Bling Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 A search on here did bring up rumours of quality change @ Fenix at some point in the past. They all look to be much of a muchness. Will check them out, will do more homework on Fenix / copper ones. Cheers team. edit - Redline do one for my car, that should require slightly less modification. Promising. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpr Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Just don't mount them too solid and will usually be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 6 hours ago, Yowzer said: I recommend running red antifreeze with an alloy radiator, and I'm basing that on cars that run alloy radiators almost always run red / pink antifreeze. There's probably some reason behind it. Yeah a lot of talk on the web about coolants. Green and red both seem to state they are compatible with everything. Just not each other, in any volume lol. You're right though, red does contain more "stuff" to protect aluminium. If I go aluminium rad i'll go red. Just now, kpr said: Just don't mount them too solid and will usually be fine. It seems they come from the factory (AE70) with only three of four holes lining up (two of which are rubber mounted). Thought one may have had a prang so didn't line up. Checked other car and sure enough, mounting hole seems to be in the wrong spot from the factory. It does sit in a rubber padded craddle too though, so not going far. I wonder if the one random bolt that actually contacts the radiator itself is an earth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kws Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 I know with old British stuff there is an issue using OAT based coolants as it can eat seals and shit. May be worth looking into. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Yeah lets blame the coolant for the oil leaks eh. I'll looking in to that thanks. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustHarry Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 The fenix alloy core radiators with plastic tanks are one to steer clear from. I had one in my ae81 actually suck the bottom edged of the tank away from the sealing edge of the core when it cooled down. A1 took it apart to diagnose the issue and apparently there wasnt a lip for the tank to sit against? Either way I got a refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 The Fenix option i'm looking at is a completely alloy unit. That sounds like a fabrication fail for sure with the plastic one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortron Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Plenty of factory rads are aluminium with plastic ends. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAMUCK Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 And they work fine untill they dont...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 They don't have that high a failure rate. They don't last as long as old style radiators, but 10-15 years, maybe 20 if it's not German. Most last longer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Hey @japawagons how good is German engineering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datlow Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Mine have always been the plastic ends that have failed... never had a alloy core go /jdm radiators Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 People like to say a product is shit, but as it's an aftermarket product, you also have to take into consideration as to how it's installed. For example if it is solid mounted to the bulkhead with no electrical isolation and they're running mediocre earths and a 10:1 antifreeze ratio, then it's not the radiators fault it shat itself. Not to say Fenix is or isn't shit, but if it's cheap, chances are so is the install. And the people who have no issues probably aren't as vocal. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortron Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Just now, datlow said: Mine have always been the plastic ends that have failed... never had a alloy core go /jdm radiators I noticed a small.leak on exploder a few weeks ago. Small leak untill I touched it and the bottom tube blew apart and dumped it's guts on the driveway lol But yea also one I had go was split plastic. Both being 20 or so years old 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Just now, tortron said: Plenty of factory rads are aluminium with plastic ends. Oh for sure, but if the bottom basically falls off, the design of that particular one can't be great. I think all my modern junk has the plastic stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortron Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Design is fine Execution/quality of material/QC There's billions of OEM ones going 20 years on them no issues 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 We often replace failed radiators with aftermarket units, and you can visually see the quality isn't as good. They're also usually well under $200 and our customers are cheapskates, so meh, ya get what ya pay for. They've all lasted so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kws Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 We have done a few Fenix at work, all full alloy units. Most seem to be OK, but we have had a couple that leaked out of the box, and one that was physically damaged in the box but the box wasnt damaged. They have been pretty quick to swap out faulty units for us. They are cheap though, so yeah. I wouldn't use one myself, i'd rather pay the money and have a radiator shop recore an original one, or go for a good aftermarket brand if its something more common. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 I've Wanged a couple fenix radiators into my ex daily and her project car. Both held up fine/we sold them after a year 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japawagons Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 18 hours ago, Yowzer said: Hey @japawagons how good is German engineering? Are we talking BMW's or Radiators? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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