BenRX

I have searched well for his and i have seen the advice people have been given to not go with a side mount etc. I live in Cyprus though you see and the stock TMIC quite quickly becomes a top mount interwarmer and i have the oppourtuninty to get hold of a Side mount core for like £20 and i'm pretty sure it would work much better than a stock top mount once i've changed the radiator and fan set up.

So before someone comes and says they are ***** and the stock tmic is better - i'm willing to bet that in Cyprus this is not the case. The SMIC will work on a similar design to a VMIC set up on the S5 FC and i will fabricating some extra venting from the bumper to help with cooling. Again i'll remind that i won't be running a stock rad and fan set up when i do this.

So is anyone else running a Side Mount InterCooler on their FC?

Many thanks for any input.

hiroichi1515

iTrader: (17)

Im sure it would work as long it isnt too small and it is vented correctly and placed in a position that it won't heat soak as well.

BenRX

Yeah i'm thinking behind the radiator with a fan inbetween. Just wondering if anyone else has done it to see mounting points and their cooling set up.

Thanks

Osirus9

iTrader: (10)

why wouldnt you mount the smic in front of the radiator to give it the coldest air possible?

is it small enough that you could actually put it to the side somewhere? like in front of one of the front wheels with the (modified) brake duct feeding it? I suggest this because thats where the smic on an eclipse is, and while not ideal it does work.

arghx

iTrader: (3)

Where would you put it?

BenRX

Well i was going to mount it behind the radiator as thats where the vmounts go and the stock FD one if i'm not mistaken, the core is 460x310x85. I'm pretty sure you can get a fair amount of air from under the front bumper with a little fabircation work down there. I mean there is a bit more room under the FC bonnet than there is in an FD so it must be easily possible to do once the enourmous stock fan and all its ancillaries are removed. Thinking of relocating the battery as well, which again is not such a difficult job.

I'm going for this kind of set up, but in an FC. I know the FD bay is set up slightly different but its not 100 miles away from whats under the bonnet of an FC. As i say i'm just interested to know if anyone else has gone for the same approach?

gameover2145

iTrader: (1)

The SMIC acronym means Stock Mount Intercooler when talking about FDs. Obviously, its right in the middle of the engine bay, not on the side of anything. Sidemount intercoolers are used by some VWs, DSMs, and some other things. It goes in the brake duct area of the bumper.

I haven't seen anyone mount an intercooler in that location unless its a v-mount. You might as well use an Isuzu NPR intercooler. It's cheap, easy to mount, and its been done quite a bit which means researching and getting help should be much easier. It fits right in front of the radiator and is of pretty good size. I've also seen people take the TMIC and simply move it up to the front bumper area.

stevensimon

iTrader: (11)

if your intercooler is still stuck on top of your intake manifold then congratulations, you already have a "smic". if you want to get a larger intercooler then its nothing new to install a "fmic". if you dont want to dilly dally and put your fab skills to use then you should create and fit a "vmic".

BenRX

Ah well when i've been looking at these intercoolers they are dubbed smic - side mount intercooler. Not to worry, as far as the Isuzu goes coming accross an intercooler from one of them would be a task in its self. The main reason i am looking into this route is because i can get the intercooler core mentioned and most of the pipe work for less than £100gbp. Figured fitting it all would not even cost me that, so i'd have a much better intercooler system for a pretty small cost of a normal vm or fm set up.

Yeah, please read above. I'm mainly looking into this as it seems a pretty cheap alternative cosidering the price i can get the set up for. Can't really be that hard to mount this in a similar place to the VM set up.... Only really looked at it from a cost/upgrade perspective.

Costs will be less than £200bgp to get parts and fit and will be much better than the tmic, would have thought that was good value???

stevensimon

iTrader: (11)

buy a generic eBay fmic kit for 150$

BenRX

Cost of shipping to Cyprus is fairly high mind. All the ones i've seen on ebay are up over the £200 mark with shipping and do i not need to butcher the front end of my FC for a Front mount set up? Also i'll need the piping, is a generic one not more hassle than they're worth?

arghx

iTrader: (3)

The stock FD radiator is angled far forward in order to help fit the intercooler, and the oil cooler(s) are mounted on the side instead of in the middle like the FC.

BenRX

Does this more or less mean it won't fit then? I assumed that as a vmount fitted fine this would, Then thinking about it a vmount is horizontal not vertical?

Dimensions are 460x310x85?

gameover2145

iTrader: (1)

With a V-mount setup, the radiator is remounted so it is angled back, and the intercooler sits horizontally. The radiator and intercooler make a V shape from a side profile. It allows air to hit both the radiator and intercooler equally.

I think what you're trying to do is more trouble than its worth. I would just mount it in front of the radiator if anything, then plumbing would be the only issue.

tuscanidream

iTrader: (6)

You could use two small intercoolers on the sides and duct the radiator and oil cooler in their stock positions for better airflow. Just an idea. Intercoolers would be in the spots where my oil coolers are in my vmount setup, and you could run the plumbing inside the bumper support?

If your looking for a cheap solution, smic isn't the way to go in my opinion. In my eyes, it will be a totally custom setup like what I have.

SMIC could be in the spots where I have my oil coolers: see pic below-

BenRX

I'll probably just save up and get a proper front mount set up, as this seems the most trouble free option. To be honest i'm getting way ahead of myself as usual, i really need to sort out coilovers and handling before i start looking at power upgrade options. I do however appreciate the help thats been offered today on the subject.

Ben

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

the FD pic is a little misleading, its missing the duct. on the FD the radiator is closer to horizontal, and there is a space between the top of the radiator and the hood latch support (?) and then there is a duct to the intercooler and the airbox.

so the intercooler is PHYSICALLY on top of the radiator, and sits in the engine bay, its air is sourced so that it gets the same air as the radiator.

BenRX

Ah okay, well this was a good discussion and at least i've learned something. thanks for all the help.