Well I'm on a budget build and trying to get the best bang for my buck on this build process, I try not to cheap out on important parts. With that being said I don't specialize in radiators but I notice ebay has some cheap aluminum radiators I wonder if they're worth even getting (anyone have personal experience with any??)
Just looking at them you think oh well if they're all aluminum they might all work the same or i could be completely wrong. I know for sure the stock radiator won't hold up im sure, I want to go with an aluminum radiator with dual fans. Should I bother getting an ebay aluminum radiator or just go with a well known brand like (mishimoto, koyo even cxracing maybe) ??

its really up to you, the guy builing my car bought a cxracing radiator and he raves about the quality of it. tried to get me to buy one as well.

I like throwing money away so I bought a koyo, and I can hardly tell the difference, besides the fact that his cost like $100 less than mine and came with 2 fans, and mine came with not even a radiator cap.

so its really up to you.

I've installed an eBay budget alum radiator on my friends 86. I think it was called godspeed & it came with two bonus fans & a cap. The only problem I had with the thing was the two top mount brkts that holds the radiator in place. They never lined up & fit right. I had to egg out the bracket holes to make them reach & seat on the radiator.
He & his 86 seems to be happy with it

LongGrain wrote:its really up to you, the guy builing my car bought a cxracing radiator and he raves about the quality of it. tried to get me to buy one as well.

I like throwing money away so I bought a koyo, and I can hardly tell the difference, besides the fact that his cost like $100 less than mine and came with 2 fans, and mine came with not even a radiator cap.

so its really up to you.

see that's what i was worried about, usually i buy proven and name brand stuff b/c i know it has a good rep and works but i hardly shop around for aluminum radiators lol. I've also heard good things about the godspeed radiator but i was looking on cxracing and might pick up one of those, the price is too hard to pass up and as long as it cools that's all im worried about, thanks for the input !

I have a Mishimoto radiation and it didn't fit for crap, and it's more expensive than all those except Koyo. I had to trim the sides of the sheet metal opening because the radiator is a smidge too wide. I hear that's a common problem with all aluminum radiators for Corollas though.

Yeah i'm pretty sure most of the name brand ones have a good fit , just depends on the day it was done. If it fits well it was done on a monday if its off it was friday and there were trying to get home...It's all up to you. Ebay ones like KOspeed and Godspeed perform just as well. I just went with a civic radiator and fabbing my own mounts. Its also cheaper then buying mounts on ebay as well.

I think most of my parts were made on Saturdays...by the janitors lol.

I am running an ebay 2 row radiator. i got the one that comes with the dual fans for 200 bux. it is actually really good. just be careful cuz the cheap parts dont have warranties and if it leaks out of the box then you cant get a replacement. or even a response from the seller for that matter. when its cold my radiator will over cool.

carbd7age wrote:I think most of my parts were made on Saturdays...by the janitors lol.

lmaoo

ga_goosh wrote:I am running an ebay 2 row radiator. i got the one that comes with the dual fans for 200 bux. it is actually really good. just be careful cuz the cheap parts dont have warranties and if it leaks out of the box then you cant get a replacement. or even a response from the seller for that matter. when its cold my radiator will over cool.

good idea i'd want to have contact with the seller just incase something like that happened, i think i know what im going to use

ga_goosh wrote:I am running an ebay 2 row radiator. i got the one that comes with the dual fans for 200 bux. it is actually really good. just be careful cuz the cheap parts dont have warranties and if it leaks out of the box then you cant get a replacement. or even a response from the seller for that matter. when its cold my radiator will over cool.

Over cool? Isn't that what the thermostat is there to prevent?

Chinese radiators are pretty. The only problem is, you won't know if its crap until a year or two down the line, or after a hard session at the track when it cracks. Its so cheap that you could always replace it with another. Its a gamble, but your call. As with all Chinese parts, you have to remember that its not just about fitment, but build quality. The purity of the aluminum in those radiators I'm told is far worse than let's say, a Koyo. It doesn't dissipate heat as well and isn't as strong. Plus, the quality of the welding is still questionable.

With so many new people these days, some of the old secrets get lost. Here's one that lots of us have known for years: The automatic equipped SR-5 AE86 sometimes came with an OEM 2-row copper radiator. This is the best bang for your buck radiator available. I used one for many, many years. It cools my car exceptionally well, even for track days and drifting. My friend is using the same thing in his 16v turbo, drifting, open track days, and it still cools his car fine.

Tora wrote:

ga_goosh wrote:I am running an ebay 2 row radiator. i got the one that comes with the dual fans for 200 bux. it is actually really good. just be careful cuz the cheap parts dont have warranties and if it leaks out of the box then you cant get a replacement. or even a response from the seller for that matter. when its cold my radiator will over cool.

Over cool? Isn't that what the thermostat is there to prevent?

the thermostat prevents over heating if the tstat cant controll the heat then the fans will kick on to help disapate the excess heat. in over cooling situations the ecu will richen the fuel ratio to create more heat to warm up the engine. in my case on the freeway when its cold and i am rolling 60 -70 i will be running rich. if the radiator doesnt get to temp the thermostat will never open. it only does it on the freeway when its really cold. all that cold air running through the radiator pulls out more heat. all im saying is the radiator im using disipates heat better/faster then OEM radiator and i can deffinately notice a difference.

For what it's worth, I had to bend the find on my koyo to get it to mount right, apparently that's a common problem with most if the aluminum radiators for ae86's. I wouldn't use anything else in my ae but I did use a cxracing one on my sentra. Quality was good and I never had any problems with it, although I never drove it other than as a daily. Just my two cents.

ga_goosh wrote:the thermostat prevents over heating if the tstat cant controll the heat then the fans will kick on to help disapate the excess heat. in over cooling situations the ecu will richen the fuel ratio to create more heat to warm up the engine. in my case on the freeway when its cold and i am rolling 60 -70 i will be running rich. if the radiator doesnt get to temp the thermostat will never open. it only does it on the freeway when its really cold. all that cold air running through the radiator pulls out more heat. all im saying is the radiator im using disipates heat better/faster then OEM radiator and i can deffinately notice a difference.

Huh... I guess I've never understood why the AE86 thermostat is in the lower inlet. It seems to me that you'd want your thermostat to open between the outlet and the radiator, rather than between the radiator and inlet. The thermostat is closed, allowing the engine to reach temperature, then opens to allow water to flow into the radiator. If you have your thermostat down where cool water flows into the block, doesn't the cooler water coming from the radiator cause it to close? If you install a more efficient radiator, wouldn't you need to get a lower temperature thermostat to offset the change in temperature of the incoming coolant?

Basically the thermostat keeps the coolant in the radiator, blocking it from going into the block until the engine heats up. That's why there is a coolant bypass to the head, to allow water to circulate in the head and block until the coolant is warm enough to open the thermostat and let water flow from the radiator into the block.

twotoedbandit wrote:Basically the thermostat keeps the coolant in the radiator, blocking it from going into the block until the engine heats up. That's why there is a coolant bypass to the head, to allow water to circulate in the head and block until the coolant is warm enough to open the thermostat and let water flow from the radiator into the block.

yes this is exactly it. the longer the coolant is in the radiator the longer it has to cool off