Single Turbo RX-7's Questions about all aspects of single turbo setups.

The end all debate on XSPower/SSAutoChrome/OBX turbo products.

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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 09:08 PM
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The end all debate on XSPower/SSAutoChrome/OBX turbo products.

Intercoolers = Fantastic, i absolutely love mine and would recommend it to all. I can't stress how impressed with this product i was.

Manifolds = Sketchy, i own one of the older OBX ones and it started falling apart around 1,000 miles, i rewelded everything and no problems since. I hear they have fixed this problem, but i can't verify. Conclusion: Only buy if you have access to cheap welding, an exhaust shop will probably do it for around $50-$75...

Turbos = No personal experience, i have however talked to people with real life experience, some grenade, others have lasted years, these are hit or miss and i highly recommend staying away from them. It's a precise device unlike an intercooler or manifold.
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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 09:15 PM
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The newer manifolds are alot better.
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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 09:47 PM
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what kind of intercooler did you get? SMIC or FMIC?
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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 10:00 PM
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Turbos are complete junk, I had a customer bring one in the shop. They are not garrett, they are a complete chinese knockoff. I wouldn't even put one on a lawnmower. Their wastegates are also junk.
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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 10:07 PM
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I have a car in the shop now that you could say was sponsored by Ebay
Intercooler looks ok, but the piping is to small. XS turbo fell apart after a few miles and the manifold looks good with no cracks.

I have a few cars right now that are using the ssautochrome manifolds and they have held up well.
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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 10:15 PM
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I have a feeling the turbos are for the pie-in-the-sky crowd.

"I'm gonna be putting a turbo on my mom's Accord - see, I got the turbo already!"

They're great for hooking up your bedroom decor.

Dale
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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 10:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Jason
Intercooler looks ok, but the piping is to small.
What do you mean? The intercooler i got from them is 3" inlet/outlet.

Polished 24x12x3 (pretty ******' huge) for $150.

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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 11:03 PM
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Originally Posted by O 16581 72452 5
Intercoolers = Fantastic, i absolutely love mine and would recommend it to all. I can't stress how impressed with this product i was.
Is this a one-sided commentary?
Have you tested other types of IC cores besides this one?
I'm going to use one myself, but I'm planning to run different cores to see if it really makes a difference...


Manifolds = Sketchy, i own one of the older OBX ones and it started falling apart around 1,000 miles, i rewelded everything and no problems since. I hear they have fixed this problem, but i can't verify. Conclusion: Only buy if you have access to cheap welding, an exhaust shop will probably do it for around $50-$75...
Even if they do stay together, the wastegate runner design is all inefficient.


Turbos = No personal experience, i have however talked to people with real life experience, some grenade, others have lasted years, these are hit or miss and i highly recommend staying away from them. It's a precise device unlike an intercooler or manifold.
I work hard.
I save my money.
I stick with all Garrett GT-series ball-bearing centers.
Nuff said.


-Ted
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Old Nov 8, 2005 | 11:07 PM
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Originally Posted by RETed
Is this a one-sided commentary?
Have you tested other types of IC cores besides this one?
I'm going to use one myself, but I'm planning to run different cores to see if it really makes a difference...



Even if they do stay together, the wastegate runner design is all inefficient.



I work hard.
I save my money.
I stick with all Garrett GT-series ball-bearing centers.
Nuff said.


-Ted
The design of the intercooler is almost identical to Precision's (inside and out). The cold side of the intercooler's cold side when i touched it felt about 50 degrees on a 70 degree day, the hot side was hot to the touch, enough i didn't want to leave it there for long. It seems really efficient and made huge gains over an MX-6 Side Mount i had origionally.

Wastegate runner design i have no comment on, i'm internally gated.
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 12:02 AM
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Originally Posted by RETed

I work hard.
I save my money.
I stick with all Garrett GT-series ball-bearing centers.
Nuff said.


-Ted

Ted,

I work hard
The governement takes 1/3 of my money
the wife takes the rest
I wish I could afford a GT series


Kenn
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 01:35 AM
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Originally Posted by O 16581 72452 5
The cold side of the intercooler's cold side when i touched it felt about 50 degrees on a 70 degree day
Wow, their ICs are good, they FEEL 20 degrees colder than ambient...

If something would be an "end all", it wouldn't be a debate. And it would contain actual factual data instead of listing the temperature the cold-side pipe FEELS like....
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 01:38 AM
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Originally Posted by O 16581 72452 5
The design of the intercooler is almost identical to Precision's (inside and out). The cold side of the intercooler's cold side when i touched it felt about 50 degrees on a 70 degree day, the hot side was hot to the touch, enough i didn't want to leave it there for long. It seems really efficient and made huge gains over an MX-6 Side Mount i had origionally.

Wastegate runner design i have no comment on, i'm internally gated.
Would love to get a datalogged run...
I'll be running a Haltech, so I can offer a little more objective numbers.


-Ted
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 01:39 AM
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Originally Posted by kenn_chan
I work hard
The governement takes 1/3 of my money
the wife takes the rest
I wish I could afford a GT series
I feel for you.
I'm single and not going to get married anytime soon, so I need to do this before I get settled down! :P


-Ted
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 01:52 AM
  #14  
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Originally Posted by rynberg
Wow, their ICs are good, they FEEL 20 degrees colder than ambient...

If something would be an "end all", it wouldn't be a debate. And it would contain actual factual data instead of listing the temperature the cold-side pipe FEELS like....
Charge pipes are cool as well...

