Walsted

My stock radiator started turning brown. Not real brown, but the fact that it started at all indicated to me that I should start looking. After all, for all I knew, that was the original radiator, and thus could be over ten years old with over 249,000 miles on it. Not wanting to be stuck with a cracked radiator when it decided it was time to go, I decided to look for a new radiator. And as I have done with radiator replacements on previous cars, I decided to get a larger radiator without plastic tanks. I know that there are plenty of folks that say that the stock radiator is all that a normally-aspirated Miata will ever need, and they are probably right. On the other hand, given Texas summers and the slight possibility that I may make a run to Arizona or New Mexico in the summer, the bigger radiator makes me feel a little more confident.

The CXRacing all-aluminum radiator on eBay seemed to fit the bill at a reasonable price, so I ordered one. It arrived within a week. At a quick glance, it looked like it should be a drop in fit, but thicker. ( http://www.mikewalsted.com/RadBoth.jpg and http://www.mikewalsted.com/RadBothOffset.jpg ) So, I dropped it in, and noticed it was slightly warped. ( http://www.mikewalsted.com/RadWarp.jpg - notice how the radiator is closer to the condenser on the right side of the picture/left side of the car than on the left side of the picture/right side of the car.) Being more stubborn than intelligent, I decided to make it fit, anyway.

A few things had to be changed from stock to make it fit. The hose brackets that mount to the left bottom bolt of the right fan had to be mounted slightly differently than originally, and the bracket had to be bent. The AC condenser mounts had to be bolted in slightly differently to get enough clearance, as well. (Driver side example - http://www.mikewalsted.com/RadLeftACMount.jpg ) The fans also have a bit more clearance than I would like - I believe that I would have been better off if I had bought shorter bolts, and cut off a small bit of each place the bolts go, to get tighter clearances. ( http://www.mikewalsted.com/RadTopInstalled.jpg and http://www.mikewalsted.com/RadLeftInstalled.jpg )

Would I do it again, knowing what I know now, if I needed a radiator? Probably yes, but my car will never be a collector car, and I tend not to worry about resale value. Others probably won't want to follow this path. My stock radiator never let the temps get past 3/4ths of the scale, and this is probably good enough performance for most people. If this new radiator never lets temps get much past straight up on the stock temp gauge, even with the A/C on full idling at a stop light after 45 minutes on the freeway, I will consider it an improvement, and be happy with the purchase.