I'm thinking of buying spearco or griffin core and hks or good quality endcaps and have an intercooler similar to the M2 fabbed. Would this be worth it or more expensive in the long run? My goal is to have an IC (SMIC) by next May. I really don't know what costs what and if IC core tech has changed. My stocker is really killing my power but keeps the engine really cool (185 average operating temps).

 

It could be more expensive in the long run depending on the end caps and who is fabing it.

 

i think a FMIC by spearco would actually be pretty cheap... however i'm not sure how a SMIC would be integrated...

 

In general the most economical thing to do is purchase a used aftermarket IC. Even assuming you have the tools and skills, I would expect that fabbing your own IC would not be sustantially cheaper than purchasing a complete new one.

I think you might be confused. Your IC has little or no impact on the operating temperature of your engine. Your cooling system is far and away the predominate factor controlling you engine temperature. The main impact of your stock IC is on the intake charge temperature and back pressure on your turbos.

I would never say that a stock IC "kills power". I would say that a stock IC limits the ability to safely operate at higher boost. But frankly, I don't really understand the preoccupation with increasing boost. I support the concept of adding an aftermarket IC to lower charge temperatures (increase charge density) at stock boost, reduce overall intake system pressure restrictions, and make life easier for the turbos.

 

http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/turbo/intercooler.html
Those GN people really know their stuff...

 

My father and I made our own SMIC for my car. We used 2 GS-T IC cores and fabed our own end tanks which I polished and were shaped like the stock end tanks. The IC fit perfect inbetween battery and the airfilter. I then modified the stock duct to fit the new IC. To give an example of its size, it was longer and a little thicker than the GReddy.

The best part about it is it didn't cost me a thing.

 

The tough part is the duct. You could have an IC fabbed by Spearco for you w/ their generic endtanks for abot $600... then blow a ton trying to fab up a duct that fit... unless you don't mind a ghetto cobble-up job.

 

PM RotorBrain (Paul), He's fabbing an Apex GT-Spec core with the respective end tanks into a verticle location. You might gain some insights on how much it will cost and the amount of elbow grease it will take.

 

A year ago I made my own SMIC. I purchased a Spearco intercooler and made my own pipes and CF duct. Total price came to around $1200. At the time, I had looked at M2's SMIC $1495 plus the elbow pipe = around $1600. Living in Denmark, I ran the chance that I would have to pay tax when shipped over....more $$$.

In the end. I saved some money but most of all I really enjoyed making my own.

 

WOW man, that's pretty! Good work on the polishing too.

 

Very nice OC94Rx7!!!

 

I use to have a custom FMIC before I got into an accident (and had to sell the FMIC). It was pretty huge, griffin core and HKS endcaps I think. It's dimensions were similar to the Greddy units at the time. There is a huge drop in power when I went back to the stock SMIC.

I was hoping the SMIC would be cheaper, but they are not that much cheaper than a FMIC.

Oh well, I guess I'll wait for something used to come up.

I'd like to make around 300 horsepower at the wheels. Think my setup will eventually do that? I've seen PFS intercoolers time to time. I've love to get an M2, but $$$. I'll do a search to see what I get. Thanks for the help so far.

Currently, I'm about 210 HP at the wheels:

3mm apex seals, street port /w teflon/cooling mods
Petit computer
full exhaust and intake
non sequential /w ported wastegate (still not big enough)
SMIC stock (hopefully not forever)
7 lbs of boost... It's at 12 now, but I'd like to get the aftermarket IC before I raise boost to 14.

clutch/pplate have been upgraded along with the cooling system. Rock steady 185F temps.

 

About that killing temp thing... my FMIC was blocking all the air to the radiator and average temps were around 220F (I don't run Evans). When I switched back to the SMIC, it dropped to 185 because of air flow. The radiator wasn't 90 degrees, so that probably would have made a difference for the FMIC.

 

The FMIC raised your coolant temp 35 degrees? Ouch.


Kevin T. Wyum

 

Looks like very nice work. Impressive!

tbonerx7: There is nothing wrong with the PFS intercooler. It uses the stock elbow and cross-over tube and is the same size as the M2/ASP medium. I know the core on the M2/ASP is slightly better design but the PFS works well. On a warm day, my intake temps raise from 40C to about 45C doing a couple of redline shifts. IATs rose to low 60C range during road racing in 95+F heat. Those temps are at 13 psi. I also noticed the dramatic reduction in backpressure compared to stock IC (almost 2 psi).

FWIW, there are both M2 medium and PFS ICs for sale in the classifieds forum as we speak...

 

hey team belligerence, i scrapped the h-mount due to the amount of fab work that wouldve been involved. i didnt really feel like making a duct. now, im putting the intercooler in the front of the car using my own endtanks and piping. . . still a lot of cutting, but i think its a way better/easier install.

oh, btw, i didnt know i leaked that info. . . howd you find out?

paul

 

"tbonerx7: There is nothing wrong with the PFS intercooler. It uses the stock elbow and cross-over tube and is the same size as the M2/ASP medium."

Ermm no it's not. Total core area is quite a bit smaller actually.


Kevin T. Wyum

 

Hey guys,

I made my own intercooler using an old Mitsubishi VR4 intercooler. End tanks had to be modded to 2.6". The PITA was the air scoop/ducting which really took heaps of time. I moved the fuel pump relay box set to the left of the car and hence was able to use the entire front part above the radiator for my air-scoop. Temps are only 5 degs Celsius above ambient. Should be cooler after I open up my hood with some holes.

Kace

 

Sorry about that, I got confused. The PFS is the same size as the Pettit medium.

Wow, the ASP is 2" wider than the PFS? Your endtank design must be a lot more space efficient since they both take up the same amount of space in the engine bay....

 

Thanks for the kind works on my intercooler project.


If anyone is thinking of trying to make there own intercooler duct. Here are a few photo's to give you a basic idea how I did mine. I would love to try it again and make it better. It was my first time working with CF. It might not be the best way to make a duct but I think it turned out well and most importantly....it works great!

My intercooler core size was 12.5x10.5x3.5 or about 460 volume. Little smaller than M2 but larger than PFS

//Oliver

 

Here's a photo of the pipes/intercooler and duct for a final test fit.

Tbonerx7 - If your not one to try your own.
I would go for the M2/ASP(Kevin T. Wyum) intercooler. Cost a bit more but you don't have to make the Damn duct!

 

Hi Oliver,

I admire the excellent work you have done fabbing your own SMIC. I have a couple questions.

Is there any particular reason (other than appearance) that you went with carbon fiber instead of fiberglass for the duct? Is CF easier to work with than fiberglass?

How did you "mount" the IC? What I'm asking is the IC actually "secured" by bolting down and if so, where did you put the mounting tabs?

Thanks

 

Me and Brian from BNR made my smic. Its got a core about 1" larger than the M2. If you can get someone to weld things for free you can do it for about $1000 including the IC pipes. HOWEVER if you pay someone to weld it you might as well just buy one.

Also, the hardest part by far is the duct and getting it right. If you want to do it in plastic/fiberglass/cf then thats just something else to add in costs. Me and Brian did mine in alum and he welded it together along with the IC pipes and stuff like that.

STEPHEN

 

Thanks for these helpful insights Stephen.

 

Thanks Jonesboro

I made it out of CF because I wanted it to match my M2 intake. So yes, it was for appearence. I would have to say FG is easier than CF.

I used 2 pieces of nylon plastic shaped to hold the duct and bolted it the cross frame. Made them at work... wanted to use black but we did not have any at the time....so I used (natural/white) but you can't really see it.

Here is a photo......

//Oliver