But I could use some help justifying the $500 Greddy FMIC over the XSPower SMIC. This is on a car that's going to have intakes/downpipe/catback/pfc. Anybody wanna chime in with reasons for or against either?

 

With the Greddy, you'll know that you're getting good quality and craftsmanship. XSPower...who knows where those cores come from but, I know people that used them and had no problems. Then there are those who will bitch about the front mount saying that it blocks the radiator and possibly make the car overheat. This is pretty funny though 'cause fmic has been used by countless race teams with much success.

 

That is a good deal... the only issue is you are either going to have to fabricate a duct for the unit or buy one. There is a guy on the forum that sells them for $150 or so though. Putting your grand total at around $300.

 

I'm not really keen on the Greddy front mount - that's a LOT of damn hacking to put the intercooler in, and I don't like cutting away a lot of the front bumper crash structure. Greddy tried to shove the IC as far forward as possible for a "look at me" bling bling look, but I think that compromises the crash structure of the car.

XS Power - no thanks. My take on the cheap Ebay stuff is they make stuff that's nice and shiny so you'll leave good feedback when you open the box. No duct, no proper mounting tabs, and I've yet to see one installed that didn't look ghetto as ****.

For the money, keep your eye on Ebay and the For Sale forum - get a good used stock mount, like an ASP/M2, Pettit, or PFS, and you'll be miles ahead.

Dale

 

So no go on the FMIC then? I have to admit that I'm definitely a bit vain, so the FMIC look did appeal to me. SMIC it is.

 

+1

 

1 simple rule... you get what you pay for.

 

2 simple rules
1 you get what you pay for.
2 you gotta pay to play.

 

Isn't the XS 2.5" piping? If I had to choose betweent he two, i'd go with the Greddy. You could allways convert it into a V-mount yourself.

 

With ducting the EBay intercooler is about $300. There are plenty of used SMICs in the classifieds with ducting for $500 or so. You can look at the intercooler test page to verify the performance of these ICs. Beyond assertions of 'it must be better than stock' there have been no tests of the eBay IC that I am aware of.

Relsale value should also be a factor: if you want to upgrade later, the used IC will probably still get you $500 or so, whereas the eBay IC will get you very little. Hell, I have seen people give these away.

 

I had a greddy 3 row FMIC only reason didn't use bc it was WAY off.. to F** big.. so i sold it.. and bought a XS power 1. NO complains.. works fine for me.. Trust me, Way better than Stock!!....

now i'm working on the Duc. jst gotta finish taking some mesurements and i'm done. I already got the Kavlar

But like FdEEzNuts said.. "" you get what you pay for ""

 

Yeah, I've read a lot of posts on the matter, and I'm definitely behind the saying "You get what you pay for"... But I haven't seen anything yet where these tested worse than stock or any other IC for that matter. I was just wondering if I had missed a vital post that said, "Oh look here! This thing is crap and here's why!" with some actual proof behind it.

 

check one of my last posting... was about the xs.. right after i saw this one.. .. anyways IT IS BETTER than STOCK.. U CAN Actually feel the difference!!!

 

Personally, I do agree that the eBay stuff is mostly subpar quality. With that said I feel that an intercooler (an air to air intercooler, in any case) isn't really something where quality matters too much. It isn't a feat of technological marvel, it is just a metal chamber with fins for air passage and subsequent heat exchange. The situation for this is similar to back in nonturbocharged cars where people would pay hundreds of dollars for a name brand intake when a simple filter on a pipe would do the same job.

Electronics is where you should shell out money, or turbochargers, or suspension parts. It's okay to do intake pipes and intercoolers on a budget.

 

These have not been tested at all so how could you possibly find such a comparison?

Huh? The burden of proof is the reverse of what you are implying: cf. Negative Proof on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_proof

 

Never mind here's the link i was talking about...
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/xs-power-intercooler-arrived-today-514607/.. every 1 says its better than stock..
another thing.. if XS wasn't good.. people here wouldn't buy the Manifold which i think its more important than a IC.. meaning.... the IC Is cool but the Mani.. i would think twice before buying it.. but since a couple of members here use that. not anymore because they shared their experience with IT.. do i make sence to you?? lol... hope so.. so u got the point... its not the best quality but its good.. certain things on ebay is good but NOT EVERYTHING... .. its all about preferences, I had money to spend on a NAME brand IC, but decided to save some Mula and get a after market one that will do the same sht.... of course the Quality is not as great as a BIG NAME brand like Greddy, hks but u got the point... if i actually stop and think about it.. i spent 2g's while back on a HKS 3Row fMIC for my Lexus (it was for a twin turbo supra) and now $180 for the XS.. which by the way i sold that HKS FMIC for $500 bucks...

 

SOME 1, please go get a DYNO with this IC on it.. PLEASSSSSSSSE lol

 

I look at it like this. How many times has someone gotten a bad part, gotten on here, and started complaining about it? Just about every time. Now how many times do people get a part and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, it just works, but get on here to tell everyone, "Hey look, I got this wire and guess what? IT WORKS!" Not a lot. If they do, it's only to say, "Woot! Look what I've got, took me forever to find one" or something of the sort. That's why I don't have a problem picking this up. The only posts I've seen are "wow, this is a lot nicer than I expected" or "wow, this thing is so cheap, but it's not a total piece of crap like I thought it'd be". To back this up, take into consideration the product we're talking about. Like someone else said earlier, it's not rocket science.

So yes, in the absence of actual test data, and without any negative reviews, I think it's a product that I'll buy in the future.

 

Who needs actual testing when 'everyone' says it is better:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum

This intercooler has been available for about two years now. One would think that someone would run some tests. (And I don't mean reporting highway cruise temperatures.)

 

True that... and its been said here before that the intake temps and all were much lower.. jst ask our friend above "search" you'll see.

good luck with the ic. here's a pic of the ic installed ... belongs to some 1 on the forum.

 

Then what do you mean?

 

if you read on that link... well from what I understood, there's no need for a Dyno to prove that its Better.. he quoted everyone.. if u read it again..... here it is

""""""""that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it; it alleges that "If many believe so, it is so." In ethics this argument is stated, "if many find it acceptable, it is acceptable.""""""""""

in another words.. IT's GOOD, BUY IT

 

if you look at the cores of different ICs, through the inlet and outlet holes, you will notice that there are quite a bit more fins on brand name cores vs the cheap ebay stuff. that translates into more surface area and better cooling potential..


I would spend the extra couple hundred and get the greddy one. Afterall, you are modding to get the most performance out of your engine. right?

sorry to whoever owns that XS IC in the picture above but that looks pretty bad... I doubt with that size and that location, and 0 ducting, that it cools very well. with some ducting it could probably cool much MUCH better, or a better mounting location.

 

Actually, thats my old car. That picture was taken during a mock-up without the heat shield and fiberglass duct that Twin_Turbo_Seven or whatever his name was made. It was cheap and I wanted to see how it worked before I bashed it blindly. Everyone bashes the ebay crap... and alot of it is crap... but some of it is not. The Airpump elimination pullies for $25 work great and have used them on 3-4 FD's of mine. I have had several intercoolers over the years... Greddy, M2, RE-A, etc, etc... I didn't ever have a chance to based on the Army saying you have places to go. I still *think* it's a better intercooler than stock(with a duct of course... but thats a given... an intercooler can't cool air if there isn't any cool air going to it). I'd still like to actually test it one of these days just for ***** and giggles... but all my time is pretty much taken from now until the end of 2008... lol

 

A guy I know has an S14 with an RB26 in it runs an eBay intercooler, it looks good and isnt slanted and he has no intake air temp problems with it.