Koyo Radiator Installed
01-28-2015, 03:42 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Koyo Radiator Installed
So, at just over 100k miles in my 2006, my stock radiator had developed a crack under the filler neck and started leaking. This doesn't appear to be uncommon based on some anecdotes around the Internet. I also had a similar failure in a Toyota many years ago. No big deal, but I figured while I was fixing it I would shop around for an upgrade that would hopefully last me as long as I plan on keeping the car. After doing a little bit of research, I settled on the Koyo Hyper Core radiator. The cost wasn't much more than a replacement OEM radiator, and I didn't have to worry about plastic end tanks cracking again in the future. I do track my car occasionally so the cooling system needs to be up to par.
The removal of the old radiator was pretty straight-forward, after draining the coolant out, I kept it in a bucket to re-use. The coolant had been previously flushed and re-filled less than 2 years ago, so I had no qualms about re-using the fluid. It still looked perfect.
While I was digging around the cooling system, I figured I might as well replace the upper and lower radiator hoses, and a new Honda thermostat. The thermostat was a bit of a pain to get to, but I figure this will give me another 10 years peace of mind. The original thermostat looked almost brand new anyway.
The installation of the Koyo radiator was painless. All the bosses for attaching the fans were in the correct place, and they even included the threaded adaptor for my '06 coolant temperature sensor. The quality of the piece looks very nice. The welds are clean, and the fit is perfect. I added some weather stripping to the top and sides to seal off the stray airflow around the sides.
Driving impressions are good, I mean it doesn't do anything performance-wise other than maintain coolant temperature within limits. It is running a bit cooler on the highway than my original radiator. Occasionally it will cruise at 7 bars on the gauge cluster, and go back to 8 bars when idling or driving slowly around town. Reading the temperatures from the OBD-II port, the higher-speed driving was around 175-180F, and idling at stoplights crept up to about 184F. I haven't really stress-tested it yet since the weather around here has only been 60's and 70's, but I'll check it again in the summer. I don't anticipate any problems. Driving to and from work the past couple of days, I haven't found any leaks and I don't smell any coolant. I absolutely DESPISE that smell of leaking coolant so I am happy to report there is none.
p.s. Thumbs up to Evasive Motorsports for the quick (and free) shipping.
Cliffs: Great radiator, would buy again!
The removal of the old radiator was pretty straight-forward, after draining the coolant out, I kept it in a bucket to re-use. The coolant had been previously flushed and re-filled less than 2 years ago, so I had no qualms about re-using the fluid. It still looked perfect.
While I was digging around the cooling system, I figured I might as well replace the upper and lower radiator hoses, and a new Honda thermostat. The thermostat was a bit of a pain to get to, but I figure this will give me another 10 years peace of mind. The original thermostat looked almost brand new anyway.
The installation of the Koyo radiator was painless. All the bosses for attaching the fans were in the correct place, and they even included the threaded adaptor for my '06 coolant temperature sensor. The quality of the piece looks very nice. The welds are clean, and the fit is perfect. I added some weather stripping to the top and sides to seal off the stray airflow around the sides.
Driving impressions are good, I mean it doesn't do anything performance-wise other than maintain coolant temperature within limits. It is running a bit cooler on the highway than my original radiator. Occasionally it will cruise at 7 bars on the gauge cluster, and go back to 8 bars when idling or driving slowly around town. Reading the temperatures from the OBD-II port, the higher-speed driving was around 175-180F, and idling at stoplights crept up to about 184F. I haven't really stress-tested it yet since the weather around here has only been 60's and 70's, but I'll check it again in the summer. I don't anticipate any problems. Driving to and from work the past couple of days, I haven't found any leaks and I don't smell any coolant. I absolutely DESPISE that smell of leaking coolant so I am happy to report there is none.
p.s. Thumbs up to Evasive Motorsports for the quick (and free) shipping.
Cliffs: Great radiator, would buy again!
05-06-2015, 08:22 AM
#5
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Nice setup! Really looks like it fills out the engine bay nicely. Check out our website for other great cooling products!
http://hoa.excelerateperformance.com/products?pid=10040
http://hoa.excelerateperformance.com/products?pid=10040
