Is there anyone out there who sells a brass / copper heater core for our cars?

Bought the ADPI and I got a Spectra Premium aluminum core in the box. Returned it.
Bought the Vista Pro and was told it was recalled due to the backer plate being too small and not mounting properly, with a corrected design "available 11/24."

So since I'm not putting an aluminum heater core in any of my vehicles under any circumstance (unless it originally came with aluminum and that's all you can get), who else out there has a quality product?

 

What is wrong with an aluminum core? I don't think you can find a modern vehicle with a copper core these days.

Copper radiators are long gone. Honda has used aluminum radiators for decades now.

Aluminum cores are going to play nice with your aluminum engine.

 

Not sure what you're talking about with regards to aluminum cores "playing nice with aluminum engines." Also not looking to replace my radiator, so... irrelevant.

Just because OEMs are cheaping out at all new levels these days, doesn't mean I'm doing it in my own vehicle with a much higher build quality than the Civics of today.
It's well known that aluminum heater cores are prone to failure. That's why they're always half the price of a brass / copper unit. Cheap ****. I'm not ripping out my dash in 6 months to replace it.
Anyways, there wasn't necessarily anything wrong with the current one so I brought it to a radiator shop today to give it a once-over. I'll take my chances with a refurbished OEM unit over a Chinese-made aluminum one.

 

Galvanic corrosion is what I am on about with aluminum playing nice with aluminum. Shouldn't be an issue if you stay on top of coolant maintenance but not everyone does.

Copper is a more expensive material and that is what you are seeing in the price. Not necessarily a better material for the job. True there is a lot of Chinese **** on the market that won't last 6 months. On the other hand OEMs including Honda seem to have no issues getting 20+ years out of aluminum heater cores.

Don't write off a heater core or radiator for being made from aluminum.

 

agreed.

galvanic corrosion occurs because of dissimilar materials. its better NOT to have any copper in the system.

 

Well unfortunately the only two options on the market today (from what I can tell) include buying a Spectra aluminium core (from China), and taking your OEM core to a radiator shop. Seems a lot easier to flush coolant once every few years than it is to take apart a dash. The other problem I ran into was the fact that all of the EF heater hoses have been discontinued. I went to the parts store and got some hoses that I made work, but I wasn't happy about it.

In this case, galvanic corrosion can take a back seat to quality. I didn't really care for the way the Spectra was put together. The hard lines weren't perfectly parallel, which would make installation a tad more difficult as well as being aesthetically displeasing. My original core wasn't necessarily broken. That says a lot about the difference in quality. Over 30+ years old and about to get another lease on life.

An OEM aluminum core by Honda may last years, but it simply doesn't exist for this vehicle.

 

Hey no problem with that. Sounds like the aluminum option was complete ****.

The upside to the old copper stuff is that it can be renewed if it doesn't have holes in the core.

EF stuff is long gone from Honda. EG stuff is also getting rare. EK is next. Amazing they have had support for as long as they have.