Aftermarket Radiator R33 , Whats Good ?

[discopotato03]

I did search and surprisingly didn't find anything conclusive .

Want aftermarket or even OE GTR radiator for a GTS25T . I'm not interested in cheap only effectiveness .

I looked into ARC HPI Evolve Koyo and there is someone else here fabricating better radiators but can't think of their name .

Things I need to know are how much core dept makes a worthwhile difference and does it get difficult mounting the std shroud on deeper cores .

Also prefer the minimum number of rows as in 1 is better than 2 and 2 is better than 3 . Ages ago I bought a Koyo replacement R32 GTR radiator and it was interesting in that it had 1 deep row of tubes .

I mentioned OE or equiv R33 GTR radiators because I'm guessing they had deeperer cores than the RB25 powered R33s .

For the record my 96 GTS25T has its original radiator and its just about to click over 100k , those composite tanks don't last forever and I've seen them fail on other cars sometimes damaging the engine . Also I'll end up on a chassis dyno in the not too distant future and I don't want cooling issues , not that I have any ATM .

I bought a genuine thermostat because my engine takes its time warming up and the temp drops on long downhill stretches in cool weather . I suspect its the original one and not seating/sealing properly when closed .

Also water pump was changed with genuine at 90k with the cam belt etc .

Thanks in advance , cheers A .

[R31Nismoid]

Racepace have their own tri-pass item which is roughly half the price of a PWR item from memory, and works just as good. Used on all their track cars, perhaps give them a buzz for a quote.

[boostn0199]

Koyo, top quality not cheap ebay stuff and very well priced at 500 considering the quality item your getting.

[R32Abuser]

Racepace have their own tri-pass item which is roughly half the price of a PWR item from memory, and works just as good. Used on all their track cars, perhaps give them a buzz for a quote.

I would have gone one of these if it wasnt for the 6 week turn around time from the day I ordered. My radiator was cactus and I couldn't afford the car to be off the road for such a long period of time.

Koyo, top quality not cheap ebay stuff and very well priced at 500 considering the quality item your getting.

+1

I have a Twin core, 52mm Koyo radiator in my RB30DET making ~300 RWKW. Cooling system took a beating whilst on the dyno. After 1.5-2 hrs of solid hammering, the thing only once brushed 95°C. Quality is awesome and only a slight modification was required to the existing OEM mounts/brackets.

[WMDC35]

i'm using Mishimoto, works well

[sydking]

I was looking at the ones in the SAU trader section- the ISC and theres one other

Any feedback on these?

[jjman]

Sorry to thread hijak, but on this topic (radiators n quality/design etc), i bought an ebay essentially no-name brand 52mm aluminium radiator for my R33 GTST. It seems to work great and temp are stable and the heat really dissepates quickly from it. Also its a welded design, not glued so certainly seems strong too.

Is there any reason that ebay radiators are often bagged out? I mean i had to fiddle and mod the mounts a bit to get it to fit but apart from that it seems great...

?

[Crazy Xav]

I have a fleabay rad in my GTST and it does the trick but it had a pinhole leak in one of the welds wehad to fix, after we had installed it and found it dribbling out coolant.

definitely a lucky dip when it comes to ebay. some get good items, some get rubbish.

OEM rads handle quite a lot, but if yours looks old and brittle probably worth changing, but unless you're chasing big power the standard rad, fan + shroud does an excellent job.

For piece of mind you really cant go past SAU traders.

[boostn0199]

Sorry to thread hijak, but on this topic (radiators n quality/design etc), i bought an ebay essentially no-name brand 52mm aluminium radiator for my R33 GTST. It seems to work great and temp are stable and the heat really dissepates quickly from it. Also its a welded design, not glued so certainly seems strong too.

Is there any reason that ebay radiators are often bagged out? I mean i had to fiddle and mod the mounts a bit to get it to fit but apart from that it seems great...

?

Its not were saying all ebay radiators or products in general or rubbish the point is when you buy off ebay 10 people might get a good one that works well and next person will get a dud so the quality consistency isnt as good. For example the asi ebay ones alot of people have had good success with them but if you want a part that you can be assured will be top quality and will perform better for harsh use it pays to go for a good brand.

[Ph@t-G]

I'm also in the same position in looking for an aftermarket aluminium radiator and the way I see it, you essentially have options that go up in price by a factor of 2.

