM
#140
Vintage sportcars
06-10-13, 11:24 AM
#141
I had a Koyo in my 89 GXL. It worked great, unfortunately the thermostat failed in that car and I killed the engine before I realized what was wrong. I would grab another Koyo, but I also have no experience with other companies. I've had some Corksport things that were good quality, so I'd assume their radiators are good, just don't know about clearance if you run the stock fan.
06-10-13, 04:24 PM
#143
Im done with this... Godspeed finally sent a new radiator MONTHSSSS ago... and Ive not put back in... Im just gonna drop cash for a Koyo, tired of how this radiator went from once a "cheap koyo copy" to a rabid pile of junk with lack of quality control..
08-01-13, 12:18 PM
#146
their list prices are just for suckers who need something in a hurry. they get these parts for dirt cheap since they're all chinese replicas.
but regardless it isn't a bad deal, a nice N flow thick radiator thicker than any of the competitor's for $136 shipped versus $450 for a koyo which has smaller capacity. even if you cut out the divider and had it welded in properly it is still much cheaper.
but regardless it isn't a bad deal, a nice N flow thick radiator thicker than any of the competitor's for $136 shipped versus $450 for a koyo which has smaller capacity. even if you cut out the divider and had it welded in properly it is still much cheaper.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 08-01-13 at 12:21 PM.
08-01-13, 01:15 PM
#147
their list prices are just for suckers who need something in a hurry. they get these parts for dirt cheap since they're all chinese replicas.
but regardless it isn't a bad deal, a nice N flow thick radiator thicker than any of the competitor's for $136 shipped versus $450 for a koyo which has smaller capacity. even if you cut out the divider and had it welded in properly it is still much cheaper.
but regardless it isn't a bad deal, a nice N flow thick radiator thicker than any of the competitor's for $136 shipped versus $450 for a koyo which has smaller capacity. even if you cut out the divider and had it welded in properly it is still much cheaper.
Rotary > Pistons
08-01-13, 04:18 PM
#149
I'll pay the extra and get a real koyo, I'm the overly paranoid type.
That said , how much of a difference is there in using the Nflow and regular r type?
Sucks they only made nflow for the s5 so you have to modify your s4 brackets.
Rotary > Pistons
That said , how much of a difference is there in using the Nflow and regular r type?
Sucks they only made nflow for the s5 so you have to modify your s4 brackets.
Rotary > Pistons
