Radiator advise for newbee
 

Hello All, This is my first post here and I am very happy to see all the great information flowing through this site. I have a Black 93 Touring w/70,000 orig miles I purchased from the original owner about 1 month ago and love it. It runs very well and is all stock, it will be my weekend/autocross car so It will not be driven much. I have started sourcing parts for all the reliability mods and need some advise on a radiator. I will be upgrading the IC in the future and would like some options that will allow me to run my factory fans and still fit a petit or similar medium size IC. Thanks in advance for your advise. BTW if your in O.C. California contact me im in Huntington Beach...Matt

Radiators:
http://www.rondavisracing.com/
http://www.griffinrad.com/start.php
http://www.pwr-performance.com/index.htm
http://www.awrracing.com/pages/cooling.html

You can find us O.C. guys in the west section.

http://www.socal7s.org/index.asp

The search button is on the top/right under the featured car.

Welcome to the club! Please learn to use the search function and the archives, as they are invaluable.

The Fluidyne has the least fitment issues with other aftermarket parts. As always, YMMV.

I would say go with a Fluidyne radator also. Depending also on you intercooler will determan the way your radator is set up. Such as going with a greddy front mount will make you set up your radator flat up behind the ic. The fans should be able to still work on that I belive. Also as rynberg sugested look at some of the newbie archives to give you some help and good ideas for those mods.

the fluidyne is a great fit. thats what i went with and i have no regrets whatsoever.

I installed a fluidyne in mine a few days ago and it fit great. I was actually done quicker than I planned and it keeps it cool.

Sean

I have the Koyo (bigger than the Fluidyne) with a Greddy FMIC and had absolutely no fitment issues.

i use the koyo and it works great. i can really see the difference in temps and i had no fitment issues. with a larger cooling capacity and lower price, it seems to be the radiator of choice for a lot of FDs on this forum. i got mine for $368 shipped in OC. doing a search will bring up tons of threads regarding radiators and their specs.

congrats on your new FD.

Ebay has koyo rads. Also www.radiator.com price matches. I got mine for $330

Thanks for all your comments, Does the KOYO have any problems with aftermarket medium IC in stock location. I read in a post that someone having a problem with their IC rubbing on the radiator but the rad type wasnt given.

I run a koyo as well and love it, but as far as fitment with an upgraded smic, I don't know, I'm looking to run a v mount intercooler/radiator set up in the future. Good luck and welcome.

Funny you posted this.

Iam having this issue right now.
I have the PFS SMIC and with the KOYO the ducting seems to sit higher. It is really tight but you could fit the duct between the top of the rad and the top frame of the car.
But I can't install the innercooler because it is roughly 1" closer towards the motor. I might try to cut off part of the ducting so I could bring the innercooler back towards the headlight.

other notes regarding the rad install:
-flipping the rad mounts (left-right)
-I pulled the old and installed the new rad from the top, had to remove the bolted crossmember and followed everything on the manual.
-the bracket holding the A/C Al cylinder thingy...(condenser?) I hammered that a little bit to hold it on a slight angle to clear the fan.

I will post back...

Is the Koyo rad bigger than fluidyne?

Yes, the Koyo is bigger.

To the newbie, welcome and congrats on your FD! If you are wanting to upgrade both the radiator and IC then I would look at getting a V-mount setup. They almost always come with the IC and a new upgraded radiator. A good place to start checking is www.rotaryextreme.com Chuck makes an incredible product at a great price. That would be my suggestion to you. Best of luck with the 7.

Zach

I'd like to see you're results as well. Just tried installing my koyo with pfs smic and I am having the same prob with the intercooler duct sitting too high. How much are you cutting off the duct? Thanks

well I initially took off 1" all around. Tried fitting it but after checking the gap between the fans and the intercooler convince me that I'm gonna need a front mount. Be careful with the wiring when you are trying to squeeze that ducting between the rad and the frame.
Also I had to cut a small palstic piece off the fan to clear the battery tray and took off a small section off the battery tray to clear the blades.
I'll have another look at it again today and decide what route I need to go.

