golgo13

iTrader: (134)

There's something to be said about that old adage, "You get what you pay for."

There will always be people running any product without incident, but that does not necessarily mean that the quality of the product is good. It just means that they got a product that happens to not fall into the percentage of products that are defective.

The lower the quality, the higher this number will be. This makes finding a good product a bit of a challenge, since you will often see conflicting reviews.

"I use this, it's awesome!"
"I had one, it sucked!"

How I understand it, the quality of radiators available for the CT9A are generally like this (lowest quality from left to right):

Mishimoto/Agency Power/Megan/CSF < Koyo/PWR < Forge/CBRD

I have a CBRD radiator in my track evo, but I would also consider Koyo or a PWR radiator as well.

crazybaldhead

Put in one yesterday, and yes the cap is leaking slightly. Will put back my greddy cap and see what happens.

reboundicon

iTrader: (33)

I have not heard many good things about the Mishimoto radiators coming out of the China production factories. Simply do to the fact they take extreme measures in cost cutting and most of their products are rather cheap. I actually think the OEM radiator does a better job at cooling than a Mishimoto as they are made in Japan and I've never had an issue with mine.

Unless you are running a bigger turbo set up, I would stick to OEM or a Koyo.

RelentlessEVO

iTrader: (4)

Reboundicon,

You just stated that "you actually think the OEM radiator does a better job at cooling than a Mishimoto [radiator]." Is this based on experience? Have you owned and ran a Mishimoto radiator on your Evo? Did you log coolant temperatures on both the OEM radiator and the Mishimoto to determine that the OEM ran colder? I'm just trying to figure out why you would say that.

Personally, I just installed a Mishimoto radiator two weeks ago. The largest factor for me was price and the shop I purchased it from said they have never had any issues from customers with it. I'll definitely post a follow up roughly six months from now with my opinion / impressions of the radiator.

Happy boosting!

reboundicon

iTrader: (33)

Yep, I bought one to test it out last year and noticed my engine was actually heating up a bit more than usual, not to mention the quality was a lot lower than I've seen on photo's etc. The fitment was alright (and it looked visually nice), I'll give them that, but I ended up going back to OEM and everything is back to normal. Also the slim fans it came with didn't do a very good job of cooling when the car was running hot/with AC on opposed to the larger OEM fan.

Not to say ALL of them are bad/low quality but from my experience I prefer the OEM for a stock turbo set up. It does a great job.

RelentlessEVO

iTrader: (4)

Reboundicon,

What do you mean by "heating up a bit more than usual"?

Also, what exactly do you mean by "...the quality [of the Mishimoto] was a lot lower..."? Are you comparing the quality to just the photos you had seen or are you saying the quality was lower than the OEM radiator? You seem to be implying that the OEM radiator was a higher quality / better cooling item.

Again, can you provide any data (actual temperatures) from the Mishimoto and the OEM radiators to indicate that the OEM was superior? I'm asking because obviously I just purchased one and I'm hoping it wasn't a waste. As a side note, I'm still using the stock radiator fan, not a slimline fan.

boostless

iTrader: (21)

People who come off this aggressive are trying to justify their purchase. I'm pretty sure that there is no race team (that doesnt have a radiator sponsor) that will choose the Mishimoto radiator over the higher quality brand names. Just a couple posts above yours is someone that has the leaking problem that I mentioned earlier....OUT OF THE BOX.

dastallion951

well a lot of people run a megan 02 housing that has issues, some do some don't. Like I posted previously, I love in socal too boostless, and certain area where I go to is 100+ in summer time, I don't have any issues with losing coolant, over heating or the temp gauge rising even out in the high desert area sitting at idle. If your a race team, then yea you'll prolly buy the best parts, but for your average driver/ dd / drag autox. A mishimoto will work just fine. Anyone can have any issue with any parts that come out the box, thus why the manufacturer offers a warranty? And as far as quality control goes, having worked in the automotive field, i've seen plenty of other brand parts wrong or bad out the box, as much as people on this thread complaining about mishimoto's issues. Ive had mine almost 3 years now, and only had one cap go bad, mishimoto overnighted me one no charge from LA county. And its got accident protection where they send you a new one, if yours is damaged in an accident, what other companies offer that?

RelentlessEVO

iTrader: (4)

Boostless,

Didn't mean to come off as aggressive and I even mention in my post I'm hoping my purchase was not a bad one. I was asking Rebdoundicon if he had any numbers or logs to show that the OEM cooled better, which is something he stated. I saved my OEM radiator "just in case." If any of this upsets you, well, tough cookies.

Happy boosting!

Vivid Racing

iTrader: (98)

With budget or lower end brands, the biggest problem is quality control. This is exactly why you see some people saying the have no issues, and others with issues from the start.

Personally, I've always ran Koyo or OEM radiators.

RelentlessEVO

iTrader: (4)

I can understand that completely. Vivid, in your professional opinion, would you take a street driven Evo with a Mishimoto radiator and put it on the track? Ceteris paribus, the radiator (between OEM/Koyo/CBRD/etc. and the Mishimoto) being the only difference? I only ask this because I've done events with NASA in the past and plan on doing at least one this season. Thanks in advance.

Vivid Racing

iTrader: (98)

Don't break out the Latin, it makes me feel like I'm talking to a lawyer!

Like I said above, I've only ran Koyo or OEM radiators in my cars, however, I've had friends run Mishi rads with no issues. To answer your question... Yes, I would track a car with a Mishimoto radiator. That said, I would keep a closer eye on a Mishimoto radiator compared to a Koyo or stock. The Mishimoto rads I've seen fail have been either the cap or welds, and they were all leaks. I haven't seen a Mishi rad blow up yet. Several of my friends drift cars with Mishimoto radiators here in the AZ summers, and I've got friends in the Southern United States (Atlanta and Nashville specifically) running Mishi rads in 240s and Civics. Those areas can be pretty humid.

I would still recommend a Koyo over Mishi, even if for no reason other than peace of mind. The quality on the Koyo is leaps beyond the Mishi. Another brand on par with the Koyo is PWR. The price difference isn't even that much... If you can afford the Mishimoto, just eat dinner at home instead of eating out for two nights this month, and you'll have the extra scratch for the Koyo/PWR. Check them out here: http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/r...on_92_07&r=200

-Matt C

RelentlessEVO

iTrader: (4)

Vivid,

That's hilarious, sorry about the latin. You wouldn't believe this, but I work at a law firm (although, that phrase is from my Econ professor in undergrad). I appreciate you taking the time to provide a thorough and well thought out answer. I'll definitely think about it and peace of mind is certainly worth a lot.