93RedDragonFD

iTrader: (16)

I agree, its not worth risking it just for the short term savings.

mgoddard1

Good find, with ebay even though it says greddy on it there's still a possibility that it's a knockoff as well. It's easier to hold rx7store accountable for what they sell vs. some seller off of ebay.

pinkrx7

iTrader: (2)

So because of your ONE intercooler experience I guess you can successfully deduce and generalize, that all ebay intercoolers are like adding a pipe in place of the stock ic. Yes I see how this makes utter and complete sense. Much like how all asians love math..

Since you post that your IC is for sale most likely that means you didn't actually cut it open and see "fin density" inside looked like. Even if ya did, you can't generalize. Many honest people do business on ebay, many people sell crap. Just like many people give good honest advice and others spread misinformation/vague generalizations.

Marshall

^ Let me clarify. I am referring to the XSPower, Godspeed, xxx chinese brand intercoolers sold on ebay as they are all the same basic core -and the same core that are typically used in knockoff "kits". Sure, you can find good name brand stuff on there as well (spearco, bell, etc), these are not the ICs I am referring to.

Oddly enough, one can see fin density and turbulator layout just fine by looking into the 3" gaping hole in the side of the end tanks where the pipe bolts up.

I'm not only referring to my awesome experience with these intercoolers where I routinely saw outstanding efficiencies in the 50% range after several highway pulls but also to folks like Dave Buschur who logged massive increases in charge temps with the EVO FMIC "upgrade" over several dyno pulls.
http://www.tamparacing.com/forums/mi...oler-test.html

Here's another interesting (albeit unscientific) test on the core that works so well:
http://www.mcx7.com/showthread.php?t=2391

Might you get a decent core in one of these magical $200-400 cracker jack kits? maybe -is it worth a motor to find out?

pinkrx7

iTrader: (2)

Just busting your ***** man don't hate me or anything.

But the links you posted are pretty ehhh.. a blow dryer to simulate IC efficiency? And another site testing two completely different surface area ICs? lol WITHOUT correction and only on a dyno with probably inadequate fans street/road test is a better way to test ic efficiency hands down

according to the site you posted the ic that "owned" was 24x12x3.75 which equals 1350sq/in

ebay ic was 20x12x3.5 which = 840sq/in pretty simple to see larger ic will dissipate heat more efficiently.

You post about it taking a motor to find out if a IC is ehh is like your previous post, ambiguous.
Anyone with the technical/mechanical prowess to install and tune a FMIC or any IC for that matter should be able to also relocate ait and see what they're getting to tune appropriately.

http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/intercoolers.htm

site has a pretty cool calc.

Marshall

No sweat, I know those tests weren't all inclusive -just some examples of the trend.

This is why my testing was done on the highway and measured with a fast dual channel pyrometer (one probe on the IC inlet and one on the outlet) -factory AIT sensors are relatively slow and catch trends more than anything.

My ebay core (24x12x4) had more surface area than my new precision IC (garrett core 28x10x3.5) & yet its efficiency was generally 30% (!) lower after repeated highway pulls from 40-120mph (similar to road course activity). Knock was up, timing was pulled, EGTs went up -all bad things. This is exactly what Buschur saw & what the hair dryer test alluded to.

Generally speaking, the type of folks that are comfortable slapping 200 dollar intercoolers on their cars are typically not the type that are going to log AIT changes and make appropriate corrections in the fuel/timing tables. So could it kill their motor? again, maybe. But on a car prone to popping a seal if its stared at hard enough, I think its worth the extra 300 bucks or so to eliminate that uncertainty.

The real root of my "grumpiness" here:
I've watched the FD community go from an abundance of questions like "What's the absolute best/highest quality intercooler/DP/exhaust/computer/etc I can put on my car?" in the late 90s to the "Whats the absolute cheapest **** I can throw under my hood and still look and sound cool?" threads that dominate this forum today.

pinkrx7

iTrader: (2)

Yeah I know what you mean. Its just part of the age of the car + underpaid kids getting their hands on it. Majority of FD enthusiasts already have their car all set up. They search and most likely go with what people at gotham or kd suggest. They don't make threads to see what people's opinion are. So fear not, its just murphey's law(kinda).

But Im definitely interested in the underdogs who don't have money to advertise (resorting to ebay) coming out with good solid products. Of course if you buy **** like XS POWER and god speed then your gonna get low end china made cores.

Mind telling what type of ebay ic you bought? (seller/make)

Marshall

I'm with ya on the underdogs -there certainly needs to be a balance between the cheap stuff and ridiculously overpriced stuff out there.

I had the XS Power FMIC.

jdhuegel1

I can't comment on the intercoolers, as I haven't owned one. I can say that I got my hands on an Ebay manifold for a single and beat the crap out of it with no problems. It did have fitment issues that I had to correct, but it held together just fine. As for performing against a tested unit, I don't have that data. I eventually got a Greddy T78 kit installed and sold the manifold in perfect working order.

I think you CAN win on ebay sometimes. If you're lucky and get a product copied off someone that actually spent the $$ on R&D (thus the high cost). Honestly, thats where most of cost comes from is offsetting the price paid for development. Makes sense anyway.

skir2222

Yes! Agreed, that would not be cool at all to pay for a brand name item and get a cheap knock off and have to replace parts of the kit you bought.

rx7plus8

well i ordered the kit! so i guess i'll find out! i'll post pics when it comes in plus i think the piping alone is worth 200 bucks

str8ryd

iTrader: (473)

What would honestly prompt you to create this thread if you have ZERO intention of listening to any of the advice being given within it?!? If you can't afford a more expensive, better quality unit why even change out the stock one? Don't modify your car at all at that point. If anything it'll be even worse off than it was with the stock intercooler.


P.S. The piping isn't worth much at all. Someone experienced can easily make their own piping for under $50 so yah, don't kid yourself. You're getting a junk ebay intercooler with some decent piping at best.