Best Radiator
11-03-2022, 04:05 AM
#26
bought and installed BHR (Griffin) Radiator in Oct of 2012. Worked great for years, then a couple years ago my car would randomly spit up coolant, 1st thought it was the overflow tube from the reservoir. Not a big deal, just kept a close eye on it, didnt drive it much, but even sitting in my driveway without running for weeks, it would just randomly throw up coolant.... so odd right....
skip forward to a few weeks ago, was working on something else and finally noticed the coolant leaking was coming from the bottom section of the radiator. Got it tested and it can't be repaired stating "the epoxy that runs the length of the bottom has failed and it is not repairable"
So i go to BHR's website to order a new one and it is no longer sold.... ughhh....they have a Koyo and a CSF brand now.
Now im on the hunt for a new one... Mishimoto sucks, it doesnt line up to mounting points and hose connector on top is the completely wrong size.
Koyo sounds like theres some issues there as well.....
Anyone tried the CSF one? or suggestions on another brand?
skip forward to a few weeks ago, was working on something else and finally noticed the coolant leaking was coming from the bottom section of the radiator. Got it tested and it can't be repaired stating "the epoxy that runs the length of the bottom has failed and it is not repairable"
So i go to BHR's website to order a new one and it is no longer sold.... ughhh....they have a Koyo and a CSF brand now.
Now im on the hunt for a new one... Mishimoto sucks, it doesnt line up to mounting points and hose connector on top is the completely wrong size.
Koyo sounds like theres some issues there as well.....
Anyone tried the CSF one? or suggestions on another brand?
CSF would be a nightmare, btw
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Mazmart (08-15-2023)
11-03-2022, 09:35 AM
#27
I seem to recall leaking/QC issues with the Griffin radiators, a lot of things get buried or handled behind the scenes by certain people. Unfortunately the RX8Performance dual-pass radiator seemed to suffer a similar leak/QC fate, because the dual-pass design has the most promise. It always pay to search. Which glad to hear you didn’t have any issues though, but nobody can buy the BHR/Griffin any more so it’s a moot point. And you take your chances buying anything from RX8Performance; again it pays to search.
Of all the ones I’ve seen and that are still available, the Koyo is what I would suggest if you plan to keep it long term. Generally speaking most people still haven’t figured out that the radiator isn’t the actual issue to most RX8 cooling problems. There are a number of Mazda strategies that are the root cause to it. However, unless you plan to keep the RX8 for many, many years then an OE replacement from Rock Auto etc. is the cheapest option. The all aluminum aftermarket radiators are easily 2.5x - 3x more and even occasionally they have issues as per the two brands mentioned previous, but generally last longer.
I have a Koyo in a 13BREW turbo swapped RX8 that had cooling issues when I bought it which were subsequently fixed and it’s over 500 whp. In my other Renesis NA engine RX8 autox car I just put an S2 OE replacement radiator in it because it’s the lightest option with suitable cooling for 230 whp. It was cheap enough that I’d rather swap it out every 4+ years as a precautionary maintenance move.
The FAL-420 fan kit should be considered as a replacement for the Mazda fan/shroud kit. One of the issues is that the OE fans are a bit undersized even when new, but are often even less so being old and tired as the RX8 is now 10 - 18 years old. Yet even if you install them, and even if you have a method to lower the fan on/off operating temps, you still have the Mazda logic strategy to contend with.
The other thing to consider is that on a rotary car the engine oil cooling is just as important as the radiator cooling. Which again the Mazda coolers are sufficient, but there are other strategies and configurations that Mazda did that work against their cooling effectiveness the same as with the radiator.
.
Of all the ones I’ve seen and that are still available, the Koyo is what I would suggest if you plan to keep it long term. Generally speaking most people still haven’t figured out that the radiator isn’t the actual issue to most RX8 cooling problems. There are a number of Mazda strategies that are the root cause to it. However, unless you plan to keep the RX8 for many, many years then an OE replacement from Rock Auto etc. is the cheapest option. The all aluminum aftermarket radiators are easily 2.5x - 3x more and even occasionally they have issues as per the two brands mentioned previous, but generally last longer.
I have a Koyo in a 13BREW turbo swapped RX8 that had cooling issues when I bought it which were subsequently fixed and it’s over 500 whp. In my other Renesis NA engine RX8 autox car I just put an S2 OE replacement radiator in it because it’s the lightest option with suitable cooling for 230 whp. It was cheap enough that I’d rather swap it out every 4+ years as a precautionary maintenance move.
The FAL-420 fan kit should be considered as a replacement for the Mazda fan/shroud kit. One of the issues is that the OE fans are a bit undersized even when new, but are often even less so being old and tired as the RX8 is now 10 - 18 years old. Yet even if you install them, and even if you have a method to lower the fan on/off operating temps, you still have the Mazda logic strategy to contend with.
The other thing to consider is that on a rotary car the engine oil cooling is just as important as the radiator cooling. Which again the Mazda coolers are sufficient, but there are other strategies and configurations that Mazda did that work against their cooling effectiveness the same as with the radiator.
.
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sharingan 19 (03-29-2023)
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