With all the talk on aftermarket radiators lately, has anyone physically compared all the units?

Specifically, weight. I would think that the OEM is the lightest. Not just radiator weight, but wet radiator weight...more tubes/rows = more fluid capacity = more weight.

And how about cooling capacity? Not that I don't trust some of the claims (ha!), but does anyone know of any tests (maybe heat transfer) that have been performed? My mistrust comes from working in the aftermarket industry (specifically heat transfer) where I tested a ton of OEM radiators (new and used) and various aftermarket.

Also, a radiator can lose 20% (or more) of its cooling capacity as it ages (containmination of the fins, separation of tube and fin and clogging of the tubes, etc.).

If you have an overheating problem with the OE radiator, maybe you just need a new OE? And if it is lighter, all the better, right?

I am somewhat torn between a Fluidyne and the OE...the Koyo looks like overkill...IMHO.

Any thoughts? Or info?

 

the oem rad is a pos..bottom line..its like an inch thick....plastic ends...i cant belive they oput it in the car to begin with...
personally id spend the little bit extra and get the fluydine, or koyo...i havent seen the fluydine up close but koyo is nice..ive intalled one...

 

Chris at RP told me that w/the stock rad it's not a question of "if it dies," it's a question of "when it dies." He said they all fail, so I figured what's another 500 on top of 5 grand (new motor) ? I now have a fluidyne and the peace of mind in the TX heat makes it worth it.

 

Well, I just got a Fluidyne put in, and weightwise, they have to be within a few pounds of each other, because picking up the old one, it feels about the same. Hard to say what the difference is, because my overheating problem was probably mostly caused by my dead thermostat , but most people report a 10C drop, so you can measure it in absolute terms. All I know is, in bumper to bumper traffic today, with the A/C on full blast, the temps were rock steady at 180F, how can I complain?

 

definitely ditch the oem reason for all the reasons above but most importantly the aftermarket ones are all aluminum and have a much smaller chance of cracking unlike the stock plastic endtakes.

 

what is teh difference between the koyo and fluidyne. are there any internal differences? from the exterior both appear to look the same (or similar). does one yield any advantages over the other?
thanks

 

I've got the Fluidyne because my OEM failed. Some people can run the OEM forever with no problem, some have them die before 60K miles (like me) - even when sitting in a garage for most of it's life (like mine)... just like some people can go 110K miles with the pre-cats on, but others clog before 60K.

I don't know for sure if it was the Koyo, but the guys at Rotary Power in Gardena said that they installed one (that they thought was a Koyo, but weren't sure) and it didn't fit worth a crap... my Fluidyne, however, went right in... Other than that, I have no idea what the difference is between the two other than price. The only difference between OEM and Fluidyne I noticed in fitment is that the Fluidyne is a bit thicker, so my stock airbox doesn't go down into the same place that it did before, which causes my hood prop to not go all the way into its catch when it's folded down (big deal). The FLuidyne is a bit heavier, but not by much... less than 5 lbs difference, but I guess mazda was trying to cut corners wherever they could in the weight dept. (even the stereo system is specially designed to be lighter weight than average)

I noticed a temp difference right away - my fans aren't on for nearly as long and when they come on, it's for a shorter time before the water temp is cool enough for them to turn off. I highly recommend it - one of those reliability mods that will do nothing but help you out... when one of those plastic tanks cracks on the stock one - there's no warning... you'll just suddenly be out of coolant.... my wallet hurts just thinking about it.

-Brian