GEN 1 Mishimoto Radiator upgrade experience?

[Dane]

Yup, as mentioned above, that's a spendy radiator. About $1,500 plus shipping. Worth it when the alternatives look to be $500-$700ish?

 

[1BAD454SSv2]

Yeah its spendy. Worth it for me Living in az out in desert you dont want to have failure on anything cooling related it was 118 yesterday if I was stuck I would be crispy fat chimichanga in about an hour.

 

[Dane]

Yeah its spendy. Worth it for me Living in az out in desert you dont want to have failure on anything cooling related it was 118 yesterday if I was stuck I would be crispy fat chimichanga in about an hour.

I get that. What I'm trying to combat is heat from occasional uphill towing situations. I'm usually contending with temps of around 90 or so when it's hot out. Engine temps are fine during the worst I've thrown at the truck other than the occasional nasty part of the Rockies while towing.
Is the Ron Davis THAT much better, or would the others do the job (excluding Mishimoto at this point).

 

[EricM]

"Buy once, cry once" is my motto for tools, car parts and firearms. Get the good stuff- and you will never be disappointed.

That said, the Ron Davis rad would likely not perform any better than any other aftermarket upgraded radiator- assuming they all max out the size of the cores to the available area under hood and have similar fins per inch. I'd be surprised if one is significantly different than the others as far as that goes.

Ron Davis commands a premium simply due to their track record of quality. It's probably overbuilt and overpriced, yes- but they know what the market will bear when it comes to aftermarket radiators and they price it accor Overheating an engine is one of the worst things you can do to it, so people are willing to pay extra for an overbuilt radiator to avoid that as much as possible.

 

[1BAD454SSv2]

You wouldn't want a radiator failure in middle of a steep tow . Personal Safety part of it and the possible damage to the engine. I worry about coolant temps 4 months out of year ,rest of time it is decent weather here . Full race or ron Davis be my choice according to my budget. I saved up , and revamped entire cooling system 2 years ago hoses ,water pump, thermostat , intercooler and pump, new cooling fans . New bumper relocated cbr trans cooler. I now have piece of mind .

 

[letsgetthisdone]

LOL.

Your're not going to have a radiator failure because you spent $700 on a full race or $500 on a CSF instead of (a ******* insane) $1500 on a Ron Davis. You can only fit so much radiator into the stock mounts/core support. There is not technology in the Ron Davis that makes it worth double/triple the price.

Buy once cry once applies, but there is also such a think as smart purchases. Just because something costs more doesn't automatically make it better.

For reference on full race quality, I've installed 6 of their turbo and intercooler kits on Evo's. Their stuff is just as good as the next top quality manufacturers in that market.

The csf "slim" rad they sell for evo's (single core, with a fan for $580) keeps 900whp cars cool for 1/2 mile racing (two of my clients' cars). The cars run 0-185mph at 45psi of boost in the standing half mile and water temp stays at 190*. With the front bumper 50% taped off...

 

[Dane]

LOL.

Your're not going to have a radiator failure because you spent $700 on a full race or $500 on a CSF instead of (a ******* insane) $1500 on a Ron Davis. You can only fit so much radiator into the stock mounts/core support. There is not technology in the Ron Davis that makes it worth double/triple the price.

Buy once cry once applies, but there is also such a think as smart purchases. Just because something costs more doesn't automatically make it better.

For reference on full race quality, I've installed 6 of their turbo and intercooler kits on Evo's. Their stuff is just as good as the next top quality manufacturers in that market.

The csf "slim" rad they sell for evo's (single core, with a fan for $580) keeps 900whp cars cool for 1/2 mile racing (two of my clients' cars). The cars run 0-185mph at 45psi of boost in the standing half mile and water temp stays at 190*. With the front bumper 50% taped off...

So far I think that Full Race is winning the race. I have no doubt about the Ron Davis quality, but as stated, for more than twice the price I don't think there's justifiable performance. I'm just trying to tilt the scales a bit in my favor in terms of cooling. I'm not looking for a quantum leap in cooling - just a bit more for very specific and isolated situations. I seriously appreciate all the info I've got in this thread though. I do appreciate the differing opinions.
I haven't decided for sure yet though.

 

[EricM]

LOL.

Your're not going to have a radiator failure because you spent $700 on a full race or $500 on a CSF instead of (a ******* insane) $1500 on a Ron Davis. You can only fit so much radiator into the stock mounts/core support. There is not technology in the Ron Davis that makes it worth double/triple the price.

Buy once cry once applies, but there is also such a think as smart purchases. Just because something costs more doesn't automatically make it better.

For reference on full race quality, I've installed 6 of their turbo and intercooler kits on Evo's. Their stuff is just as good as the next top quality manufacturers in that market.

The csf "slim" rad they sell for evo's (single core, with a fan for $580) keeps 900whp cars cool for 1/2 mile racing (two of my clients' cars). The cars run 0-185mph at 45psi of boost in the standing half mile and water temp stays at 190*. With the front bumper 50% taped off...

There could easily be an extra $500 or even $1000 worth of materials and labor in one vs the other.

Unless you have looked at each radiator in person and know EXACTLY how each is constructed- everything you said is a generality and is simply your opinion sprinkled with some anecdotes.

Do you THINK it's too expensive, or do you KNOW it's too expensive? Are all of the options constructed of exactly the same materials and in the exact same manner?

I don't necessarily disagree with you in general, and as I said above- I doubt one will cool much better than any of the others. However, the way Raptors get abused off road and where they are driven allows my brain to back off the bang-for-the-buck approach for such a massively mission critical part.

It'd be nice to see an actual comparison between them all- material and material thicknesses, core size, fin density, neck gusseting, etc.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Full Race is a reputable company, but their radiator will not be the same as Ron Davis. I understand everyone has different budgets and needs, but if I have a SC V8 Gen 1 and I tow regularly at high elevation, I am spending the money to have the best part available that I can for my rig, which is why I bought my Ron Davis.







I see this same discussion on the Gen 2 with ICs. A lot of people buy the CVF IC because it is much cheaper than other brands. Does it improve the performance over stock, sure does. But it is not using the same quality of materials, made in the USA, and design to be 40% cheaper than its competitors. Is it always worth paying more for something? Of course not. But when dealing with automotive parts that are made in the USA, you do normally get what you pay for.

 

[letsgetthisdone]

This has gotten ridiculous.

Have fun paying $1500 when $700 would've done the job if you go that route. I'm not here to continue arguing with guys that have no hard data other than "I installed this and it worked".