I definately cannot afford one of the name brands so I am using the good ol NPR intercooler ,it is pretty large ,core is 19.5' * 14'*2.75' with 3' in/out connections,I havnt had a chance to do a data log run to see the intake temps ,but the inlet side is always hot and the outlet ambient , I also decided to spend a litle extra to keep things cool and got the ERL water injection kit which definately brings the intake temp even lower than ambient , after a hard run the intake pipes are cold to the touch!!!!!, so the total spent is $500us and I am sure a $1100-$1300 dollar kit cant compete , a friend recently run 12.4 witha turbo11 using the smaller NPR and a 60-1 !!!.

 

Tim at RPM Performance Center offers a front mount intercooler for a very good price. I don't know of the quality of the product but from the pic he sent me, it looks like it's well engineered. $2400 Aust

 

There must be glitch in the forum software.
The last post by me was over 4 months ago. So why does it show up as an active thread today?
Weird.

 

I think the williams is nice but if they could only do alluminum pipes.

does anyone know where to buy a air temp sensor and gauge to do testing??

 

I think the Greddy r-32 or r-34 front mounts are the best for the money of the name brand FMIC's. I'm showing 100 F on a 95 F day with 92% humidity in south Texas. GOTTA LOVE IT! A couple of weeks ago
the humidity was about 65% and I showed 85 F on a
80 F evening in Austin , TX. Both of the instances I was
at a nice cruising speed of 40mph.

 

I have the rx7 fashion fmic

 

someone voted. did not post a reply.

 

So what ic has the lowst pressure drop then?

 

no one using a HMIC??

Once I get my car up and running I will be using the RE V-mount

anyone know where to get a little air temp monitor with 2 sensors? (one for before IC, one for after)

 

Autometer.

 

It's not that simple, You can't simply compare IC's solely based on pressure drop magnitude. There is always a trade-off between pressure drop and temperature change in an intercooler. An intercooler with lots of fine fins that are perforated or wavy inside will cause lots of turbulent flow within the core, and will therefore cause more heat transfer....lower intake temps. However, due to the turbulent airflow, there will be a corresponding higher pressure drop, and vice-versa. That's why there are kits out there designed specifically for certian cars.

Also, a bigger IC may not necessarily be better.

 

Man! not many people are using HKS....
NVM i'm changing anyway

 

Not only that but try to find real numbers on those cores, goooooood luck. I looked and looked and couldn’t find any hard numbers at all. So I went with a spearco core that was sized perfectly for me and had the exact amount of cooling capacity I was looking for.

 

Griffin intercoolers are great bang for your buck

 

Im looking for cores to fabricate a new front mount..

XS Engineering core

Griffin core

Apex GT intercooler core

Is the Apex GT core really that much better at getting air to your radiator (my prime concern), or is it just marketing hype? Anyone wanna comment?

I would choose the greddy for premade, but i cant see buying one if im going to change the pipes...

 

find a pic of the apex core, you can plainly see from looking at the way its built that it outflows most cores because of the way the fins are setup, huge gaping holes. but there is going to be trade off by getting better flow that way in the form of effective cooling area.

 

Rotary Extreme V-Mount, Best of Both Worlds, SMIC/FMIC

 

I have a greddy fmic, my friend has an M2 med with water injection. Similar mods, same day, same route my temps were 45-high 50s his were 28-31. If I had it to do over again that's the route I'd go. Not only does his setup produce lower intake temps but he has about 1/3 the IC pipe volume to fill.

 

back from the dead... anyways my vote would be the v mount.

 

V mount here too, currently have a standard mount huge spearco core and the guys I was caravaning with to rotary rev. were consistantly seeing 10 degrees C less than I was and my IC core is larger than theirs. Time for some more custom fabricating....V-mount here I come.

 

i like the hks

 

I got the Apexi because I like the aggressive looking fins. I'm also very happy with the performance.

 

I'll take a V-mount with a vented hood any day over any of the FMIC's. It's a smart idea and it works GREAT!! Plus you can skip out on all of the stupid name brand price wars going with Chuck's V-mount. There will be one in my car I can promise you that. But that's just my .02, take it for what it's worth.

Zach

 

I'd rather have the PTE Mid size one it's just as good as any of the other FMIC kits. And it's much cheaper.

Why spend a well over a grand on an intercooler that's efficient to 1000 whp? The PTE mid size one is efficient in the ball park figure of 700 whp. It's just my .02, I don't see the need in having a huge intercooler. BTW I'm only talking about the FMIC kits not the V-Mounts.

 

The car will not over heat with a front mount if you have a well function cooling system with proper sealing and ducting to the radiator. I run the greddy 2 row r-spec with a mazdacomp radiator and 180 degree miata thermostat. I run 70-80% distilled water here in Texas with a bottle of water wetter. I have the sides of the radiator sealed off with foam and the top with a custom shield that me and Foutyounce designed. On top of this I also made a duct to the radiator by spacing down my 99 lip an inch or so to lower the belly pan. The radiator extends down lower than the front mount, so this scoop offers a straight shot of air to the radiator under the intercooler. The belly pan is sealed to the bottom of the radiator with foam as well. This is a bit overkill, but I road race the car as well as street drive and drag it. In the hot summer here even with the a/c on the car does not overheat. I see about 100-105C on a 100 degree day with the ac on, which is fine. Remember, the stock computer doesn't even turn the fans on till it sees about 220F. I ran an M2 large intercooler wit the same radiator for 2 years and was constantly battling heat soak. Once a stock mount intercooler heats up, it takes a long time too cool down. Not helping is the fact that the radiator bows hot air right on it. A v-mount is a bit better, but the intercooler will still heat soak, there is usually no ducting to the intercooler so alot of air will bypass it, and the setups offered are way too costly.