Are Ron Davis Racing Radiators worth the money?

Who's Ron Davis?

06GEEP said:

Who's Ron Davis?

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Besties with John Galt.

Zorba said:

Besties with John Galt.

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Oh. Ok.

Well, who's John Galt?

Cumsterdump said:

can anyone validate this insane price???

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NO.

Cumsterdump said:

OEM radiators are gone and i’m not dealing with big name aftermarket because let’s be real it sucks. no matter who it’s made by it sucks. but i’ve heard really good things about Ron Davis Racing but a rad is $1200. for that price it better stop a bullet. can anyone validate this insane price???

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Well, $1200 is to cool your engine, not to stop a bullet...



That said, i've not heard of Ron Davis. Can you post a link to the radiator to which you are referring?

06GEEP said:

Oh. Ok.

Well, who's John Galt?

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I asked Atlas the same question. He just shrugged.

For $1,200 you are paying for custom fabrication by Americans, not a mass produced Chinese product. So you have to consider how much that American labor is worth. Since you live in AZ you could drive to Glendale and take a tour if they allow it. There are also half a dozen other USA radiator builders if you Google it, but don't expect to buy a quality US made product for anywhere near China prices.

Have you called and asked if they make a single row similar to OEM, which I believe have proven to cool the best?

Ron Davis radiators are top notch. Lots of ultra4 and other racers use them. One of the better aluminum radiator and oil cooler builders out there. It’s sad to see how everyone here regurgitates the same bs about stock radiators being the best. How many different radiators have you tried to come to that conclusion? My cheap 4 core aluminum radiator works great. I just drove 4 hours to the rubicon this week with the ac on in the heat, zero cooling issues on the way there. Ran 90% of the trail with the windows up and ac on. Maintained temp perfectly at 1-3mph for 2 days. Then drove home in high 90’ weather with zero issues.

Tractormonger said:

It’s sad to see how everyone here regurgitates the same bs about stock radiators being the best. How many different radiators have you tried to come to that conclusion? My cheap 4 core aluminum radiator works great.

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I’ve had 3 radiators - original MOPAR, generic all aluminum, and Murray aluminum/plastic. They all cooled fine on and off road in 110+ temperatures with the AC on. No complaints at all.

The MOPAR split the top plastic tank and the all aluminum ballooned the tubes so the fins blocked off air flow. So far the Murray is still working well, but like every part it will fail at some point. I don’t expect it to last forever, but it was under $200 and has a lifetime warranty from the neighborhood parts store.

Tractormonger said:

Ron Davis radiators are top notch. Lots of ultra4 and other racers use them. One of the better aluminum radiator and oil cooler builders out there. It’s sad to see how everyone here regurgitates the same bs about stock radiators being the best. How many different radiators have you tried to come to that conclusion?

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How would it be better than stock Mopar if the stock radiator keeps a TJ at the temp it's designed to run? How many people with a TJ have a Ron Davis radiator still going strong after 23 years?

Tractormonger said:

Ron Davis radiators are top notch. Lots of ultra4 and other racers use them. One of the better aluminum radiator and oil cooler builders out there. It’s sad to see how everyone here regurgitates the same bs about stock radiators being the best. How many different radiators have you tried to come to that conclusion? My cheap 4 core aluminum radiator works great. I just drove 4 hours to the rubicon this week with the ac on in the heat, zero cooling issues on the way there. Ran 90% of the trail with the windows up and ac on. Maintained temp perfectly at 1-3mph for 2 days. Then drove home in high 90’ weather with zero issues.

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I find it more than a bit sad that someone trying to act smart doesn't know the difference between rows and cores. There is no such thing as a 4 core radiator. When a radiator is built, 1 or more rows of tubes are stuck together with fins between them are attached to the tank header and sans tanks, that is the core. When the tanks and mounting system with hose connections are added to the core, that makes it a radiator.

Radiator design efficiency is compromised by adding extra rows of tubes due to the spaces between the rows diminishing fin to tube contact. Your radiator design would be greatly improved if they converted it to a 2 row with wider tubes. That would get rid of 2 spaces between rows and convert that to higher efficiency all other things being equal.

The Mopar offering has never been the best. It has however, cooled correctly and efficiently under all conditions in a properly maintained system at what used to be a tolerable price point with an acceptable lifespan of roughly 100,000 miles and about 20 years of use. It worked, it was reliable, and it wasn't terribly priced. It has only been difficult to get for about 2 years and the current version started about 24 years ago which means it was a stellar product for about 22 years.

I'll bet a pretty penny that your cheap supplier hasn't even been selling in the US for 22 years. For the record, the Wizard Cooling radiator did exactly all of the things it needed to, the durability was just not there.

NashvilleTJ said:

Well, $1200 is to cool your engine, not to stop a bullet...



That said, i've not heard of Ron Davis. Can you post a link to the radiator to which you are referring?

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You need to get out more. RD Radiators has been around a very long time and they build a great product.

Cumsterdump said:

saw a few posts about how they are one of the only aluminum rads that don’t crack from offroad body flexing

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The OEM radiator is in fact, aluminum.

Tractormonger said:

Ron Davis radiators are top notch. Lots of ultra4 and other racers use them. One of the better aluminum radiator and oil cooler builders out there. It’s sad to see how everyone here regurgitates the same bs about stock radiators being the best. How many different radiators have you tried to come to that conclusion? My cheap 4 core aluminum radiator works great. I just drove 4 hours to the rubicon this week with the ac on in the heat, zero cooling issues on the way there. Ran 90% of the trail with the windows up and ac on. Maintained temp perfectly at 1-3mph for 2 days. Then drove home in high 90’ weather with zero issues.

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No one says OEM Mopar radiator is the best, so you can stop with that misrepresentation.

What the advocates of the OEM Mopar radiator want out of an aftermarket radiator is one that has the cooling capacity of OEM and also has a documented record of surviving 100k miles similar to OEM Mopar. Frame your response around that set of criteria.