MASIV® FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

MASIV® FAQ

  1. What makes MASIV® Radiators different?
  2. Why are MASIV® Radiators made of copper-brass?
  3. Why lead free?
  4. If copper-brass radiators are so good, why did the industry shift to aluminum?
  5. Plastic tanks are everywhere, aren’t they cheaper?
  6. MASIV® Radiators are made completely from copper-brass, why is it better value?
  7. What are the performance differences between MASIV® radiators and conventional cores?
  8. Radiators are radiators, if anything just works, why upgrade?
  9. Does using a copper-brass radiator with an aluminum engine cause corrosion?
  10. Why do MASIV® Radiators look so good?
Frequently Asked Questions

1. What makes MASIV® Radiators different?
Every MASIV® Radiator is made with one thing in mind -excellence. From performance, to construction, to materials, we offer a no compromise approach in making our products.

Our platforms use top grade copper and brass made under a completely non-corrosive lead-free process.

MASIV® Advanced radiators also feature radical fin and tube geometries that provide more performance per core area. Our technology allows us to design compact ultra-high performance cores with the benefits of greater fatigue resistance, durability, and field repairability.

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2. Why are MASIV® Radiators made of copper-brass?
Copper is a superior heat transfer material and its mechanical characteristics allow us to design more scalable and higher performance cores within the same limited confines of modern engine compartments.

Brass is a far more durable material that has superior characteristics such as fatigue and corrosion resistance.

Copper and brass are also 100% recyclable and require far less energy to do so.

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3. Why lead free?
Lead is a very useful and flexible material to work with. However, it is also toxic.

So the less of it we have in our environment -the better. This is part of our commitment to be better for tomorrow.

Our custom processes employ lead-free solder which has a higher tensile strength than lead-bearing solder. This provides significantly more strength to every joint.

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4. If copper-brass radiators are so good, why did the industry shift to aluminum?
Aluminum is a far more economical material given its abundance. The automotive industry shifted towards it given it is a far cheaper material and provides acceptable performance and reliability for most conventional applications.

But when it comes to performance scaling, aluminum fins are much thicker and therefore block more airflow. So designers are often forced to grow the radiator’s core width by adding more rows.

This becomes a issue when engine bay real estate is limited.

Apart from size penalties, aluminum in heavy duty conditions, however, are prone to metal fatigue, ie. stress fractures, and often will need to be enlarged to increase capacity. They are also difficult if not impossible to repair.

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5. Plastic tanks are everywhere, aren’t they cheaper?
Yes they are cheaper, as these type of tanks were developed to cut costs. Plastic tanks are mechanically crimped onto the aluminum radiator header to compress an o-ring for sealing. However, during normal use, the 3 materials have very different rates of thermal expansion, the O-ring being most prone to wear after repeated cycles will eventually leak.

The plastic material also gets brittle and cracks especially on load bearing sections such as the inlet and outlet pipes where the hoses connect.

Anyone who’s had a plastic inlet or outlet pipe break on them knows well enough that cheap doesn’t necessarily mean value.

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6. MASIV® Radiators are made completely from copper-brass, why is it better value?
In every equipment purchase there are factors between cost and value. Given our radiators perform significantly better, last longer, and are field serviceable, we believe that we provide overall lowered costs and far greater value, especially for heavy duty operations.

Copper-brass radiators are also fully recyclable, thereby leaving practically no waste at the product’s end of life.

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7. What are the performance differences between MASIV® radiators and conventional cores?
In the course of servicing our clients, we have been able to successfully replace typical 4-row radiators with a MASIV® 1 row high performance core.

For transport fleet customers, we’ve replaced 6 row radiators with our custom configured 2-row equivalent which enables their vehicles to receive maximum cooling under all road conditions. Doing so mitigates the parasitic load of engine driven-fans resulting in fuel savings.

For industrial applications, such as power generation, we have replaced 8 row units with ultra-high efficiency 2-row designs.

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8. Radiators are radiators, if anything just works, why upgrade?
There are several key points depending on your application, namely performance, efficiency, and reliability.

If you’re into high performance, its pretty much self explanatory. We design our radiators as drop in replacements, more performance same space -no doing the chop shop hustle. They are also repairable in case the core is damaged by road/track debris.

Our typical heavy duty fleet management clients will have their 6 row radiator replaced by our ultra high performance 2-row cores -because it gives them better overall fuel economy, by lowering the parasitic load of the engine fan, and lowered maintenance costs.

Our industrial customers, apart from performance gains, enjoy the reliability intrinsic to every radiator we build, and the technical services we provide.

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9. Does using a copper-brass radiator with an aluminum engine cause corrosion?
This excerpt from an SAE paper addresses this issue conclusively:

-“In automotive cooling systems, aluminum is never shifted to as noble potentials…Therefore there should be no risk of galvanic corrosion of aluminum caused by copper (-brass) when these metals are used in the same automotive cooling system with properly inhibited glycol.”1

1. Electrochemical Tests with Copper Brass/Radiator Tube Materials in Coolants. -T. Koripinen 2001 Copyright Society of Automotive Engineers

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10. Why do MASIV® Radiators look so good?
At a time when everything is made to be disposable -we prefer to craft our products to last.

Beginning with the right design, using the correct tools, and the necessary machinery, we observe a no compromise approach to our work. Each radiator will look, feel, and work better than what it replaces.

Our clientele expect and deserve better. So our commitment to quality and reliability is non-negotiable.

Looking good just happens to be part of our credo for excellence.

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