Wats the difference between Ebay radiator and brand name one?

I just realized today that my radiator had a hair line crack on the top part. I realized this when my car didnt start today. I already took it to my friends shop to find out the problem. Im not too sure if this radiator issue has anything to do with the car not starting, but i was thinking that since im swaping the engine next year to a B18C1 i might as well get a racing one.

Now my question is this. What is the main difference between an abay radiator compared to a brand name one? also should i be looking for a half one or longer one and get rid of the AC?

Thnks

umm... you could have a hole the size of nice DD tit in your radiator and your car will still start......

your radiator has nothing to do with it "starting". Its the cooling system, it cools your engine. Unless that crack let go of ALL the coolant and you drove around while it was bone dry and you ignored your "check engine light" and "temperature gauge" and you seized the engine by over heating it... its got nothing to do with it. (and if you didnt know that... im worried about your engine swap....and your new "racing radiator")

now to your question :

The difference would be quality and warranty. Maybe you found an ebay store that has warranty on their automotive products, but still..... that would be a PAIN in the ASS send in etc... (depending on what their policy is) . The ebay ones would be made in China, cheapest possible. That doesnt mean they are BAD radiators... just lower quality.

I dont know much about "sizing" for honda radiators... all i know is that our civics rad is the size of my tennis racquet. Sure... you could get one thats BIGGER. Another thing to look into is the amount of rows it has. The more, the better cooling capacity . (but thicker) . Why do you need a "racing radiator"?

back to your crack.

If it was an actual crack all the way threw, you would of seen steam/coolant coming out of it when the car was at full operating temp. (cooling system pressurizes). Its probably a "fatigue" in the plastic and will open up one day, or will go for another 300,000kms.

raboyto2 wrote:

umm... you could have a hole the size of nice DD tit in your radiator and your car will still start......

your radiator has nothing to do with it "starting". Its the cooling system, it cools your engine. Unless that crack let go of ALL the coolant and you drove around while it was bone dry and you ignored your "check engine light" and "temperature gauge" and you seized the engine by over heating it... its got nothing to do with it. (and if you didnt know that... im worried about your engine swap....and your new "racing radiator")

now to your question :

The difference would be quality and warranty. Maybe you found an ebay store that has warranty on their automotive products, but still..... that would be a PAIN in the ASS send in etc... (depending on what their policy is) . The ebay ones would be made in China, cheapest possible. That doesnt mean they are BAD radiators... just lower quality.

I dont know much about "sizing" for honda radiators... all i know is that our civics rad is the size of my tennis racquet. Sure... you could get one thats BIGGER. Another thing to look into is the amount of rows it has. The more, the better cooling capacity . (but thicker) . Why do you need a "racing radiator"?

back to your crack.

If it was an actual crack all the way threw, you would of seen steam/coolant coming out of it when the car was at full operating temp. (cooling system pressurizes). Its probably a "fatigue" in the plastic and will open up one day, or will go for another 300,000kms.

Hey thanks for the quick reply...

First of all sorry for the wrong terminology used but with racing radiator I meant aftermarket one. Since i was going to be putting a bigger engine next year i thought it was a good idea to upgrade the radiator. unfortunately i do not know how much difference these aftermarket radiators make.

I had seen some light signs of smoke coming out of the engine bay the nite before, but since i am runnign a test pipe and it was cold, i just thought it was the gasses from the car being pushed up by the wind. i like and take care of my car to much to run it with the CEL on. So you think i shouldnt waste money in an aftermanrket radiator if im running NA when i get my swap then?

if you're going to drop in a b series you won't be able to have ac unless you get the appropriate mounting brackets.
if i recall correctly... you need a ac bracket from a b16 delsol.
but some people said crv ones work.

and just steal cam's radiator. it's nice.

Ok i guess i should spend the extra buck for a good one... I have actually a couple in mind..
Mishimoto:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/MISHIMOTO-ALUMINUM-RADIATOR-HONDA-CIVIC-92-00_W0QQitemZ260281424598QQihZ016QQcategoryZ33602QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

JVT Racing:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JVT-Racing-3-Row-Radiator-Triple-Core-Civic-92-95-MT-EG_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33631QQihZ009QQitemZ190249964616QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

In any case, I'll ask Golks to see what kid of prices he can get me. I'll prbly go for half size since I'm not planning to Turbo anything yet.

summit wants $350 for a Fluidyne

whenever you have smoke always check the color. Exhaust smoke and coolant smoke are two different colors. Check and see if you have coolant left in the system, and when driving remember your temp gauge is there for a reason.

Oh and check with Golks on pricing, he may be able to help you.

[quote="1eightySX"
Oh and check with Golks on pricing, he may be able to help you.[/quote]

He already has pricing.