The factory spec radiator on my 1993 NA is now at the end of it’s service life and will need replacing.
I decided to have a good look at what options are available, and to weigh up whether it’s better to stick with an OEM style replacement radiator that has the plastic top and bottom mouldings, or to go with an aftermarket all alloy radiator.
First of all in terms of OEM replacements, it looks like a genuine Denso radiator which is identical to the factory radiator is about £200 nowadays, the only place with stock seems to be MX5Parts, everywhere else is all sold out.
Now in terms of pros and cons, I like the idea of going with an all alloy radiator, as I’m not a huge fan of plastic components within cooling systems, due to how heat cycles age plastic, but at the same time I don’t like the fact that pretty much all of the aftermarket radiators look identical regardless of whether they’re from Japspeed, Mishimoto or Koyorad or a no name retailer.
What I wanted to ask is what sort of an experience NA & NB owners on here have had with replacement radiators ? Have OEM replacements been of as good quality as factory ?
How do the aftermarket radiators stack up after a few years of service ? Would anyone with an aftermarket radiator recommend going down this path ?
@Kacper-K We had a Mishimoto triple core rad on a previous supercharged NBFL - no problems even though it was a hot side SC, the vehicle never heated over half way. If you intend to turbo / SC at some point then i 'd recommend that rad. Am about to fit Mazda OEM part to a Mk1 na 1.8is to try and keep the engine bay standard - the previous rad did 108k miles with no problems only a bit of yellow / brown discolouration. To offer an opinion, if you aren’t doing any forced induction then the standard OEM or 2 core all ally from reputable supplier would do the job just fine.
I’m just curious how you both found the fitting on your aftermarket all aluminium radiators ?
Did you manage to re-fit the stock cooling fans and get everything back in place without any trouble ?
I’m starting to lean towards an aftermarket aluminium purely to avoid having a rad with plastic in it, although in all fairnes the standard OEM factory & Denso rads do tend to last 10-20 years depending on maintenance.
@Kacper-K the mishimoto was a straight swap using the bottom lugs and top ‘arms’ on the nbfl. We had no air con and as @Rodosuta95 mentioned no problem with clearance or refitting the cowl fan. We only had a single fan due to no air con i think. The rad was sold as a straight swap so you may want to check with your chosen product supplier that your new one will be. Saves that hassle of returning product and all that jazz!