Radiators on ebay

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 7:14 pm

a guy buys a radiator and it fails and you reckon that is ok? If anyone has worked in the OEM industry making components they will fall about laughing. They measure defects in parts per million. Bulbs as an example are made with a failure rate of 20ppm- in perspective a !% reject rate is 10,000 per million. These cheap products use substandard materials no quality processes and just looking for someone wanting to "save" money. Reputable world class manufacturers spend a lot of money on machinery , R&D , and conform to accredited quality systems. Cheap products do not use high standard materials and systems are not capable. Many of us have the same radiator in the vehicle +10 yrs and someone reckons that 14 months is a bench mark?

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:06 pm

Check JD Power surveys and you'll find that cheaper doesn't necessarily mean crap, and expensive doesn't mean better.

And what's wrong with wanting something "cheap"? It doesn't make economic sense to overcapitalize...particularly on a depreciating liability!

I haven't had experience with ASI but if the descriptions so far are accurate - good welds etc - a product that doesn't have moving parts is less likely to fail. So the radiator may only last 5 years...is that really going to matter for that price on a 10 year old car (or older?).

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:52 pm

JD will point to the best cars being Japanese and the reason is simple- quality systems and thinking to reduce defect rates. No one said high quality is only about high cost. Component suppliers to the OEM's have to achieve lowest defects but also low cost- that is the way the OEM car industry works. The high priced cars are sometimes expensive because they do not enjoy high volume sales with an ability to amortise tooling and R and D costs. Many already know that some of the "icon" cars with big price tags are not necessarily the most reliable.

PaulF · Postby **PaulF** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:01 pm

Well, what I'm seeing from this admittedly small sample group is:
- Most people who have bought them have had no issues whatsoever
- They appear to be built very well
- The one person who had a failure had no issues getting it replaced under warranty, and has had no issues since
- They are much cheaper than the other brand new alternatives.

egads · Postby **egads** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:33 am

I've got an ASI 42mm in mine, started to get a small leak from the fins. Sent them an email with some pics and they were quite helpful, they didn't have any 42mm in stock and kindly offered me the 52mm but I decided to wait until the 42mm was in stock (2 weeks).

Only little thing about the rads is that the mounts space the stock fans further back meaning my arc intake had to go

although I've seen some people hack up the fan to fit it.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:11 pm

egads just pours more petrol on the fire. Major components are not supposed to fail under service life- I really do not think some people understand what are zero defects or what quality systems are. You buy an OEM quality radiator and forget it for 10 years.

greenman · Postby **greenman** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:46 pm

I ordered my new radiator last week.
Delivery was quick.
Installation was a breeze.
Quality looks great and I am pleased with the product.
Cheers fir the comments and advice.
Time will tell..... But for now I'm wrapped.

wiztek · Postby **wiztek** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:08 pm

So those with ASI radiators, how have they fared over time?

Bauer · Postby **Bauer** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:18 pm

Over 2 years now, dríven every day, still looks like new.

vrmmmpshhh · Postby **vrmmmpshhh** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:45 am

i had an asi in my FD many years ago, was one of the first so there were many small things wrong with it like fan mounts etc. It worked great though, FD runs much hotter than most cars with the fans not coming on till 120c and the crappy factory plastics used in the cooling system one reason why so many FDs overheated giving them a bad rep.

i wanted to set my fd on fire after it blew the heater core in kyoto one afternoon. i was lucky i picked it up early because my passenger was screaming his head of.

de Bounce · Postby **de Bounce** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 8:39 am

Just fitted an ASI 42mm core aluminium radiator.

Quality and workmanship looked good considering the price, few sharp edges on some of the brackets!
Fitment was good and everything bolted into their mounting points.

I did have an issue with the Helmholtz resonator rubbing on the back of the AC fan on the NB8B.

So far it has passes the important pressure test with no leaks.

Sean · Postby **Sean** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:20 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:egads just pours more petrol on the fire. Major components are not supposed to fail under service life- I really do not think some people understand what are zero defects or what quality systems are. You buy an OEM quality radiator and forget it for 10 years.

Company falcon ute spat a radiator in sub 6 months from new.
Personal statesman spat a radiator in sub 2 years from new.
Personal NA6 spat a mazda supplied (apparently genuine) radiator in sub 2 years.

I must be unlucky in the world of OEM rads and averages...

Ironically I've never had an aftermarket raditor fail. Six sigma methodologies and parts per million number are fine until you are the unlucky stat three times in a row.