As a racing car repair shop, our customer James has purchased and experienced two racing cooling systems - the RINI Personal Cooler, which he has been using for about six months, and the recently used RIGID company's Alphacooler cooling system for a few weeks.
For various reasons, James has never purchased or used a water-based cooling system. The reason being that water-based cooling systems are very troublesome, and transporting ice to the racetrack is a challenging task. Moreover, the cooling effectiveness of ice diminishes rapidly over time, resulting in unsatisfactory results.
After comparing the RINI cooler and RIGID's Alphacooler, my conclusion is that Alphacooler outperforms in terms of both performance and value for money. The cost of Alphacooler is only one-fifth of RINI, while providing much greater cooling capacity and being easier to install and use than RINI. Here is a brief summary so that you can choose the right racing cooling system based on your specific needs.
Choose RINI if:
- Weight is an absolute priority consideration.
- You have limited space.
- Your car has very little extra power.
- For long-distance races where you need cooling, but not excessive cooling. Think of races like Miata, WRL, or championship models. Or in races with NASA or SCCA, where races are typically 20-30 minutes or less.
- Money is not an issue - I paid over $8,000 for my system.
Choose Alphacooler if:
- You want an energy-efficient cooling system at a reasonable price.
- You require a significant amount of cooling. You are particularly sensitive to heat (like me), or you drive a very hot car, such as NASCAR, Pan Am racing, or Porsche Cup racing. Or if you live in Texas and often race in temperatures of 100-105℉ degrees.
- Available power is not a problem.
- Space is available.
- You can handle a weight of 15 pounds (Alphacooler is more like 10~15 pounds).
