Here's a couple shots of the rust I mentioned above that's a bit confusing to me.

 

and the second. The color correction on the camera isn't the greatest but is very standard colored rust.

 

2nd to the last is the huge dent in the input tube. Notice the upper corner is not round at all.

 

and my new frags top center is my favorite LJ Purple Monster

 

Also as requested. Shots showing the different core types thrown together. Did I mention the top row was bashed in on a few spots?

 

Second one.

 

I covered 1. with pics, 2. with pics, 3. with pics and ruler (I've since noticed the problem is the cast end tanks are too small for the cores. The end tanks are 3" and cores are 3 1/8"

4. I never said nobody has installed it with those pipes, I just said everybody agrees the pipes are worthless. Please don't make me take pics of those nasty steel things.

5. I can only assume you haven't had high grade clamps before because the "t bolt" clamps it comes with are like paper clips compared to normal grade clamps.

BTW I'm not saying these things are a complete piece of junk. I'm just saying let's not pretend they're something more than they are. So far I still think they're worth $250. But that's about it. "You get what you pay for." in the case is holding true.

Next week if I have more time I'll be doing the following tests. Passing the first burst of compressed air from a compressor at 20psi through the core, not sure how I'll get enough volume though, and using a clean white mesh on the other side to check for debris. So far it looks like there won't be a problem with that. The next test will be to pressurize the unit under water to look for leaks. I'm not too sure about this one as I've already found one welding pit that goes all the way through into the core. The brazing between layers is what I'm more interested in. I'll see if spearco is still willing to flow test the unit for free, I'm not paying for something the vendor won't do. In the end I'll cut the core in half to get some clean shots of the interior of the core. This will take a fair amount of time because I don't really have any to spare. I guess this was installment one.

Kevin T. Wyum

 

Thanks for the pics Kevin! That is one horrible IC you have there. I'm happy to report mine isn't like that. I would be pissed!

Also, can you please shoot a pic of the clamps and tubes? Maybe ours are different as well?

I appreciate the pics! Can't wait for the pressure testing!

 

he must have known who he was selling it to...

 

Maybe the first couple batches were made more carefully and now that a bunch have been sold the builder really is "outsourcing" the work. Mine definetly doesn't look as bad as the pics Kevin is posting. If it did I wouldn't have installed it.

 

From the way everything is packaged and just knowing how things work I don't think the guy in North Carolina ever sees any of the intercoolers or piping, for the most part. I think he just gets massive pallets or even a full container of various kits from China already boxed up. I don't think they'd still have the FC3S label if it was someone domestic doing this. I still can't get over them making a casting to look like sheet aluminum. That's just so backward, the worst of both worlds. It's a good illustration of the producer not knowing a thing about the product their making.

 

The welds on mine look a little better (I don't see any major excursions as in his second image), and in general I see little to complain about, given the price (and the fact that the intake duct throttles lots of the airflow anyway). Obviously, a major leak would be a different matter.

I could find no evidence, on the boxes, the IC itself, or their website, that the IC is made in China. That was speculation many posts ago (by Kevin) that has since been taken as fact. For all we know, they are welded together in a barn somewhere in North Carolina. In any event, it is unclear to me how being made in China, in and of itself, is either a negative or a positive. Recall the undeserved reputation of Japanese products in the 1960s... which has been followed by the adoration of all things Japanese on this website.

It is worth pointing out that no one here is likely to be purchasing the "other" $1500 dollar intercooler just to criticize (or should I just say "critique"?) it. So overpricing does have some benefits.

 

The "other" $1500 dollar intercooler has been critique and performance analyze extensively.

This data is known.

 

I still believe the cored was produced as one unit. Why they stacked the fins different at the top and bottom who knows. When I saw the original comment about there being two different cores. I was thinking more along the lines of two cores split in the center and welded together. I don't see how this would have a negative effect. The welds on Kevins are absolutetly horrible but they definetly have some issues. I know I don't weld to well when I'm drunk or have been drinking too much coffee.
I don't think though that the asethetics are really going to affect performance though. Opinions?

 

Not true. When many of you young chaps were still in diapers, Sport Compact Car did extensive testing of the M2 intercooler on their project car

 

Don't know if this has been discussed but I just tried tuning a car with the XS IC and it is the biggest POS I have ever seen or worked on, the stock IC cools better. The owner is gonna build a sealed cool air duct so I'll see what that dows to the cooling later but I mean the thing would heat soak up 5-10degC after each highway pull and it never cooled off unless we parked facing into the wind and popped the hood for ten minutes. It's an inter heater with no ducting solution. After a few pulls the IATs were 60+ and even driving for 10 minutes at highway speed it would not cool down more than 2 or 3 degC. This is on a day with temps around 70 degF.

