The radiator in my WRX popped a leak in the plastic part.
I can get a replacement OEM style radiator for $132 or an all-aluminum Mishimoto for $255.
The car will remain pretty much stock, I don't have plans to modify it much. Is it worth my money to get the aluminum one or will I never notice a difference?
If the plastic one will last until you are done with the car and it is staying largely stock I see no reason not to save some cash.
wow thats a cheap all aluminum. the bmw one i want (or jeep) is 450+
but i'd agree with above.
+1^. You don't say how many miles you got out of the original piece or if the item is a known problem with those so save the cash.
Mishimoto is one of the radiators my distributor carries (free shipping in US). Be sure to do a google search on the Part Number - Some are awesome (like miata) & some are crappy (fox body mustang). All carry lifetime warranty & include radiator cap :)
Kendall
The Mishimoto was the cheapest I can find online. The plastic one is wholesale price through my work, I think I'll go with that one.
90k miles out of the stock one.
What's the difference in weight? 
I don't trust Mishimoto at all, not after seeing this horror show on Moto IQ:
http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/1318/wannabe-jdm-companies.aspx
RexSeven wrote: I don't trust Mishimoto at all, not after seeing this horror show on Moto IQ: http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/1318/wannabe-jdm-companies.aspx
I know of a few people that used Mishimoto stuff with some success. Someone claiming to be from Mishimoto chimed in the comments in that article saying that was their only warranty replacement.
It is getting harder and harder to trust a brand these days. Some global inc. conglomerate of rich berkeleys buy a company that took years to build starts putting out crap with brand momentum as the driver. Black and Decker pops to mind. Some po dunk company "Applica" sells household goods under the black and decker label that immediately fall apart. Applica licensed the use of the Black and Decker nameplate on absolute total crap kitchen goods. I bought a couple before I wised up. Mishimoto might have changed hands 12 times in the last 2 months, or they contract everything out to 564 different radiator outfits spread across Asia and now are just an office that hires hot chicks to stand on piles of radiators at trade shows.
radiatorbarn.com has your stock radiator for $94.10 SHIPPED!
I've bought 6 Miata radiators through them and won't go anywhere else.
EvanB wrote: The radiator in my WRX popped a leak in the plastic part. I can get a replacement OEM style radiator for $132 or an all-aluminum Mishimoto for $255. The car will remain pretty much stock, I don't have plans to modify it much. Is it worth my money to get the aluminum one or will I never notice a difference?
Make sure you also find out the manufacturer of that radiator. They are NOT all the same by a long shot. Put an aftermarket OER radiator in a Jeep or Dodge and you can kiss your automatic transmission goodbye in about 1000 miles.
If you have an auto tranny make sure you spend good money on one that has a proper heat exchanger in it.
Call 1-877-RADIATOR. Not 1-800-RADIATOR. Trust me. Performance Radiator (at the first number) carries top quality radiators at a slightly higher price than rock bottom. 1-800 carries the cheapest possible tin foil for $20 cheaper.
At the shop I use both of them evenly. Usually 877 has more domestic stuff and 800 has more import stuff, but for the $20 I spend more and the extra day I sometimes wait to get it is well worth it. The only time I prefer 800 is if I really need something today or if I really have to save $20 on a deal to turn a decent profit.
In terms of the shop, they'll both last past my 1 year warranty, so if I wanted to be a dick I would use 800 all the time. Since I pride myself on quality work, I like to use 877 if at all possible.
A good example: I bought a cheapy $170 radiator from 800 for my wife's mercedes. The trans temp code kept appearing and it started leaking after about 9 months. I called 877 and got an OEM Behr radiator with the mercedes part number right on it for $210.
Have you tried wholesale parts direct? They're pretty good about getting OEM Suby stuff for about half of the dealer price.
I personally wouldn't be cheap when it comes to a radiator. If an extra 150$ saves your engine or transmission it might make all the difference.
When my toyota pickup trucks radiator silted up(plastic top/aluminum bottom) I ended up buying a no name 100$ brass radiator. While this radiator has cooled fine for the past 8 years the brass fins are also turning to dust as they use cheap materials on new stuff. I will eventually end up buying another 100$ no name radiator, but I don't know if I would do this with a car I cared about.
Well I ended up with the $130 plastic capped radiator from Radpro (Roppel). They are the company we get our radiators from at the dealership and I couldn't argue with that price and it was delivered within an hour. It is installed now and is working fine. I figure the worst it can do is crack like the OEM one and I will have to buy another one.
It is also a manual trans so I don't have to worry about the radiator handling that part of the cooling.
Given Mishimoto vs stock, do what your heart desires. I've seen quite a few bugeye WRX owners luck out with the Mishi unit.
Moot point now but I've used a Mishimoto rad in my turbo Miata for about two years. I've done numerous track days with that same piece. The cap was junk so I replaced it with a 16psi cap and now all's well.
Maybe I didn't make the right decision. The radiator I put in is leaking already, just as bad as the one I replaced. I am having another one sent over tomorrow to replace it under warranty so hopefully the second time is the charm.
You might not notice any difference, but at least the aluminum radiator can be welded if it cracks. I hate plastic radiators.
When I put a replacement rad in my '89 626, I just went to Advance and bought the one they sold me. I was mildly surprised to find that it was all copper, where the OE was aluminum with plastic tanks. It bolted right in, was cheap, and lasted at least until I got rid of the car a couple years later.
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