those aren't really that cheap if you get them new and most junkyards don't have s5s

Rotary > Pistons

 

I picked up a radiator from their shop in el monte a few days ago. I had concerns when I came across this thread, and it did not have the weld like the one in the picture. I checked first by pouring a little bit of water in the top hose hole while watching at the bottom to see if it went straight through. It did. Then I took off the little bolt in the sensor plug, and looked in there while shining a flashlight in the bottom hose hole. There is a plate there, but it is spot welded only in a few corners to the sides of the core and not at all to the end tank, like they did it before the end tank was welded on. It isn't the right size to fully block off the bottom half of the radiator, either, and will let water seep through. I took a picture...



It may be that this is not an uncommon thing in radiators, I have never looked inside a dual pass radiator before so I have no idea. Maybe the gap between the plate and end tank is not large enough for enough hot water to get through to the already cooled water below and warm it back up. But it seems to me that due to gravity and physics, the hot water would have an easier time going straight down through that gap, instead of going sideways through the very small coolant tubes. But like I said I am the opposite of a radiator expert, maybe this small gap will do no harm because of the large quantity of tubes that take the water to the other side.

Anyone able to help chime in on this? I'm going to hold off on installing it until someone trustworthy convinces me it will cool my car better than a stock rad..at drift/track events under boost and in high rpms.

 

i do believe it has a negative impact on the ability of the radiator to do its job, though it may cool a bit better than the stock radiator it is probably the equivalent of a standard koyo aluminum radiator with that inefficiency. i'm sure there is going to be some bypassing going on, of course one could always cut down to the plate and weld in their own seam. but not everyone has a tig welder.

 

can someone please measure in SAE. the thickness of any of the mentioned radiators. I have a t2 in and fb and have about an 1/8th inch clearance with my electric fan on currently. This will really help me. thanks

 

My Koyo failed so its up to the radiator gods