Cooling Pro Radiators

olboy · Postby **olboy** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:49 pm

I wasn't refering to anyone in particular
I expect that a OE one would be dearer than an aftermarket one and if there are no problems with the aftermarket one then why not.
its bigger than original which has to be a good thing
I haven't been around mx5s very long but I have noticed that the cooling system seems to be OK when new
but it doesn't have much to spare when they get a little old
A radiator with twice the capacity has to be an easy fix

Olboy

mitch_f1 · Postby **mitch_f1** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:58 pm

Really the only reason Im looking at a bigger radiator is because of the frequency with which I go to the track, otherwise I would keep the stock one

deviant · Postby **deviant** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 3:23 pm

Another review to add to the thread here.

The stock radiator in my turboed NA8 had turned a lovely chocolate brown colour and the car is destined for lots of track work so I decided it was time to invest in something a bit stronger that is not on the verge of exploding. The car was not overheating at all but I plan on doing some longer events and I want reliability.

I decided to buy a Cooling Pro 42mm Radiator and M-Tuned re-route kit. The radiator was $299 from JustJap.

What can I say about the construction and installation?

Well it's not pretty to look at, the welds are a little messy in places however I dont think anything is going to fail to quickly.
The brackets for the pins on the side are useless, the pins have to be replaced with loooong bolts but the rubber grommet doesnt even come close to sitting in the bracket in the car.
There is a few degrees of twist in the radiator.
The mounts at the top dont quite line up with the holes in the car, I couldnt use the rubber grommets in the brackets as they covered the holes completely.

As for installing...well my car is turbocharged so has a few extra hoses floating around. It also has aircon so there is the radiator and hoses for that to contend with. Installation was a complete pig of a job. It took an hour of 2 people jiggling, levering and swearing to get it in. It was a case of 'up a bit, down a bit, left a bit, right a bit' along with levering it past other parts and levering hoses out of the way. Once it was down where it should go I found the pins on the side had no hope of sitting in their brackets and the aircon pipes needed a little tweak to get the brackets to sit in the right spot. It took a large pry bar to get the two bolts at the top in.

Am I happy? Yeah kinda; for $300 I got the quality I could expect and I did not think for one moment it would just fall together like an Ikea flat pack. I think other people should take in to consideration that this kit is not superior quality and it will take a lot of jiggling and swearing to get it to fit...but once it has been squeezed in it seems to do the job. I certainly could not afford to have a custom radiator made or to buy a PWR item so this is the only option.

The car is going on the Dyno on Wednesday and it's doing two track events the following weekend with 2 drivers at each event so the car is barely going to be switched off all weekend....I will report back!

Robbo107672 · Postby **Robbo107672** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:54 pm

I bought a 52mm ASI radiator for my NA6 2 weeks ago.

Install was a breeze, all bolts lined up and managed to swap over the rubber posts etc without problems. Some careful maneuvering was required, but got it in on my own without too much trouble. I read here about someone having trouble with a heavy sway bar and I can see that I would have had to 'shave' the thermo fan bracket if I didn't have a standard bar. With standard bar, it just fitted and shouldn't see any problems.

Have not had any problems with coolant going missing in the 2 weeks I've been running with it and this is a daily driver as well as occasional track days.

It looks fantastic and I'm very happy..

Rob.

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 12:34 am

So it looks like my radiator is finally on the way out after the track day yesterday. It's drinking water/coolant like nothing else, and there's definitely water coming out somewhere and sizzling away after driving.

I've got an NB with Signature sways in the front. What size/type do people recommend for the easiest fitment? I don't fancy wasting huge amounts of time trying to jam in a radiator when there are other options out there that'll fit right in.

By the sounds of it, I'm leaning towards a 42mm ASI, but I'm open to other suggestions/tips/abuse.

Postby **Okibi** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 12:43 am

Sure it's the radiator? I've got an NB one we could bung into your car until your chinaspec arrives.

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 9:47 am

marcusus wrote:I've got an NB with Signature sways in the front. What size/type do people recommend for the easiest fitment? I don't fancy wasting huge amounts of time trying to jam in a radiator when there are other options out there that'll fit right in.

I also have an NB with larger aftermarket sways, and air cond, and I put in a Cooling Pro 42mm. No space issues fitting it in, and it all lined up and bolted up as it should without any mods required.

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:44 pm

Okibi wrote:Sure it's the radiator? I've got an NB one we could bung into your car until your chinaspec arrives.

Pretty sure it is. I was gonna show you, but you were on the opposite side taking photos, so I grabbed Les instead. I'll give you a bell at some stage and we can give it a shot.

Postby **Okibi** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 7:35 pm

I could bring it to the committee meeting tonight?

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 8:20 pm

Okibi wrote:I could bring it to the committee meeting tonight?

Oh, didn't know there was a committee meeting. Got stuff on as it is. Stand by for PM.

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 8:33 pm

So where are people buying their cooling pro radiators and ASI radiators from?

I've found ASI on eBay pretty easily, and the price doesn't look bad ($210 + $45 for a 42mm or $220 + $45 for a 52mm).

I've found cooling pro on the Mania website, but it sure isn't cheap compared to the ASI stuff.

Anywhere else I can find this stuff for price comparisons?

mitch_f1 · Postby **mitch_f1** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 11:15 pm

http://justjap.com/store/product.php?pr ... at=&page=1

i remember it being cheaper though...has the price gone up??

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:29 am

mitch_f1 wrote:http://justjap.com/store/product.php?productid=18479&cat=&page=1

i remember it being cheaper though...has the price gone up??

Price is the same as July last year when I got my Cooling Pro from JustJap.
I paid $299 + $32 postage

TieNN89 · Postby **TieNN89** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:06 pm

marcusus wrote:So where are people buying their cooling pro radiators and ASI radiators from?

I've found ASI on eBay pretty easily, and the price doesn't look bad ($210 + $45 for a 42mm or $220 + $45 for a 52mm).

I've found cooling pro on the Mania website, but it sure isn't cheap compared to the ASI stuff.

Anywhere else I can find this stuff for price comparisons?

I bought and returned the Cooling Pro from Just Jap and I bought the ASI from eBay

This was for my NB8A

I highly highly recommend the ASI one

The Cooling Pro one I got looking into the inlets and outlets there are big restrictions with big blobs of welds that haven't been cleaned up

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:36 pm

I'm trying to source a 42mm ASI one now. The guys on eBay have heaps, but the listings have ended so I just need to wait for them to put up a new one so I can get one. I reckon the 52mm might be overkill, and I don't particularly want any fitment issues.