Matt, ever see a Montego Blue FD with black wheels running around HB? That's me. If I was driving like an asshole at the time, um, it must have been when I let my friend drive the car. :)

Check out the West forum and the SoCalRX Club (http://www.socalrxclub.org/).

The Fluidyne is an easier fit with some of the stock-mount ICs, but you can run a Koyo with a SMIC with some additional work. Both are nice radiators and should be sufficient for just about anything you want to do with the car. I'd go with the Fluidyne for ease-of-installation if you plan to run a SMIC.

-Max

I had the Koyo....it was very good but had some issues with fitment.

Since switched to Fluidyne.

Here are some links I bookmarked about installing the Koyo

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...threadid=25732

http://www.rx7guru.com/radiatorhowto.html

(the srmotorsport is the same as the koyo)

Listen to the 2 guys above.
I have the Fluidyne, single turbo, M2 large SMIC, working A/C, Rotary Extreme CAI and no problems.
You need to know what is in the future upgrades, so you don't have to go through what 7racer did.

The people reporting no fitment issues, you have to ask:
1-FMIC or SMIC?
2-SMIC which one?
3-Single turbo or Twin set up?
4-What CAI and brand?
5-Do you have a working A/C?
6-What did you do, to make the Koyo fit?

Reasons:
1-FMIC no problem.
2-SMIC the size of the Koyo might interfere with the fitment of the shroud by raising it and not allowing other parts to fit well (need to modify the mounting brackets).
3-Most single have a FMIC and they usually relocate the radiator, so the point is mute. It is all related again to the hight of all the parts involved (pipes ,air pump, CAI, IC shroud, radiator upper neck and hose).
4-If you have a CAI, depending on the brand, it will hit the upper neck and hose of the radiator. Some more than others, not allowing you then to close the hood.
5-The A/C condensor is now much closer to the radiator and I think it even hampers the ability to cool both, the car somewhat and the A/C. Maybe because of the large capacity it is a wash, but loosing A/C here in Texas is a NO NO.
6-See the 2 links above posted by 7racer.

Both radiators will work, it is a matter of modifying or not and your future upgrades, that might pose some problems later.

Thanks everyone, maybe I should flip a coin :) The making it fit part does not worry me as much as cooling ability. From what I see that does not seem to be an issue w/ either, however price may be a consideration. I have also been looking into the v-mount like boostedrx suggested, that is probably the ideal setup for all of us but 2.5-3k (ouch). Hopefully next year after the reliability mods are done I will go that direction and just sell my slightly used one on ebay or something. I also like the water injection setups, these seem to add alot of security against pre detonation at a fraction of the cost. Not to go to far off topic but any others considering these upgrades please chime in. Matt

go with Fluidyne
 

go with Fluidyne i have had it for 3 yrs no problems at all, this was the first upgrade i did to my car and my first installation i did on my own. it was very easy mine fit perfect no trimming required. i got mine from absoluteradiator...they were very cool and have good prices they have the Fluidyne for Price: $ $435.00 and they price match "also Note: We Will Match Anybodies Advertised Price On This Product (advertised price must be verifiable)" i found them from post a long time ago here ... heres the link http://www.absoluteradiator.com/Prod....asp?idProd=19

Everyone has an opinion, but I will give you facts. I have the Koyo, and it is MUCH bigger than the Fluidyne. That being said, here is the scoop, if you upgrade your IC to a front mount, install an intake that is NOT a box, and don't mind relocting the Battery box, all BEFORE or at the same time as replacing your radiator, then get the Koyo as it is better. But, if that stuff will be upgraded after the radiator, get the Fluidyne, as the Koyo is a BITCH to get installed with everything stock. And I mean a total bitch. Anyone, anywhere, who tells you there are no fittment issues, or the issues are very minor, with everything stock, is LYING!!!!