ARC product review
 

has anyone tried ACR products that available for US consumers? Induction Box? BOV? Intercooler Kit?

overpriced and not worth the money.

Jason

and, you might have better SEARCH results if you spell it ARC. imo they fall into the category of japanese bling parts. i'm sure they work ok, but for the money you could buy two of a less 'JDM' part that would work just as well. but it's your car, and if JDM bling is what you're after, then proceed.

edit: oh yeah, and the ARC induction box won't fit with the ARC fmic, what's up with that?

I heard APC makes some good stuff!

not really a fan of the arc intake, its up there with pettits for sure. but i heard all the 240 guys drool over arc stuff.

I think the ARC induction box looks really nice. It goes well with greddy smic :)

How does their stock mount intercooler (SMIC) compare ?

:-) neil

No performance figures...
 

but their radiators (and other cooling gear) are ultra light, and the apparent cooling efficiency of their front mount intercoolers for GTRs is very good. It is not all just for looks.

As far as I am aware the ARC intercooler cores are of design unique to them.

J.

Just had to dig up this thread. I'm buying the ARC SMIC tomorrow. Just curious as to how much more effeciency it will have over the stocker. Anybody have any numbers? Intake temps, dyno, boost threshold, anything?

My friend has an ARC SMIC in his FD but we don't know any numbers for it. It is a little bigger than the stock one so it can't be worse. :)

hmm... guess there weren't a lot of people interested in checking numbers after they installed it :(

Anybody notice I spelled "efficiency" wrong :lol:

It's been a while since I did my research on SMICs, but I had a list going on with their drop pressures/dimensions/etc.

IIRC, ARC manufactures two SMICs. One is slightly larger than stock, one is essentially a stock SMIC with metal endtanks. The ARC line of SMICs are essentially worthless, especially considering the price.

If you want to get a decent SMIC that is larger than stock, bolts right in without ANY mods to the air duct, the BLITZ is a good choice.

Otherwise, I'd go with a PFS (comes with a duct), M2 (comes a duct), Greddy/Trust (no duct, needs modified duct).

Worthless?
My car runs a little cooler and I swear I picked up a few HP when I installed my ARC SMIC. The fitment is absolutely perfect (stock battery, radiator and intake here :wavey:) and although there are bigger SMIC's out there, those of us that have to worry about visual inspections will be happy with this set-up. I know I am.

My stock duct matched up damn well to the ARC. A little Gorilla Tape was all I needed to seal it up perfectly.

You'll pass the CA visual inspection just fine with any IC in CA.

I said that they are "essentially" worthless, which what I meant was that for what you're paying, you might as well go for a much better/larger/cheaper alternative.

Stock: 2.5x11.5x4.5 = 129 in^3
ARC: 2.5x12x6 = 180 in^3
Blitz: 11.0x5.5x4.0 = 242 in^3
PFS: 3.5x10.4x10.5 = 382 in^3
Greddy: 4x12.5x7.5 = 375 in^3

That's pretty shitty, IMO. It's hardly larger than stock. ARC just makes sub-par products for the FD, sorry.

Clearly, if you want something that will fit PERFECTLY with both the stock duct, intake, and battery, the Blitz unit is a far better choice. In addition, you can mask the Blitz SMIC to look like a stock IC. AdamC has used filler (epoxy, iirc) to hide the "Blitz" print on the endtank along with some paint and sanding. Then again, CA emissions allow aftermarket intercoolers.

Let's not even get into the pricing on ARC products for the FD, because it's not even arguable. So yeah, I was kinda being nice by saying that ARC products are essentially worthless, because they're basically entirely worthless. Sure, it's a great option over a the stock IC, but the stock IC is pretty piss poor as it is. At a mere 10PSI, you're seeing a pressure drop of 2PSI+ across the core. Any upgrade, even the cheap ebay ones, are better than stock, but that does not mean it's a "good" IC.

Let's take a look at another example of a crappy ARC product:

The "ARC Super Air Induction Box"
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ARC-C...spagenameZWDVW

The intake box has two filters, one on each end. Gee, super induction huh?
The only thing that is super about it is the hot ass air it's sucking through the bottom filter via the radiator fans. And the top filter? Well, it's sucking in stagnant hot air as well.

Face it man, just because it's "JDM mad tyte ARC" doesn't mean it does jack shit.

If anyone wants a quality SMIC that will fit without a hitch with the stock duct and airbox, get the BLITZ unit.

Thanks for the insults, there, big guy, but unless you've compared, in your car, the ARC SMIC with the Blitz, PFS and others, then your long-winded post is nothing but opinion. If you have, then post up the results.
Are the designs of all the cores and the way the air passes through them identical? How bout the materials that they're made with?

Yeah I remember reading something about the ARC intercoolers having a unique core only used by them.

well here is my 2c, had the ARC intake box and rare RACE SPEC SMIC and i loveeeed it. only reason i dont have it is becuase i want to go front mount with my t-78, but i can deffently see a difference. If you can find a RACE SPEC ARC SMIC you will see that it has the same thickness as a front mount. but again i lov the brand just that it cost a lot. i did a lot of research on the ARC line. ps if you look at the reg SMIC ARC you can see that the RACE SPEC is much thicker than the normal one.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2.../sbsengine.jpg

EUGH, I see XS Power on the right....

I bought the ARC SMIC, and installed it in my car. I was VERY disappointed with the results. While I hadn't checked the numbers my stock I/C was making, when I installed the ARC, my numbers were constantly around very high 50s/mid 60s. The ARC was in great shape, with very few bent fins. I was so frustrated with high intake temps, that I decided to sell it and buy a Greddy SM, and sell the ARC immediately. After the ARC sold, I put the stocker in there until my Greddy arrived, and my intake temps went down about 30 degrees farenheit! I couldn't believe it. I feel bad for the guy I sold mine to...