SakeBomb Garage Aluminum Racing radiator
01-05-2017, 07:31 AM
#1
SakeBomb Garage Aluminum Racing radiator
I just wanted to pop in and share my experience on the new SakeBomb aluminum racing radiator.
It all started the weekend before Thanksgiving when i went off track at Texas World Speedway and my splitter dug into the grass/dirt. The splitter, made of 1/2" plywood, did break apart but not before bending its brackets and pushing the bottom of my OEM radiator back. All 3 radiator supports were either bent or broken. I run a Sakebomb oil cooler kit and the brackets were bent for that as well.There was other unpleasant damage but that is all that's related to the radiator.
I called Sakebomb to source replacement oil cooler brackets and described to them what happened. Having another track event planned for the weekend before Christmas, the car needed to get fixed quickly. The OEM radiator was bent (but not leaking), and during my discussion with Heath he mentioned they had a few new aluminum radiators available for testing and asked if I was interested. Since I needed a new one anyways, I took him up on his offer. Oil cooler brackets and radiator were in the mail the next day.
I'm sorry I didn't take photos of the unboxing, etc. I was mostly concerned on getting the new parts to my mechanic who was fixing the car. I did however visually inspect the welds and everything was nicely finished for a direct drop-in installation. The OEM radiator core is only about 3/4" thick. The SakeBomb Garage unit is (IIRC) over 2" thick!
Fitment:
I always have my reservations when some is described to me as a "Direct OEM replacement" especially when so many things have to line up, screw in, clamp on, etc. Well, I will say this unit is as described!!! My mechanic told me he was "impressed" and the fitment was "excellent". All of the holes lined up, the OEM fans bolted on with no issue, Sakebomb did their homework in designing this thing. Something to point out though.... the OEM Honda radiator cap does not fit this radiator. A standard JDM radiator cap must be used. Standard JDM caps are used on various other Japanese car makes/models including the Mazda Miata and RX7 so they should be pretty easy to source. Local autoparts stores probably have them on the shelf as well.
Performance:
Some background....I have never had water cooling issues on my S, even when running on the track in Texas summers. Water would never get over about 208* F in 95* ambient temps. The oil is a different story and have documented the Sakebomb oil cooler efficacy in other threads. Short version....it works. So back to the radiator.... The need for a new radiator arose from damage resulting from an off-track excursion, not for increased cooling needs. During my November event prior to damaging the car, the water temps would hover around 200* with 55* ambient temps using the OEM radiator. The Saturday of my December event (75* ambient), the water temps never saw over 185*. The radiator does a better job at cooling than the OEM. So with 20* warmer ambient temps, the water ran 15* cooler. The Sunday of my December event was cold as a front had blown through overnight! It was 27* in the morning and never got over 38* all day long. The car performed wonderfully with all that cold air. The water temps ranged from 178* to 183*. Yes, it took a little longer to get the car warm, but the radiator didn’t “overcool” the water in such cold ambient conditions. This is of course controlled by the cars thermostat, so I wasn’t really worried about the water being too cool. I just thought I would add the cold weather data point since I had it.
Note: All temps monitored with PLX OBD2 gauge – no, I wasn’t going by the number of bars on my dash, LOL!
Conclusion:
The radiator performed well for me and proved to be better than the OEM radiator. The piece is well made with quality welds throughout and fitment was spot on! SakeBomb Garage’s service was top notch and very responsive, and I look forward to their future development on this car.
It all started the weekend before Thanksgiving when i went off track at Texas World Speedway and my splitter dug into the grass/dirt. The splitter, made of 1/2" plywood, did break apart but not before bending its brackets and pushing the bottom of my OEM radiator back. All 3 radiator supports were either bent or broken. I run a Sakebomb oil cooler kit and the brackets were bent for that as well.There was other unpleasant damage but that is all that's related to the radiator.
I called Sakebomb to source replacement oil cooler brackets and described to them what happened. Having another track event planned for the weekend before Christmas, the car needed to get fixed quickly. The OEM radiator was bent (but not leaking), and during my discussion with Heath he mentioned they had a few new aluminum radiators available for testing and asked if I was interested. Since I needed a new one anyways, I took him up on his offer. Oil cooler brackets and radiator were in the mail the next day.
I'm sorry I didn't take photos of the unboxing, etc. I was mostly concerned on getting the new parts to my mechanic who was fixing the car. I did however visually inspect the welds and everything was nicely finished for a direct drop-in installation. The OEM radiator core is only about 3/4" thick. The SakeBomb Garage unit is (IIRC) over 2" thick!
Fitment:
I always have my reservations when some is described to me as a "Direct OEM replacement" especially when so many things have to line up, screw in, clamp on, etc. Well, I will say this unit is as described!!! My mechanic told me he was "impressed" and the fitment was "excellent". All of the holes lined up, the OEM fans bolted on with no issue, Sakebomb did their homework in designing this thing. Something to point out though.... the OEM Honda radiator cap does not fit this radiator. A standard JDM radiator cap must be used. Standard JDM caps are used on various other Japanese car makes/models including the Mazda Miata and RX7 so they should be pretty easy to source. Local autoparts stores probably have them on the shelf as well.
Performance:
Some background....I have never had water cooling issues on my S, even when running on the track in Texas summers. Water would never get over about 208* F in 95* ambient temps. The oil is a different story and have documented the Sakebomb oil cooler efficacy in other threads. Short version....it works. So back to the radiator.... The need for a new radiator arose from damage resulting from an off-track excursion, not for increased cooling needs. During my November event prior to damaging the car, the water temps would hover around 200* with 55* ambient temps using the OEM radiator. The Saturday of my December event (75* ambient), the water temps never saw over 185*. The radiator does a better job at cooling than the OEM. So with 20* warmer ambient temps, the water ran 15* cooler. The Sunday of my December event was cold as a front had blown through overnight! It was 27* in the morning and never got over 38* all day long. The car performed wonderfully with all that cold air. The water temps ranged from 178* to 183*. Yes, it took a little longer to get the car warm, but the radiator didn’t “overcool” the water in such cold ambient conditions. This is of course controlled by the cars thermostat, so I wasn’t really worried about the water being too cool. I just thought I would add the cold weather data point since I had it.
Note: All temps monitored with PLX OBD2 gauge – no, I wasn’t going by the number of bars on my dash, LOL!
Conclusion:
The radiator performed well for me and proved to be better than the OEM radiator. The piece is well made with quality welds throughout and fitment was spot on! SakeBomb Garage’s service was top notch and very responsive, and I look forward to their future development on this car.
Last edited by Arro; 01-05-2017 at 12:22 PM.
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Arro (01-06-2017)
01-09-2017, 04:57 AM
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