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PWR Aluminum radiator review

7K views 29 replies 16 participants last post by  ozzie-crawl 
#1 ·
I know that alot of people are wandering about the PWR aluminum radiator so I thought that I would be the guinea pig and post on my experience.

I bought the radiator on ebay for $435 (includes shipping) from extremeparts7979. Don't worry it was paid for by my insurance. The item was shipped in about 7 days. When I received the Item it was packaged great but when I opened it I noticed a huge scratch across the top of the radiator.

The radiator is supposed to be an OEM replacement but the fan took some persuasion to fit. When Installing the rad I noticed that it is made of a really soft alloy and bent VERY easily. I also found that the radiator is made to accept the factory side trim pieces but is too wide for them to even fit on.

After I installed the rad I was unimpressed with the way that it looks. PWR also claims that the rad lowers the engine temp by up to 25%. I noticed no difference.

Here is a link to a few of the pictures.
http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u88/neemeth/

To conclude, If you are looking for something that is different buy it. It does the function of a radiator. If I had to but a new rad again I would go with the factory rad. It is cheaper, stronger, better fit, and looks better.
 
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#2 ·
Wow! Sorry to hear about your troubles, but way to take one for the team! ;D

I dumped my SV a few months ago and was seriously considering the PWR radiator over an OEM. I took a step back and looked at my bike and thought the same thing. "Thats not going to look very good..." So I photoshopped it in and it really didn't look very good... To much polished aluminum in my opinion. You need the black one to keep some kind of a color balance. I had never even worried about the fit-up to the bike and fan assembly nor its durability... I figured its gotta be just like OEM but better right? After all the box does say "Performance"... :rolleyes:

Anyway, at least you didn't pay for it...
Take care
 
#3 ·
To conclude, If you are looking for something that is different buy it. It does the function of a radiator. If I had to but a new rad again I would go with the factory rad. It is cheaper, stronger, better fit, and looks better.
Thanks for the info.
Hmmm, I guess an example of higher $ doesn't necessarily = higher quality or better.
 
#4 ·
After I installed the rad I was unimpressed with the way that it looks. PWR also claims that the rad lowers the engine temp by up to 25%. I noticed no difference.
Don't worry buddy, the thermostat is what controls the temp, so you won't notice the difference... They may just mean to get the temp from xxx to xxx, it'll do it 25% faster :)
 
#6 ·
You could paint the ends black, might look a little better and narrower? (BBQ paint or hightemp exhaust paint will work. )
 
#11 ·
If the scratch bothers you, I'd say you should have just returned it... But that's by the by. imdying is spot on, unless you're riding very hard for a very long time, or in very hot conditions the stock radiator is perfectly adequate to keep the temperatures in check so a better radiator in everyday circumstances won't make any difference to engine temps. Not saying it's definately better, just that you can't really tell anything from the fact that the temps are the same.
 
#12 ·
The scratch does bother me and I emailed the seller but I have yet to hear a response. I think we all know how that goes with ebay sellers. Also the weather is getting nice here and I need a bike to ride.

As for the cooling I really didn't expect it to do much. I only mentioned it as part of my review incase others wanted to buy the radiator for that specific reason. As for what Imdying said it is both correct and incorrect not meant to bash anyone). The thermostat does control the temp to an extent. It measures the temp and kicks the fan off and on. That is it. The reason that this rad is supposed to cool better is because it is made made of wider and thinner cooling fins. These allow for the surface area of the cooling fins to cool faster and easier. This inturn cools the coolant faster and easier dropping the temp that the thermostat picks up.

Now that the rad has been on the bike for a few days it is not quite as bad. I think it was the drastic change from the OEM that drew my attention right to it. I am going to let it alone for a while (after polishing out the scratches) and then decide if I want to paint it black.
 
#26 ·
Another option might be to get a totally custom one made up- since for most of us the ugly stocker does the job well, instead of using higher efficiency to drop temps you could use it to achieve the same with a smaller radiator. It'd have a weight loss but mainly it'd look better on a naked... One of the great rules of the streetfighter build is, if you're stuck with something make it a feature- you can't build an air-cooled SV so if you have to have a radiator, make it cool. So to speak ;D

It sounds expensive, but I did a quick price compare and allisport in the UK would make an exact replica of the standard radiator but with better efficiency (and probably thicker) for about the same cost as OEM, or could do a totally custom build that would bolt into the same place for about 15-15% more. That's not bad... And they make among other things, WSB and Dakar radiators.
 
#27 ·
One of the great rules of the streetfighter build is, if you're stuck with something make it a feature- you can't build an air-cooled SV so if you have to have a radiator, make it cool. So to speak ;D
Yep, I apply that to any custom bike :) You're totally on my wavelength... consider your accommodation covered if you're even in Christchurch NZ :D
 
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