Hello all and thank you for bearing with me on this already heavily posted topic. REPLACEMNET RADIATOR

My quandary-- I blew my SECOND OEM radiator on a 2005 original owner car with about 62 K on it . 2ND??? already? Anyways unaware that the tanks were plastic I was a bit surprised to hear this given the vital role this simple? part performs.
As a daily driver who occasionally takes it canyon carving and does get to let off some steam on a few local highways, do I really NEED to upgrade to an all aluminum rad with aluminum tanks? OR should just bite the bullet as they say and install another OEM or OEM compatible rad with plastic tanks and wait another 30K for those to blow again? Im in the NE which occasionally , like now , will catch a heat wave in the high 90s for a week or so. It also does get purty cold in the winter sometimes, enough to crack a piece of plastic which has been sitting outside over night for a day or two, I d like to buy the KOYO RAD V2695 but am concerned about fitment issues as I won't be installing it myself. My mechanic is fairly good about installing aftermarket parts so if the fitment issue is minor I'll go aluminum but if you all think not, then I'll go OEM w/plastic. What say ye all? Anybody who hasn't already tired of this most common issue , wish to weigh in? Any comments other than snarky flaming greatly appreciated. Thank you. signed , "overheated in NYC and looking to get on the road by Saturday."

 

If I blew a rad I would take the opportunity to upgrade to an aluminum one, it should bolt up fine to the oem mounting spots. I'd also upgrade my cooling hoses while I am in there, and replace the thermostat. Hell, maybe even the water pump too while everything is apart and open.

 

im in n.e. pa and replaced mine years ago with this https://www.mishimoto.com/mazda-rx8-...QaAmYNEALw_wcB, along with all coolant hoses, t stat, w/p, and water temp sensor for my gauges

 

A bit weird to blow up radiators, they might have plastic end tanks, but they don't really blow up very often. Many cars, even high performance ones, have plastic endtanks. Was the second one you put in already used?

Is your rad cap maybe not letting off pressure for some reason?

Anyway, yes, take the opportunity to get a nice aluminum rad if you plan to keep the car a while. CSF, Koyo, Mishimoto...

 

To confuse you some more, personally I wouldn't trust anything from mishimoto, koyo etc. at this moment. I still use that 36mm alum rad from koyo from 2006. I am not convinced that they make them with the same alloys nowadays.
I would look at HPI Japan or PWR Australia rads if I wanted to replace my old one, at the moment.

 

I have a new S2 Koyo that I’m intending to swap out an older Koyo S1 with (nothing wrong with it, just want the S2 for the REW turbo setup instead) and wouldn’t give it a second thought.
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