HKS V-Mount Review
 

Hello Everyone,

I figured I'd write a small review on this vmount kit since I was having a hard time myself finding info on it. To start off, I had a Defined Autoworks vmount kit before but wasn't 100% sold on the quality of the kit. I used the car mainly as a DD for a few years and the Defined kit has never given me an issue and has cooled my water temp and air temp very well. With that being said, I had my eyes on 3 vmount kits, HKS, Greddy and Rotary Extreme.

I've seen the Rotary Extreme a few times and absolutely feel it's one of the better looking vmount kit there is. Unfortunately they're backordered with no ETA on when it will be ready again.

The Greddy kit I had the pleasure of seeing when I went to Japan a few months ago. They had a fancy display at Super Autobacs showing everything mounted on a rig with the motor and a Greddy turbo kit. I was very impressed with the kit itself but there were a few things I didn't like. I was checking the thickness of the end tanks and just by knocking on it, you can tell it's a bit thin. I don't think it matters much but for me, there was something not very reassuring about it. Another thing I noticed was the thickness of the radiator seemed to be a bit smaller than the regular Koyo. I think I might be wrong on this but judging from other radiators on display that were 53mm, this one seemed a bit smaller. Obviously efficiency is more important than size but again, this was just an observation. However, the kit is well developed with the radiator inlet and outlet being on top which reduces the amount of piping there is. Also, the kit is very complete with everything you need and for the price, I don't think there's a better kit out there.

My last vmount kit on the list is the HKS. It was last for me because the only car I've seen it on was Battlecat's kit. I was under the impression that the kit came with a radiator but unfortunately, it asks you to reuse you stock or aftermarket stock type radiator. During research, the only thing I can tell about it was the core being one of the biggest you can get for the FD and that it had all the cold side IC piping and included an elbow just like the Greddy kit. When it became time to purchase my kit, I had originally thought I ordered the Greddy kit from Yahoo Japan but since I was half awake when I did the transaction, I ended up with the HKS kit.

I didn't get my HKS for 2 months due to it being out of stock but during that time, I had a few buyers remorse from purchasing the wrong vmount and did as much research as I can. I ended up with a Koyo radiator as usual but this time opting for the N-Flow version. When I received the vmount, the box was a good 3-4ft and very thick. I had honestly thought I received the vmount kit with a radiator due to the size.

First Impression:
When I got back home, I opened the kit and was immediately impressed with the packaging and the main show, the intercooler. I used to work in the aftermarket industry that dealt mainly with European parts so I've been around a plethora of high end parts. HKS parts have always been a cut above the rest and this is obviously no different. As I stated before, I had seen Battlecat's HKS kit but didn't analyze it as closely as I can since ultimately, it's not my car. However, now with the intercooler in front of me, I was able to see all the small details and how the fin design is on the inside.

The parts came in multiple boxes with all the associated parts being put together. They were so serious on packaging that they even put empty HKS boxes with packing material to act as a cushion to reduce any blow it would take from shipping. All the brackets were well designed and for the ones that were colored, they were not powder-coated but rather anodized to give it a nicer finish. The kit itself came with intercooler, intercooler piping, intercooler elbow, intercooler coupler, hose clamps, air diverter plate, mounting plates and bracket, AC relocation kit, power steering hose, radiator pipe, stencil, fuse box and battery relocation bracket, and the instruction in Japanese. Since this kit is made for the HKS T04Z, there may be parts that are different than if you were to purchase the OEM twin turbo kit. What you'll need to purchase will be a radiator and radiator hose for OEM setup.

Install:
The install is fairly straight forward but the instructions gives you a good idea of the steps and where everything goes. The one thing that surprised me about this kit compared to anything I've seen is that they laser engrave all the brackets. These engravings show a serial number that matches with the instructions so you have an idea of where everything would go in case there are brackets that look similar. With everything installed, the kit had no gaps and a huge amount of room by the power steering pump area because of the way the pipes are routed.

Overall:

I don't have much negative to say about the kit except a few small things. First, they used a stock style radiator which made those hose a bit longer than needed. Second, the fitment is so spot on that it makes a bit difficult to tighten everything if you don't have the right tools. Third, the main front relays are still zip tied to the front support. I wish they made a special bracket for it considering they made one for everything else including the starter harness. Lastly, I wished aftermarket radiator fit better on this kit. I felt the brackets were made mainly for stock sized radiator which caused some of the bolts to be too short and some of the brackets to be put in the max position.

I'm very happy with my choice in the kit even if it was not intentional. The kit gave me a lot of room to run things such as aftermarket power steering reservoir, more room for oil fill neck and especially more room directly in front of the engine. I would say this is one of the best buys I've done in a while and I'm very happy with it even if it's a bit expensive.

Pictures with comments:

Room decoration:
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$20 bill as reference:
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Empty box as cushion:
Attachment 753503

Diverter Plate straight from the bending brake:
Attachment 753504

Fuse box and battery relocation bracket:
Attachment 753483

Close up of the anodizing:
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Close up of the core and fin:
Attachment 753485

Box of couplers, hoses and clamps:
Attachment 753486

Box or radiator piping and intercooler piping:
Attachment 753487

Intercooler and radiator bracket, intake elbow and AC relocation kit:
Attachment 753488

Intake of the intake elbow:
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Weld on elbow for the t04z:
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Cutting radiator hose using worm clamp as a guide:
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Instructions with the number and corresponding serial number:
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Close up of the serial:
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Radiator and diverter plate in:
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Intercooler in:
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Coldside piping test fitted on:
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Clears the strut bar!
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wow, that's an interesting kit! Thanks for the photos.

