I'm considering an intercooler upgrade and I was wondering if it is worth it. I am not worried about power gains, mainly just helping the engine run cooler and maybe increasing the engine life. Right now the only mods that I have are: downpipe, catback, aluminum AST, and a fluidyn radiator. Would a greddy stock mount IC, or any IC for that matter, be worth the money?

Thanks,
-Charlie

 

Do you plan to run higher then stock (10) boost levels?

 

Nope. I'm really only interested in increasing engine life.

-Charlie

 

I think most people will agree that any intercooler is better than the stock intercooler and is worth the money to replace it. I was considering the greddy stock mount IC, but for the price of it, and the price for a Greddy 2-row FMIC, I chose to buy the FMIC (on its way ). The front mount is actually a little less money, and you get a lot more for your money. I have the same mods you have, and from all the reading I don't think I will have problems with overheating, the fan mod helps a lot, it doesn't run too hot now. If I was you I would get the FMIC and do the fan mod first.

I don't think the greddy stock mount is worth the money only because you can get a much larger better Greddy fmic for a little less money. But you do have to get a intake (greddy airinx is the best choice for the FMIC, so I also had to order that, but it should also help performance), you would have to do the harder fmic install, and get a smaller battery (I got the Optima yellow top 51r from Pepboys, still need to decide if I will relocate it or not). If you only want to spend the money on the greddy smic intercooler to get rid of the stock intercooler to increase the engine life, then yeah it is worth it IMO, or the Blitz smic.

 

Recommending an FMIC and an open-air intake for engine longevity? I don't think so.

Running a larger IC results in lower air temps and also increases turbo life (less backpressure = less boost to hit desired manifold pressure). I would look for a USED Greddy, PFS, Pettit, or M2/ASP SMIC. Good performance, low intake temps, much less backpressure. A used cooler is $500-1000.

 

If you're running an aftermarket intake and 51r style battery, I'd recommend a m2 style smic.

If not,then keep the stock intercooler. I don't think the greddy unit is worth it unless you can purchase it for ~$500 or so used.

I think the pfs unit is very similar in size to the greddy, but it has a lot of 90 deg bends in the piping which looks strange, and doesn't help airflow.

M2/ASP SMIC > Greddy/Blitz > ARC JMHO

Its probably not a good idea for you to go FMIC (something you probably already figured out.)

 

I don't see why not as long as the car doesn't run too hot, which I don't think mine will and his shouldn't. I say this because I have read lots of people who say they don't have overheating problems with a fmic and daily driving, I understand it's not the best choice for racing except drag racing. Even with the open intake, the air temps should still be less compared to stock right?, so I thought that would be better for engine longevity, less chance of detonation right?. It seems like I have spent hundreds of hours reading everything on this forum, I thought I had a good understanding of most things.

 

I do agree that he should look for one used and then it would be more worth the money, but I don't think any of these ICs are for sale too often, that's one of the reasons I bought one new.

 

I bought mine used and was very pleased with it. I run stock boost and you can definately see a difference in intake temps, especially when sitting in traffic and then starting to cruise again. Stocker would never cool back down as quickly as the greddy does.

 

i had my greddy FMIC for about 4-5 months now and i had no type of overheating whatsoever..and this being summertime where i did drive the car in a couple of 95F days, i would expect to be to the point of overheating or just about there and no, my temps were the same..highway driving it did increase 5-7F but in city driving with the fans on, i regulated 185, 190f tops in this summer heat..i have the stock rad and about 30/70 coolant/water mix..not to mention if you're a freak about heatsoak, a fmic does help..last summer when i had my smic, heatsoak would raise my temp to about 215-220f sometimes..now im surprised if i break 200f on heatsoak, well of course if i boosted but in this hot weather, thats prob not a good idea..

 

my last Fd had a Blitz SMIC with a Fluidyne rad. my current FD has a Greddy FMIC with a Koyo rad. Huge difference in temps. I'm not having as much luck as you in controlling the coolant temps. Haven't overheated but it does run ~10 degrees higher than my FD with a SMIC in stop-go traffic.

i'm with rynberg on this one.

 

I have a greddy smic, i love it, it is nice, made a nice difference in performance, one of my best mods, because everyone will agree thaT THE STOCK smic is a peice of crap.
Thomas


oh and the front mount, just imagine putting that in front of your bumper pretty much completely stops air flow to your radiator

 

Agreed--So am I.

 

The Greddy SMIC is a good choice for those who want to keep the stock airbox and battery tray plus an included mount for the AST, while getting good performance. The only downside is that you have to fabricate your own air duct; the duct materials provided with the Greddy are far from adequate.

 

if its for street use and in a normal temperature climate (not texas FL, CA) then the FMIC should be a fine choice.

 

Has anyone else fabricated their own duct? What type of materials do you use and does anyone have pictures?

Thanks,
-Charlie

 

I'm gonna have to agree with him too.

 

I like my greddy smic,my car never overheats and builds boost quick.I also got a good deal on it used.

 

I agree w/ coolvette on the greddy smic, and can offer you a custom duct [https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=432594]. That said, if you want increased intake cooling, stock boost, easy of installation ... go with the Blitz SMIC, if you can find one.

 

I'm not having any problems either, and I've been running my Greddy FMIC for over a year now minus the downtime for the engine porting. To note, I do have a Koyo radiator and my cooling system is in top shape. Temps here these past few days have seen an avg. heat index from upper 90s to 100 degrees fahrenheit- depending on driving conditions, the car is steady at 180ish degrees F. Though the fans do their job just fine, I plan on ducting the radiator to aid in cooling.

 

nice man, let me know if you have any good suggestions on the ducting..im trying to fab one myself..