dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

I have an Apexi GT Intercooler on both of my FD's.

My red fd has a Koyo radiator and a T51rKAI Turbo. Now, even when I was boosting the crap out of it, my water temp would never get over 93C. It would usually hang around 83-87 while driving and when I'd get on it hard it would climb to around 93C.

My intake temps were also always nice and cool due to the added methanol and the IC gettings lots of fresh air.

My 2nd fd (the one in question) is a GT35r Setup with a Fluidyne Radiator and Apexi GT Intercooler.

Now my question is....

If I am going to have a shop to a vmount (looking at around 12-15?+ hours of labor + parts) vs a Front Mount (4-5hours of labor + parts) is it really all that worth it?

I hear the Apexi GT Intercooler is good because of the fin design. It's really efficient and also allows more air to reach the radiator than a standard bar/plate IC.

I really don't mind either way, I just want to see if I do the standard Front Mount design is going to cause any problems in the future.

This isn't a track car, it's a street driven car and maybe an occasional pass on the track. Not like I'll be constantly laying into the boost and have to worry about my water temps.

Would just like some input from other members.

Thanks,
Darren

atihun

Front mount is not a bad way to go, but for a street driven car, stop and go, a V-Mount is more efficient. With a FMIC, if you're stopped for a while in traffic you heat soak both IC and rad quickly. The fans come on and pull hot air from the IC and possibly the engine bay if it's not ducted. Then you start driving. You will first cool the IC and then the radiator which takes longer. Even with a V-Mount, the IC and rad will heat soak if sitting idle, but when the fans kick in the air going through the rad is from the front of the car. And once you start moving, both the IC and rad start cooling off.

If $ isn't an issue, I would go with a V-Mount. I went with a V-Mount not because I had the extra money, but that I had the time to make my own.

I can tell you this for sure, I've been driving my car around and I found that my intake temps stayed very low, my water temp never went above 175 (using Evans) while driving, and after an hour of driving, the IC was completely cold.

I know that right now is not the best comparison with driving conditions as it's only 65 outside, but I'm confident that the setup and full ducting will work well when it's hot.

The last time I was out in Arizona in August, it felt like I stepped into hell . That alone should help in your decision.

From the Apexi IC design, I think you could turn that into a V-mount setup, then you'd have the benefit of the core design as well as the flow.

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

I think a vmount would be nice.

Personally I don't have time to do crap on my car. If I had to fab things up it would probably take me at least another 2-3 months before I could even get it mounted. I work 6 days a week and when Sunday rolls around I usually just spend time with my wife. Unfortunately I am going to have to pay a shop to do it... but I do not feel like forking over $2000 or more to get it done. There are a couple of shops out here... one of which charges $100/hr for labor.. another is $80/h. I'd have to see some of their fab work before making a choice. I would like to go vmount though.

It would required:

Moving the pipes on the endtanks to work with vmount.
Fab brackets for radiator & intercooler
Move pipe on radiator to work with vmount
Fab piping to/from IC

Key word being fab.. lol. Lots of fabrication for the job where-as a front mount would require the typical piping.

Yes, Arizona is like stepping into hell in the summer. I plan on keeping the FD sitting in a garage from June-September because I refuse to have heat issues. Arizona sucks in the summer.....

So, the vmount is more efficient.. but by how much? Anyone ever done a side-by-side comparison?

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

For the application you mentioned I think the apex'i front mount will be fine. It all depends on if you want to spend the extra money to have a v-mount setup fabbed up.

I don't have enough seat time with my new setup (500R with a Blitz fmic) to really comment, but I plan to road race the car occasionally so I'm sure I'll test my coolant temps a bit. I have deleted a/c and p/s which helps to keep temps down.

classicauto

iTrader: (3)

My only question would be, isn't there a V-mount kit for the FD from Rotary Extreme?

I hear they're out of business but if you are considering a V-mount and own an FD, otherwise known as the you-can-buy-anything-you-want-for-it gen lol, then consider that avenue. Maybe check the forsale sections for a used unit?

I would say though that to fab one would be a large undertaking. I know on the FC of my friends witha v-mount we went through a lot of headaches getting the proper angles/fitment/clearances. And on an FD the space/thigns to cut are more complex.

I dunno, but I'd definetely look into a used Rotary Extreme kit

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

This is my friends vmount from Speed Machine using the same intercooler/radiator setup as me.

atihun

That's perfect!

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

Yeah nice but not inexpensive.

twisted7

iTrader: (3)

Is that different inlets and outlets on that? seems like the turbo side is a lot smaller than the tb side? wouldnt this cause a little lag?

KINETIK_FD3S

i could make you a v-mount with the parts that you already have and just charge you a flat rate.