You can get an ASI rad from fleabay for around $150. The upside is that it's cheap and does the job. The downside is that you might get a dud and start again (but from what I've heard and read, they let you keep the dud one and send you a new one no questions asked).

$150 x 2ish will get you a Mishimoto rad, which I've heard good reviews about and have a low fail rate. The downside is that you'll most likely have to order it from the US, so if there's any problems and in need of a swap, the postage will be the killer blow.

$300ish x 2 will get you a lower/mid spec Koyo rad. No need to say anything about the quality and positive ratings that people give. The downside is that it'll cost you a lot more, with some of the high end Koyo rad nearly reaching $900.

At the end of the day it's a question of quality vs quantity. Do you have the time to muck around if the china spec rad starts leaking (common problem) or do you want to 'set and forget' with a good brand with proven quality record, but it'll cost you big money as well.

[Happy Seal]

Go Koyo. . .used them in all of my cars, recommend them in our customer cars (Rx-7's) so you know they're up to the task. . .

Just swapped my OEM one out recently for the Koyo. . .oem had 130,000 km's. . .all is good. . .

[R31Nismoid]

You can get an ASI rad from fleabay for around $150. The upside is that it's cheap and does the job. The downside is that you might get a dud and start again (but from what I've heard and read, they let you keep the dud one and send you a new one no questions asked).

After seeing Russman's ASI one buckle & bulge under circuit conditions (see pics his build thread)... I'd be debating the merits of a cheap radiator if you wanted it to last

I would have gone one of these if it wasnt for the 6 week turn around time from the day I ordered. My radiator was cactus and I couldn't afford the car to be off the road for such a long period of time.

Didn't realise there was a turnaround hehe, most I know usually plan ahead in that regard to change it (along with a few other mods at once type thing).

[jjman]

After seeing Russman's ASI one buckle & bulge under circuit conditions (see pics his build thread)... I'd be debating the merits of a cheap radiator if you wanted it to last

how did it buckle n buldge? just design/manufacturing issues or was it under pressure and torsion while in the car and at operating temp/movement?

[R31Nismoid]

Read the build thread - just pressure from being used under circuit conditions.

For $150... What do you expect it do anyway? Clearly being made with cheap quality.

[jjman]

Read the build thread - just pressure from being used under circuit conditions.

For $150... What do you expect it do anyway? Clearly being made with cheap quality.

true enough. cheers.

otherwise if anybody can answer this question on radiators. What is the deal with the number of cores, e.g. 'dual core' or more radiators and is it necessary?. I have no idea what my 52mm fleabay radiator is either..

[BLITZ-26]

i have a pwr rad but its setup to run a header tank so i dont know if i sould fab up a tank or just buy a koyo ... need it for drifting and 400 kw .... its a hard decisuon but i know i dont want to worry about a cheap one

[R31Nismoid]

true enough. cheers.

otherwise if anybody can answer this question on radiators. What is the deal with the number of cores, e.g. 'dual core' or more radiators and is it necessary?. I have no idea what my 52mm fleabay radiator is either..

Most of the cheapo ones are single pass and they cool less efficiently as a result.

Dual/Triple pass items cool better as the water spends more time in the radiator to actually cool (put and S on its side, and draw it on a radiator basically).

With my tri-pass cores, had two over 2 cars now - driving around on a 25 degree day I'd see temps around 70-73 degrees which is quite decent. Doing hill runs when ambient was 10 degrees or cooler night, temps would also stay under 80 which is pretty impressive (neither were Racepace ones for what it's worth, just decent tri-pass items)

[jjman]

Most of the cheapo ones are single pass and they cool less efficiently as a result.

Dual/Triple pass items cool better as the water spends more time in the radiator to actually cool (put and S on its side, and draw it on a radiator basically).

With my tri-pass cores, had two over 2 cars now - driving around on a 25 degree day I'd see temps around 70-73 degrees which is quite decent. Doing hill runs when ambient was 10 degrees or cooler night, temps would also stay under 80 which is pretty impressive (neither were Racepace ones for what it's worth, just decent tri-pass items)

ah ok. cheers for that run down. All makes alot more sense now

I havent been able to get my temps to budge off 72 as yet with my new radiator so seems to be doing its job. (thermofanned too, which dont come on much at all unless in stop start and when they do it pulls the heat out real quick)

[wolverine]

Fenix radiator thru SAU NSW has been a good street suitable radiator for both the Stagea and R33.

[BCNR33GT-R]

Greddy