I'm about to take the leap of getting my intercooler upgraded.

All the bolt on mods are done, and I realy like how everythign under the hood looks stock (I have the Adam C cheap bastard filter mod).

Seth (formerly of Puresports in Ramona) may have located a used stock mount Blitz unit. It's polished with polished tubing.

What's the best way to get everything blacked out? Tubes should be black, and the top of the intercooler should be also. Will spray paint work satisfactorily?

Anyone know if this is a good unit? Seth said I could hope to get 20-30 RWHP. This would bring me to about 320 RWHP. What to do to get to 350? I have the full exhaust all the way to the engine, upgraded fuel pump, Power FC.

 

U need to upgrade the injectors. I think you are over estimating your horsepower a little bit.

 

NO way you would see close to 20-30rwhp by just adding a IC.

 

320 hp with an exhaust and the smallest aftermarket IC available?

 

Hmm, methinks this is not a worthwhile upgrade then huh.

I've dynoe'd 290 RWHP with my currrent mods. Seth suggested another 20-30 HP with the I/C. Hence 320 RWHP.

Guess not?

 

You can easily get 320 rwhp. with the Blitz, and full exhaust. The Blitz SMIC is a really nice unit, and fits very well. A big improvement over stock.

If you are looking for a "stock" look under the hood, fill in the top lettering on the intercooler with JB Weld. Let it dry and sand smooth. Then paint with high temp BBQ paint. I have had mine like this for over two years. Looks very stock.

 

whats the point of looking stock?? your getting a polished intercooler and piping. why waste it by painting it black?

Also just go with a fmic or vmic you will see a lot better results with cooling and less heatsoak. usually smic are heatsoaked more from being inside the engine bay.

 

You da man! Thanks Adam!

 

move to califonia and you will understand.

 

For me personally, I think it increases resale, and also I won't have to worry about popping the hood for Officer Law.

I've tried to keep my car looking like it could have come off the showroom floor the way it is now. I have upgraded wheels, sideskirts and R1 spoiler, no pillar gauges and an Alpine stereo that is the exact same color of amber as the rest of the lights. I also have a conservative momo steering wheel. Because of the rarirty of the car many people think it is a brand new model by Mazda! Everything looks like it was an original part of the car, even though it looks considerably more stunning than stock (not like it's been riced out).

 

Lots of GOOD reasons to look stock. Can't think of any GOOD reasons for chrome. Bling isn't a good reason

You lose any credibility, that you may have had, by telling people to go with a FMIC to increase cooling. What are you thinking??

 

Is it illegal to upgrade you intake system in Cali?

I would say around 5-10hp if you are lucky. By full exhaust are you talking all stock? Getting to 350 is 14lbs of boost with all the bolt-ons and a good tune, bigger IC then what your looking at and feeding it plenty of fuel. Just keep in mind that Dyno's aren't good for anything more than a reference point, they can be configured to spit out what you want to see.

 

In comparrison, what IC is better with SammyD's idea in mind the ARC or the Blitz (thicker, better fin design etc)??

 

^
or ASP?

 

Nope ARC, Its one of the only IC thats a straight drop in along with the Blitz that use stock pipping etc.

 

^
i think greddy also makes one.

 

The greddy intercooler will fit with stock box, and full size battery. However, installation is very difficult, and very tight.

 

do you have any proof that the smic is more efficent and less prone to heatsoak?

 

I actually installed the GReddy SMIC and had no problems. I was using a full size battery, Interstate in fact , and the stock intake. The install was very straight forward using the stock duct and add on metal piece supplied. The more complicated part was a couple of months later when I got a Pettit duct. Triming and sealing the duct was painful to keep the intercooler between the stock airbox and battery tray.

 

Cymrex, was your installation with the stock radiator? The guy that installed Greddy (with difficulty) may have had a bigger radiator.

 

I am very interested in hearing more on this Greddy install with stock air box and battery. This can give me more insite on comparring it with the ARC and Blitz

 

I just installed my greddy SMIC w/ my stock box (and adam's cheap bastard intake) to go with the same look as adam - looking stock under the hood.

My current dilemma is that I think the IC sits about 1/2" too far forward. As a result, I can't get the stock duct cover to fit and cover the hole in the stock duct. As a result, I can't hold constant boost as all the air is getting robbed from the IC.

I may break down and get a peice of sheet metal (its probably why greddy included it in the kit).

Additionally, I am not using the Greddy piping. I took the stock S pipe from the lower part of the IC and flipped it upside down and used it to connect to the Ypipe connector.

I purchased a 45 degree pipe from a nissan dealership, cut it and used it to connect to the elbow.

I'm convinced that despite my mechanical shortcomings, this IC kit would work as advertised.

 

I have a Blitz Smic 4 sale, how much do they go for these days? sorry for interupting this thread

 

there's are more than a handful of companies that make SMIC

ARC, Blitz, Greddy, RE-Amemiya, Knightsports, ... i just saw another company yesterday that makes their own smic that looks very similar to knightsports squarish looking one, but can't remember the site...

Greddy makes the core for RE-Amemiya, just RE-A has round endtanks.. all of those u can keep ur stock air box, battery, just directly drop in.


i can't believe some of the debates i'm reading in this thread. YES FMIC AND VMOUNT IC WORKS BETTER THAN SMIC ANYDAY... I'll bet anyone pink slips for that

 

it is illegal to upgrade anything in Cali. intake, exhaust, side markers, aftermarket fog lights, even **** hanging off ur rear view mirror...

center square marker of ur headlight needs to be 22inches from the ground. and ur side skirts can't be lower than the bottom of ur rim.

if u run into a ******* cop, he can give u ticket for ANYTHING that didn't come from the original manufacture.

u can do anything with your car just don't get caught. =P