Ok, uprated to the APS TMIC yesterday on a near-standard 02 WRX (GRP N centre / rear) ready for decat etc.

1st thoughts were 'wow is this gonna fit?' Its HUGE. You only need to look inside to see how much better it is that the standard unit, with a dense, constant network of intercrossing fins. Build quality is f a n t a s t i c.

Removing the old unit was straightforward, and once the new longer bracket was fitted, the new one slotted perfectly into place. To say it looks great is an understatement.

After a few niggles with the d/valve pipe retainer clip getting in the way of refitment, all that remained was removing the rubber air seal from around the bonnet vent, refitting all pipes and off we go.

Car started up as normal, felt and sounded totally the same. Off down the street at < 30, again no change. Onto a 50 road, and the car feels slightly smoother coming onto and off boost. Interesting.

Onto a nice piece of twisty duel carriageway with some nice roundabouts, and give it some WOT. Feels slower and like its hesitating. Start to worry about having fitted it without a remap but then remember the ECU 'learns' so presume that is what its doing. Consider doing a temporary reset.

Over next 10 or so miles car starts feeling faster and less hesitation, and by the time I reach my favourite tunnel, its feeling like its holding boost solidly thru the rev range. Also, the sound thru the tunnel is a revelation, to the point that my PE sti7 owning passenger was amazed! The car sounds a LOT more purposeful and torquey and is definitely smoother and holding boost better.

Next step is an Sti 7 scoop (nearly twice as high and 15% wider)to maximise airflow over the larger intercooler, and then the obligatory remap, which should allow me to safely hold higher boost levels.

 

Any chance you could make the next mod a copy of Delta Dash, so that you can quantify any differences as you go along, rather than risk falling victim to the emperor's new clothes syndrome ?

Not having a dig, as you appear to be going about your upgrades very methodically.

 

LOL. Stu, I know what you are saying, but as I said I initially felt a downturn in performance, to the point that I was worried about having fitted it. However after 15 or so miles it had seemingly adapted. My passenger also agreed with my thoughts.

The person I bought it from had the same car, running decat and tek3 remap, and the same TMIC allowed him to safely run a map peaking at 19.5Psi, which produced around 315bhp with zero det / spiking.

No offence taken BTW

 

Will post some piccys tomorrow...

 

Hi Ed.Nice to have met you and Paul on Sunday.

 

Deep - likewise! Give us a shout anytime. Fitting my Rallytech tonight and definitely going to debadge having seen yours in the flesh.

Ed

 

Here it is so you can see just how much bigger it is than standard! :O

I really should have taken a photo of the internals beforehand so you could see exactly how much better it is.

 

Edcase, i'm planning on getting the same one as yours shortly, could you inform me about your supplier's contact info & price?

George

 

Hi, I bought it off a mate who got a new M3, but your best bet is to try Jamie Whitfield Link I know he has a couple of these going cheap as he is having a clear out.

cheers

Ed

 

For those who have mailed and asked, here is the standard IC for comparison. You *really* need to see the difference inside tho too.



Thanks to Scoobydo69 for the pic.

 

did you need any other peices other than the intercooler? Jamie W told me I would need a "cast pipe" as well (which wasn't cheap), which put me off a bit. Looks cool though. I have a Tek3 remap, anyone know whether I'd have to get the map tweeked after fitting the APS TMIC?

LoFi

 

Yeah you need the cast compression pipe it sits on as the standard one is pretty restrictive, Samco hoses are optional. Also comes with a bigger bracket as its wider even than the Sti unit.

You will need a tweaked map to get the *best* out of it (and an sti7 scoop) and with decat and Tek 3 you'll be looking at up to 310-315 bhp holding nearly 20psi safely.

 

Ed pushing the WRX engine over 300bhp without a larger fuel pump and injectors is AFAIK pretty risky.

Nathan..

 

I know someone that was running 310 on stock reliably, but personally I will be uprating injectors and pump also, particularly hearing all the stories about sti7's and fuel pumps lately.

PS if you got a missed call the other night that was me dialling you accidentally

 

Missed call Not that I can remember doh !

Must say that APS looks the biz.

Nathan..

 

Ed,
What would also give you a lot more power is if you change the manifold to an equal length, I have heard of people getting around 20bhp from this. And i'm sure if it was all mapped then the results would be amazing.

ScoobyDoo69

 

Some manifolds also kill your torque. I have a sneaky suspicion that a lot of the gains from manifolds are from the better up-pipe. Trouble is that it is difficult to do controlled experiments with manifolds.

For example - if they lean things out you might get more power but lose torque. If they slow the rate of boost rise you might run more ignition. If they flow better at the top end they might not get the gas velocity at the low end to spool the turbo. So you can't just fit a manifold and then compare figures - besides the differences claimed are often small enough that they come within the realm of dyno error. The same car run on the same dyno a week later can make 20 BHP either way with nothing apparently changed. Even some manifold manufacturers only claim 5 WHP from their manifold, with at least that from the cheaper uppipes.

Some people enjoy the gains they get, some manifolds work better with some turbos rather than others.

For me the largest gains on my car have come from:

1. Turbo
2. Mapping
3. FMIC

in that order I would say. Others experiences will be different. Always read the label

 

I'm also not on an eternal power quest, and I prefer measuring in GPM. (Grins per minute).

The thud of the unequal headers is worth 20bhp to me

 

Also beware with headers that the ECU doesn't seem to hear knock anymore at least on some headers on MY99/00, although on your MY02 it should be OK but worth checking it is still running actively and not knocking.

On the original ECU on MY99/00, this will limit your safety or power since you want the car to be able to pull out timing on a TMIC in particular (even a big one) WHEN it heatsoaks (and it will no matter how good it appears to be). Then your car may det, mine did at knockhill with headers on, and the ECU completely ignored it, this was midrange not high RPM. With OEM headers it will pull out the timing if it needs to in thrash conditions, and generally look after your engine quite well until it stops listening over 5500 RPM.

[Edited by john banks - 2/20/2003 3:32:37 PM]

 

John - thanks, got a knocklink on its way and popping in to see Simon for some SECS tomorrow.

Is it worth getting waterspray just for those occasions where heat soak is an issue (traffic etc.)

 

It makes a small difference and is inexpensive.

 

Edcase, thanks for you input, i've ordered myself one.

John, are you ready for my "spring project" ????

Regards,

George

 

Depends what you are planning George - I've not done a Forester or a larger capacity yet, doing the latter on my own first as usual so I get the hang of it. Shouldn't be a problem, but I'd rather sort any issues first rather than venture into the unknown on someone else's car. See my thread in projects, hoping to do a sensible price 2.5 for street use, basically twice as fast as stock but just as sweet to drive.

[Edited by john banks - 2/21/2003 4:58:10 PM]