Robispec Experience

[civicdrivr]

Originally Posted by SubaSteve

Vendors need to start labeling pre-order instead of in stock if the item isn't PHYSICALLY IN THEIR INVENTORY.

And "in stock built to order in small batches" is a contradictory statement.

I waited I-don't-even-remember-how-long for the radiator to come in, then another ~1.5 months for the sandwich plate and lines. I ended up selling it to one of my friends since I am going a different route, and attempted to install it yesterday.

He mentioned that the OEM fans can be used, however didn't mention that the shroud needs to be trimmed - no big deal, but that's extra time I didn't account for. Once the shroud was trimmed, the fans still wouldn't fit; when lined up with the mounting holes, the fan would contact the lower hose barb, which isn't good for obvious reasons. I also didn't realize that I would have to fab up some brackets for the condenser - once again, not a huge deal, but still would've liked to know. Oh, and the upper oil line fitting was hitting the driver side bulkhead, so I need to make some adjustments to somehow get it to fit.

We ended up backing out of the install and dropping the stock rad back in because of the above issues. I was not pleased, but at least the sandwich plate looks good.

[mike the snake]

I waited a long time for mine to come to me as well.

My shop did the install. I had gotten the Robispec as part of my FB turbo conversion. The radiator is thicker, and I'm now having issues with clearance at the fans. There's only 1mm clearance to the exhaust.

The product itself is awesome, but has introduced other issues that I'm now having to deal with.

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

I waited a long time for mine to come to me as well.

My shop did the install. I had gotten the Robispec as part of my FB turbo conversion. The radiator is thicker, and I'm now having issues with clearance at the fans. There's only 1mm clearance to the exhaust.

The product itself is awesome, but has introduced other issues that I'm now having to deal with.

This is an unfortunate downside to mixing and matching parts. The Full Blown turbo kit attempts to get the best angle for the downpipe by placing it close to the slim aftermarket cooling fans. Any radiator that adds width in the engine compartment instead of adding width in the bumper area and pushing the A/C condensor further forward is going to cause issues.

[mike the snake]

Well, I've given up on the Robispec. I really wish I could run it, but it just doesn't offer enough clearance.

Both of the FB fans died within a few minutes on the dyno.

I'm getting the new Spal fans and FB shroud, revised downpipe, and switching to the FB radiator, which is known to work with adequate clearance.

Even with the new fans and shroud, which buy an extra 1/2" of clearance, there still just isn't enough clearance, and that's just a recipe for a ticking time bomb.

I'm bummed, because the Robispec looked to be the very best option for our cars, and it is VERY nice, but it's just not working on my car, and already has set things back another week or 2.

The whole turbo conversion was supposed to take 2 weeks with tuning, and it's been 2 months and running.

As soon as it's out of my car, I'll be selling it in the "for sale" section here.