Well, they posted some further info on the idea, but yes it can be depending on each design. It's like having a six row chilled water coil serving a building air handler over one uber thick single row; I assure you the six row coil will provide better cooling and overall higher efficiency.

I do have the Australian version of the U-type SMIC. As SpinningDorito posted, I did testing on its efficiency a few years ago and it is significantly more efficient than a single pass of a similar footprint due to the double core. Here are some other stats not from me, but from Knightsport and another person who calculated surface area on commonly used IC's from the past. My IC is thermal ceramic coated on the ends with heat blocker and on the fins with a heat transfer ceramic, which increases the surface area, and therefore the efficiency of the fins. I also have two Spal puller fans on the back side, use WMI, and occasionally use CO2 spraying to supercool the fins when I want maximum IC efficiency and a very low charge temperature even during prolonged full boost.
Mike

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...255c6c95b3.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...cbd76f0602.png
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...134c5b5496.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ec74beb642.jpg

Thanks for the responses. I guess my simpleton brain just figured more airflow over larger fins = more cooling.
For the record, I've never had any kind of overheating problem with my Blitz SMIC, even on the track in the summertime California desert heat. Stock battery and stock intake fit fine, too.
I still see em in this site's FS section once in a while. It's kind of weird that no one has stepped it up and made a knock off.

Alpha Garage? Bueller? Anyone? :wave:

Natey,
The key is the charge temperature entering the engine. The lower the charge temp the less chance of any pre detonation, the higher the HP(cooler or denser air in the combustion chamber), and the ability to keep boosting over and over again and not significantly raising the charge temp over time. That's why many of us use WMI too. The more efficient the IC the better, along with other thermal management factors. In my car, the charge temp will change only 1 or 2 degrees C higher even on full boost runs of over 20-30 secs long, even though the post turbo air is getting hotter and hotter, due to my IC and other thermal management efficiency since the outside air velocity entering my IC airbox keeps going up with increasing speed. Obviously, the car is traveling over 130 MPH or more. The IC air box on the aftermarket IC's makes a big difference too if they are designed right. On a stock IC the charge air would typically go up 20 degrees C or more on these same boost runs and on my old Greddy SMIC it would still go up 12-15 degrees C.
Mike

I'm talking about road courses. Buttonwillow, Laguna Seca, Infineon, etc. 20 min sessions of redline, brake, redline, all day long in the summertime heat. No problems ever with the Blitz as far as intake temps go....which matches up perfectly to the stock duct.

I also run with twin oil coolers, an oversized radiator and proper ducting. The ducting was the key in my case, really. I'm sure the KS unit is nice ( the welds look a little ugly), but it's not anything magic. It's two thin cores instead of one thick core.

Good ducting makes a huge difference, even with the OEM intercooler. From the numbers above the Blitz is almost 2x the surface area of the stock intercooler already (even though it's the lowest surface area improvement of the intercoolers in the chart).

But just to compare apples to apples the oil coolers and radiator size shouldn't really effect air intake temperatures that much. The intercooler isn't really there to keep the engine cool, its there to keep your intake air from getting hot.


As far as why nobody makes a knock off, I'm not sure how much money is in it or how much cheaper they can be done. Rotary Performance (this is a web archive link) used to sell one for ~$900 they made. It's no longer listed on their website so I am not sure if they still sell them.

I think Pettit used to also sell one, but they only offer the larger SMIC that requires battery relocation and a pod style intake now.