Very nice! This was at the top of my list but I wound up doing a completely custom design.

Thanks for the writeup. That's a HUGE intercooler for sure, but do you think you'll be able to source a fresh air intake from the front of the car, or does the intercooler block its path?

Did you have any temp issues on track with the Defined kit? Or overall just didn't like that it wasn't as precise and polished?

Maybe the most expensive intercooler setup out there. Would love to see real world testing for it. We have always planned on a 4inch core vmount, but not many people want to spend the money.

I'm not sure to be honest but I was going to duct some pipes for the intake through the headlight or from other areas. I think I should be okay but I can't say for sure.

I had zero issues with the defined kit. I just wanted a more polished product more than anything. I also see radiators as wear and tear items that I usually replace every few year and the defined kit with their welded modified koyo didn't make it any easier. That was also another con for the Greddy kit to me. I can't imagine having to shell out $800 for a radiator with Greddy.

If we consider it as just an intercooler, yes, it's the most expensive. However, if you factor in the cost of a regular Koyo and the kit, it comes out pretty even to what the Greddy kit cost. I'm curious to see how it'll work out but it'll be hard to say since I've changed so many things since my last setup. My friend has one of those couplers with temp sensor bung threaded in so maybe I can do a hotside and coldside air temp difference.

I find your strut bar strangely arousing... :awesome:

For $250, I find it arousing too!

Well Nengun is currently having a GB that makes the Greddy Kit quite affordable, which now makes the HKS the Baller status core for sure.

I'm really diggin the quality and details of the HKS, especially that battery relocation bracket. That thing is awesome.

The GB didn't happen until a little after I placed an order for the kit. I believe when calculating it from yen to USD, the GB would have saved me around $150. If you add everything up and subtract a few hundred for the Greddy intake that you can sell, yeah, the Greddy is significantly cheaper.

Great write up Jason

That's going to be one good looking (and powerful) engine bay :icon_tup:

Thanks! I did some short cut in the bay though :blush:

I remember something from a long time back that the HKS V-mount puts the radiator fans VERY low. Are they protected or is it possible to hit something/damage them?

Also, can you get to the radiator drain plug without pulling the nose off the car?

Thanks for the writeup!

Dale

This is the same kit I have. I kind of like the older version (mine) because the intercooler has the "hks" imprinted/embossed or whatever on the top.

Either way it's a nice setup. I found I did not like the road clearance of the radiator though.

Hello Dale,
The kit is low but from peeking under the car, the sway bar is lower than my radiator. Then again, I'm not running the stock radiator fans. I will have a splitter soon and that will protect everything under. With my aftermarket bumper, it clears enough to drain my radiator but I have a feeling I'll just spill everything over my bumper. I would imagine those that run non-n flow radiator to have an issue since they won't have the drain plug there.

If you look at mine, it still hast he HKS logo embossed too but it seems like the person that embossed it was too weak.

A+ on the writeup, thanks for contributing a review on this kit and adding in the high quality pics to show all the details of the kit. I am currently torn between the Greddy kit and this one but I kind of like how the core on this kit is massive, this defintely has me leaning towards the HKS kit.

Great write up ! I've been eyeing the HKS VMIC for awhile. The thing is that I like the most is the quality of their IC core.

Which turbo do you have on it? Did the hot side piping that came with the kit fit?

HKS V-Mount Review
 

Yes, the core on this is on a different level than what's out there. I'm running a Borg Warner s360 but the piping doesn't fit because of my manifold. I'm not running the HKS one.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...f28cb9e9d2.jpg


Kind of a bad pic, but this is one of mine with the GReddy t78 kit. I of course opted not to use the batter tray.

Only mini issue I had was the GReddy elbow that comes off of the turbo. I did not have that HKS 90* elbow with mine.

I will be test fitting the 20b in my fd then see if the hks v mount fits in there. If it doesn't she'll have to go :p.

Ah, yeah, the his elbow wouldn't have done much since it would sit too high on your setup. I think 20B would still work with this kit but it'll be very close.

Great review !

Heres a pic of my set up, and a review of the kit.

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The install was too perfect , couldn't believe it. i can't even think of what to say cause it was seamless and easy.

The packaging and quality of each part , even the little things like the bolts each coming with 2 washers, nuts and a locking spring washer, you get what you pay for . I'm surprised it doesn't cost more.

I was torn between the greddy kit, but the winning factor was the symmetry and aesthetics this kit gives the engine bay, i love how it re-routes the cold pipe around the engine bay (symmetry with the hot side pipe on the other side)... Eventually when i get a electric water pump and side mount alternator set up the engine block itself should be fully exposed without all that stuff in the way and look even better.

Also the intercooler end tanks are on point , they are formed beautifully. This is something no one comes remotely close too, probably cause no one has the means to cast their own $$$ Thats what I've always hated about the other Vmounts kits, so many welds everywhere and botched up polygon looking end tanks.

The HKS elbow is unique to the kit as well, it straightens out the hot side with very little curves at all. think of all the horrible snakey intercooler piping you've ever seen.

As for real world testing , the track spec FDs in japan i see featured (speed hunters etc) the majority would are running this kit, i haven't seen any serious race car run the greedy kit.

I got my existing alloy radiator modified , i did initially use the hKS radiator relocation parts but thought id play around with it in the end.

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Also some pictures the original post missed... the radiator hard pipes.
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Even these are perfect...

I welded the HKS elbow to my turbo..
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The AC lines are top notch.
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A pic of the whole kit.
http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/...psczgfa0om.png
The battery relocation tray is also a very cool well thought out piece that i didn't end up using because of my battery already in the boot.

Conclusion,
It would be my first choice if i was to do it all again on a new build 10/10