Always wondered this. Why are the intercoolers on the front mount kits always so big? Do they really need to be?

There must be a better way to fit them rather than to have to cut everything to bits?

Am I being a dumbass?

 

There is a better way, speak to Mark at Lateral Performance.

 

Enlighten me..

 

and have deep pockets , but a very good bit of kit

 

be pointless if they were the same size as the standard tmic wouldnt it

 

EV* did it right, built the front of the car round the FMIC, I'll give them that one !

dunx

 

Not really because the airflow around it would be better.

 

not realy because the vent brings alot of air in, but it wouldnt have heat from the engine! although that is what you just ment

 

The vent is about 300mm wide and maybe 100mm max high. The TMIC itself is bigger then that so it would have been better at the front. Nuff said.

I understand why Subaru did that as it is easier/cheaper and well capable as is. I'm talking about aftermarket FMIC's. I think there is no need for it to be so big as the air flow around it and through it must be 10 times better. And if they were made smaller there would/should be less need to cut bumpers and wings. Maybe they could even be made so no cutting was needed at all...

 

subaru never intended to put an intercooler behind the front bumper thats why there isnt really that much space to fit one.as on all cars when you go to fit something that shouldnt be there in the first place then obviously some cutting,fabrication will be needed.

 

Depends how efficient the cooler is, rather than the size. More pipe, bigger cooler means more lag. I am a strong advocate of a better top mount every time.

If you are planning on sitting in traffic building under bonnet heat then launching away all the time, then maybe a frony mount is for you. But once moving there is no problem with heat soak on a top mount. So long as you buy an efficient one.

In my opinion, to answer your initial question, I think there is a perception that you have to have a front mount for big power, and the larger the better. So people make large front mounts.

 

Becuase they look good aswell, i love how mine looks, I dont need it, my top mount would have done the job but I got one because I like how they look, simple as that.

 

Fair point, there is that aswell.

If you like one, buy one.

 

Now this is what I'm getting at. There is just no need for it to be sooo big.

 

Have to say I have given this a lot of thought myself as I do want to do some mods to my engine in the next 6 months. I keep looking at front mounts, but to me (and I stress the 'to me' bit) a Scoob is supposed to have a top mount.

I am thinking of going for the Hyperflow top mount on my classic as I am sure that will be ample for the sort of power I am looking at and it retains one of my key Scooby features namely a top mounted intercooler.

OK flame suit on

 

No flame suit needed. It is well proven that the top mount can be capable of some high figures.

Maybe I'm trying to say that some owners kid themselves into thinking a FMIC is the way to go, when in reality they just want something big and shiny on the front end of their car. If all they were worried about were charge temperatures they'd choose a less elaborate way of fitting. If there was a market for this then there would be a product. It would do away with cutting your 'future classic' to bits.. I don't get it!!

You can find 100's of 'classic' Imprezas for sale that have been cut to shreads..

 

The length of the tubing has a heating effect on the air, thus defeating the benefits - until massive BHP increases are suggested.

Do it because you 'think' it looks good - not in the hope that it will do anything for power output.

 

i did see a car program once where they were building a kit car, they only had room for a small radiator so some engineer calculated that the rad placed at an angle effectively increased its efficiency, thus allowing for a smaller unit give better cooling.

i assume TMIC works in much the same way

s

 

Pete, I have to agree with your first paragraph, but, disagree with the second.

My car made 236bhp on the top mount, 330 on the front mount. With minimal changes and no re-mapping.

 

You can get Tilt Kits.

 

94 bhp difference sounds very large for just an intercooler change. What else was changed?

 

Care to enlighten

 

You can buy kits to tilt the intercooler a wee bit....

 

Come on, no way!!

Tell the truth.. What changes?

 

The only thing he missed out was that it hit fuel cut on the earlier run, so it may have made more, who knows. It's been a long day at work for him and he forgot to mention it.

Other than that there has been very little done between runs, as I recall, only an induction kit and cat back exhaust.

 

So the ECU has made up for it??

I need to know EVERYTHING!!

 

Sorry, but I just don't believe that. I read an intercooler test a little while ago where the Scoobyclinic front mount set up gave about 30 more horsepower than the best top mount they tested. That sounds more like it to me. After all they are both doing essentially the same thing.

 

Read my post F1

 

On a Classic 93-96 with slanted TMIC the ACTs are already escalating on WOT. On ver 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 with the continually improved design, ACTs are climbing alarmingly past the low 300 bhp mark on WOT. Subaru obviously recognised the deficiencies of the TMIC set up as it has been improved model on model all the way since the WRX launch in 1993.

If you care to invest £50 in an ACT guage and probe and first monitor TMIC ACTs and then FMIC ACTs from an effective front mount such as a Hybrid you will realise there is no substance to this claim :
The core is bigger than it needs to be for most UK applications but it may not be too big for someone who wants to climb the side of a mountain in the tropics or in the Australian desert and manufacturers will not make large and small cores for the same model. It defeats economy of scale.

 

A technical minnow speaks.....