Water pump housings compared here (factory cast iron vs. aftermarket aluminum)

[Supercharged Riot]

So I'm in the market for some upgrades.
And in the process, I am looking for shed some weight and free up some rotational force caused by a mechanical water pump.

I bought a couple aftermarket aluminum water pump housings in the process and I only plan on keeping one of them.
Here's what I have to compare this weekend:




1) Aftermarket aluminum water pump Ebay no name brand ($80)
2) Aftermarket aluminum water pump "Proflo" from Summit Racing ($145)
3) OEM cast iron water pump
4) Aftermarket aluminum water pump Mancini Racing ($90)

I suppose I'll start off by talking about the OEM cast iron one.
Well....its factory spec, so you can't go wrong with that.
It will also serve as a benchmark comparison to aftermarket aluminum housings.
I'm not a professional hi performance consultant, but I have my own opinions based on my own observations.
You can draw your own conclusions.
This was meant to show you what is out there and what you get for the money that you pay for water pump housings

WEIGHT (HOUSING ONLY):

Cast iron = About 15 lbs or so


Aluminum = About 5 lbs



AESTHETICS:

Well, if you're going to paint the darn thing (which will most likely happen) this comparison wont matter much.






3) OEM cast iron water pump:
The case iron housing is what it is. Very well designed I might add.


2) Aftermarket aluminum water pump "Proflo" from Summit Racing ($145):
Now the "Proflo" (Summit Racing) housing looks more well crafted. You just get a cheezy logo in front.


1) Aftermarket aluminum water pump Ebay no name brand ($80)
The cheap ebay brand seems to have some interesting noticeable design factors.
You can see on the right side of this picture, there seems to be a sharper  turn going into the block. I felt on the inside and this seems to be true inside the housing as well.
Im sure water flow might  or might not be nearly as critical as air flow inside a cylinder head, but if you're are very picky, this might be of some concern in regards to water circulation


4) Aftermarket aluminum water pump Mancini Racing ($90)
This looks almost the same quality as the Proflo model
Some parts of the housing isnt as polished up at the Proflo. So if youre picky about the whole bling look.This one might not be the one for you.
There is one major benefit of this housing in terms of looks. it doesnt have any stupid logos. a big plus in my book.



Lets take a look at the rear design and compare the OEM to an aftermarket aluminum
hmmmmmmmmm..... You can see that the aftermarket Ebay model has a kink on the right side going up towards the upper right side outlet
The OEM has a straight path for water to flow


How much of a difference is it anyway?
See for yourself
I threw in a pic with a dollar bill to show you how much of a difference it is.



WATER FLOW:

Im going to compare some of the water channels found inside the housings.
One big concern is the lower outlet going towards the power steering area.

There's been some complaints about some design flaws on some of the aftermarket housings in this area, such as not being able to stick your fingers through this specific water channel.
Well, first off, Im sure one man's finger size may be a different size compared to another mans fingers
So how do you compare???
Simple, I'll use a common instrument that everyone has in their pocket. A dollar BILL!


Lets take a look now shall we?:

Taking a look inside the cast iron, you can see the spacing of each wall and how much of the dollar bill you can see:



Lets take a look at the Proflo
Now heres a plus!
The spacing between each wall is larger than that of the OEM part.
Not a lot of casting flash to restrict water flow either
You can see that there's more visible surface area of the dollar bill



Lets take a look at the cheap Ebay model
You may or may not notice it, but the spacing of each wall you see towards the center of the housing is more symetrical, but less space between each wall.
You can see this because there's slightly less visibility of the surface area of the dolllar bill


Mancini Racing's model is just slightly smaller than Proflo. A very miniscule amount.
but still better than the OEM & Ebay model in this particular area




Looking from the most outer front side of the pump, it looks like each brand housing has a decent path for water circulation

Cast iron


Proflo


Ebay


Mancini Racing







Lets take a look at the inner most part of the pump:

OEM
The OEM offers again a very smooth water flow (look on the left side of the water channel



Proflo
This model seems to lack a smooth path for water to flow
You can see from the left side of the hole doesnt have quite the great scooping effect compared to the OEM



Ebay
We have a similar problem here with the ebay model
Only except, the lack of water flow scooping effect looks a tad bit worse




Mancini Racing








So is it worth buying an aftermarket aluminum housing??? maybe. I have a while to complete my engine, but I am keeping one for use for sure.
Im experimenting on this housing based off of my findings.
I will also be using an electric water pump to see how much more horsepower I can extract by eliminating the rotational resistance caused by a mechanical water pump. Stay tuned for my review after I finish building my engine...


I will make my verdict later.
You can make your own judgement based on my obervations

[JB400]

Thanks for the heads up

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Great write up! I am about to swap my stock cast housing for a Mancini racing aluminum one. I'm going to compare mine with the dollar bill to check it out but I've never heard anyone complain about the Mancini housing. FYI the Mancini one doesn't have the logo and they have a killer deal on the housing, water pump, and billet water neck for $160.   

[tan top]

    thanks for sharing this info  , & pictures etc 
i'm still sticking to cast iron OEM 

[mauve66]

nice idea with the dollar inside, easy way to notice a difference

[Supercharged Riot]

I tjink the mopar performance has similar design structures as the other aluminum water pumps
But i dont personally have one to compare. Hopefullt someone that has one can chime in on the design quality from the manufacturers performance division

[68 RT]

I bought the no name off ebay for 45.00$ It is on the car and causes no problems. Changed over from the original pump housing. Reused my 10 year old miloden water pump. 

[Supercharged Riot]

I suppose the no name brand works well based on your personal experience.
Thats good
Thanks for your input
I personally havent tested my aluminum housings
I merely observed the design qualities

Have you been using yours for daily driving purposes?

[Ghoste]

I have one of the Mancini ones that has yet to go on my car.   Hmm, I should take some pics of it similar to yours with the dollar bill and such for comparison.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

I have one of the Mancini ones that has yet to go on my car.   Hmm, I should take some pics of it similar to yours with the dollar bill and such for comparison.

I compared my Mancini housing last night and it looks like the water channels are just a hair bigger than the "proflo" one. Everything I have bought from Mancini has been top quality.   

[Ghoste]

My experience with them as well.  I think there may be a bunch of pics of the Mancini one in the overheating thread anyway.

[Supercharged Riot]

I have one of the Mancini ones that has yet to go on my car.   Hmm, I should take some pics of it similar to yours with the dollar bill and such for comparison.

Will you please take pictures?
Im in the middle of deciding which housing is best for my engine
You would be doing me and the whole Charger community a favor 

[FLG]

Pretty sure i have a mopar perfomance one..il check. Though im not removing my water pump, dont have a new gasket for it.

[68 RT]

I suppose the no name brand works well based on your personal experience.
Thats good
Thanks for your input
I personally havent tested my aluminum housings
I merely observed the design qualities

Have you been using yours for daily driving purposes?

Car is not a daily driver, but is driven quite a bit and 80% it is more than a 30 mile round trip.   

[bill440rt]

Mancini here as well.    Combined with an Eddy water pump.
Car runs cool as a cucumber.

[bull]

Based on this, which you've seen, I went with the stock housing: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,52284.0.html

[Supercharged Riot]

I have ordered a Mancini Racing aluminum housing this weekend.
You will have one more to compare very soon.

[Supercharged Riot]

Updated.
I also included a comparison with the Mancini Racing version!!!!

[oldcarnut]

Nice job on the report