 

This is true, and that is all it has been so far is about aesthetics. The real issue is will it perform the job we purchased it for? I feel without a doubt, yes it will. This whole charade of proving this intercooler is no good makes entirely no sense to me. Why would anyone go so far out of their way to discredit a product? Has anyone stopped to think about that? I don't believe anyone has asked for tests (extensive and time consuming tests) to report back to the RX community. It's one thing to test and report with results as Howard Coleman has done, which he leaves his findings for others to access, rather than one who makes every effort to shove their findings off to discredit products (and people for that matter). Why would a background check be done on this company by someone who 1) does no business with said company, 2) was not asked to do a background check, 3) has nothing but negative things to say about anything that's not about them. I can name other forum members whom these same tactics have taken place with. Does anyone else see a pattern here? I am not one to totally ignore proven data, but for someone to constantly bash you for a choice made is in my opinion very "amateurish" and not the actions of a trustworthy person.
The intercooler duct Sean was fabricating had nothing to do with me but for some reason I was pointed out for it's failed success (for anyone who knows the details). I haven't even started my duct fabrication, but I do know it can be done and I can do it for about $50. How many people have you actually seen walk up to a car and start pointing out minute details such as 1/8" width variances on items on the car? Does anyone feel it's cool to down someone's hard work and effort just because you feel it doesn't measure up to certain standards? Can anyone give honest (adult) answers to my questions? Now with that said, having spent about $200 shipped, do I feel the aesthetics are worth a $1300+ price difference if it performs as I expect it to? HELL NO! Besides, it's really not a bad looking unit and with a little time and effort, it could obtain a show-piece appearance and no one would know the difference. I've performed a leak test on mine and it checked out. I have not performed a pressure test but I think I can rig up something with my air compressor and a pressure gauge to give me an idea. Now, a flow test is a different matter. Does anyone know of a way to home-rig a flow test set up?

 

It couldn't have been that long ago. I graduated college in 94 and I don't think those issues came out till 96... as a matter of fact I still have all my copies of SCC, R&T, SS, and C&D.

 

There intercoolers look pretty good. It is pretty hard to mess up a intercooler. But I have heard that there turbo kits are garbage.

 

So you're saying your ran the IC without a duct. Hmmm. Try running the stock IC without it's duct and see how well it performs.

 

Here's a link to the IC review by SCC.

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/projectcars/9911scc_projrx7/

Hmm, how do I make it 'link'?

 

A) There is a minor difference between the two statements "The $1500 IC has never been tested" and "The $1500 IC is too expensive for a forum member to purchase just to criticize". I believe I stated the latter.

B) If I recall correctly, the Sport Compact Car review actually showed the ASP medium IC performing better than the ASP large IC at first. Now, how could it even be close? I believe it is because both are forced to use the same duct intake airflow that Mazda designed for the stock IC. At some point, it is just a waste of effort to enlarge the IC (or improve its efficiency) if you don't supply it with more air. So, why pay $1500 bucks for a fundamentally inefficient design when you can just pay $200 (and of course, beg/borrow/steal/pay and wait interminably for/ a duct)?

C) SportCompactCar is going to be just a little less biased than Kevin Wyum. Review his tangles with Rotary Extreme about vmounts (a design that actually DOES something about increasing airflow) on this website if you have any doubt about that. I have great respect for what I have read regarding Mr. Wyum's abilities to improve his RX7 (I am sure they far exceed mine). I do not respect a vendor that tears down competitor's products instead of improving his own, and Mr. Wyum has made a point of doing just that, over and over, all while getting quite personal about it. But hey, didn't I read that Kevin recently sold his IC "franchise" to someone else? Perhaps that makes him an unbiased bystander now...

D) It is just a real shame that the XS Power guys don't show up here to debate with Kevin - reviewing their ebay comments, they seem even more "colorful". Now, that would be entertainment!

 

At that time, ASP was using a slightly older Spearco core for the Large that was not as efficient. When the newer Spearco core was available in the Large size, that model was updated.

 

In case anyone missed it, I stated a few posts back that personal comments and direct attacks would not be tolerated in this thread. Any biases or personal feelings were established pages ago, so knock it off guys.

 

So you believe that 'without a doubt' that this IC will do the job it was purchased for, but you don't want someone else to evaluate this belief and then question their motivation for doing so? Motivation is irrelevant - data are all that matter.

I'm personally not a huge fan of faith-based product evaluations - this is an intercooler, not a St. Cristopher's medal.

Read back through this thread - people have been clamouring for months for Kevin Wyum to evaluate this intercooler.