My charge pipes with my MX-6 intercooler would still be hot to the touch, really hot. I read actual data on the cooling properties of the SSAC intercooler and it was good (wish i could find it again), the end tank design is the best design for flow as well. I researched it quite a bit before i decided to buy it.
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 10:19 AM
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Originally Posted by O 16581 72452 5
Charge pipes are cool as well...

My charge pipes with my MX-6 intercooler would still be hot to the touch, really hot. I read actual data on the cooling properties of the SSAC intercooler and it was good (wish i could find it again), the end tank design is the best design for flow as well. I researched it quite a bit before i decided to buy it.
I'm sure that they "feel" cooler than the ambient air temperature, but this is pretty unlikely (at least by that number of degrees, it could be slightly cooler by factoring in wind chill). The specific heat of air is lower than that of aluminum, so the "colder" sensation is just because the aluminum is capable of readily absorbing more energy from your skin. This is the same reason (although a more extreme example, due to the difference in specific heat between water and air) why 33*F water "feels" a lot colder than 33*F air.
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 11:03 AM
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Get one of those remote non-touch IR thermometers and shoot the pipes...
At least give us those numbers!


-Ted
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 10:29 PM
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For those of you interested in real world numbers on th essautochrome intercooler, we have some initial data on my set up.

Ambient temps were around 85°.
Cruising, without boost, had my intake temps in the plenum of the manifold around 115°-118°.
At 15 psi of boost pressure, by 80 mph, the intake temps in the plenum of the manifold dropped to 91°.

I have no idea how those numbers relate to a front-engine car, but keep in mind that I have a mid-engien car with the intercooler in the trunk.
I am very pleased with those numbers.

Build up here:
http://www.jekylhyderacing.com/hyde_tmic_buildup.htm
I've lost what i've read about them and can't remember the results, but when i saw them i said "I'm sold". A quick Google search found that.

As far as my charge pipes feeling hot with the MX-6 intercooler and cooler with the SSAC one, i was using steel pipes both times.

Last edited by O 16581 72452 5; Nov 9, 2005 at 10:45 PM.
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Old Nov 9, 2005 | 10:41 PM
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Nice job, very nice!
chuck
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Old Nov 10, 2005 | 12:19 AM
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What MrDirt said.

Having the charge air leaving the intercooler being COLDER than the surrounding air? No. Having the outlet pipe feel colder because the air going through it is moving quickly, thus taking heat away from your about 98 degree skin faster than air sitting still? Yes.

There will be "wind chill factor" for any air that is below your body's surface temperature. Because moving air will make you lose heat faster than static air.

Evan AFTER the air temperature is ABOVE your body temperature, if it is dry enough, the evaporation of moisture from your hide can make you feel cooler in a warm breeze than you feel in warm, motionless air.

Last edited by Smilodon; Nov 10, 2005 at 12:26 AM.
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Old Nov 10, 2005 | 01:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Smilodon
What MrDirt said.

Having the charge air leaving the intercooler being COLDER than the surrounding air? No. Having the outlet pipe feel colder because the air going through it is moving quickly, thus taking heat away from your about 98 degree skin faster than air sitting still? Yes.

There will be "wind chill factor" for any air that is below your body's surface temperature. Because moving air will make you lose heat faster than static air.

Evan AFTER the air temperature is ABOVE your body temperature, if it is dry enough, the evaporation of moisture from your hide can make you feel cooler in a warm breeze than you feel in warm, motionless air.
I didn't say the air leaving it was colder than ambient air, i said the cold side felt colder to the touch.
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Old Nov 10, 2005 | 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by O 16581 72452 5
I didn't say the air leaving it was colder than ambient air, i said the cold side felt colder to the touch.
Actually, that is almost exactly what you said...

Originally Posted by O 16581 72452 5
The cold side of the intercooler's cold side when i touched it felt about 50 degrees on a 70 degree day
50 degrees when the ambient air temperature was 70 degrees. That would mean that the air leaving the intercooler would be colder than the ambient air.
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Old Nov 10, 2005 | 12:58 PM
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Originally Posted by MrDirt
Actually, that is almost exactly what you said...



50 degrees when the ambient air temperature was 70 degrees. That would mean that the air leaving the intercooler would be colder than the ambient air.
No, that would mean when i stuck my hand on the cold side, it felt about 50 degrees due to wind chill and other factors. I know the air leaving the intercooler was definately not 50 degrees.
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Old Nov 10, 2005 | 01:06 PM
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why if a bunch of their products were proven cheap crap, would you buy another product from them?

guess people will do anything to save a buck.

maybe im just jealous of the guy making so much money off ripping everyone off with cheap **** and maybe one or two decent products.

here i come dormroomracing.com!
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Old Nov 10, 2005 | 02:06 PM
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No way air to air IC will EVER hit ambient temp... maybe when you first crank the car.. LOL!

To test, take the car and start boosting for 5-15 minutes.. See what your intake temp is.. Don't just cruise down the interstate for 5-15 minutes and pull over and feel the pipes, You have to push the car. A good intercooler will have the least difference between high and low temp difference... its not about how cool... how stable the intake temps going to be at certain air flow. As you climb the RPM your exhaust will flow more, your engine will take in more air per minute, and turbos will heat up.. in turn, your air temp will get hotter.. So, no freakin way air to air will cool it below ambient.. unless you spray with NO2 or hook up some refrigrant.
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Old Nov 10, 2005 | 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by O 16581 72452 5
No, that would mean when i stuck my hand on the cold side, it felt about 50 degrees due to wind chill and other factors. I know the air leaving the intercooler was definately not 50 degrees.
Even the core itself would not reach those temperatures.
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