Is there a lot of difference between the intercooler fitted to an STI and that of an MY99?

 

it's bigger, thicker and will help if your running more than std boost. You can pick one up 2nd-hand fairly cheaply, so it's worth doing if you run a few psi above the norm - say 14.5psi increased to 17.5psi.

 

So what model of STI will fit straight onto an MY99 then?

 

5 or 6

 

Our STI 5's and 6's are exactly the same as the 99 apart from a small indentation in one end tank on the STI I/Cs. There is no gain to be had from this. The cores are identical-thickness, dimensions No.of fins etc etc unlike the later models. You would be better off however ditching the 99 y-pipe and fitting the STI one or similar (samco etc) thats where the gains are. Unless your IC's are different which I would doubt.
Heaps of people get this wrong over here too.
Oh yeah the STI TMIC has STI written on it so I guess thats good for a couple of KW's whatever the case
flame suit on
Regards
Mark

 

Its not From the outside with the exception of that small indent they are the exact same shape and size. I'm reliably informed that mines wasn't a waste of money as the STI 5 one has a superior core.

 

If they are the same size then it is safe to say that there isn't going to be any notable difference. What about STI 7/8 are they any different? And what is the difference of the Y piece, mine is plastic poo, will samco or an STI one give any gains? I want a better intercooler but front mount is expensive and a pain to fit, so any other suggestions?

Cord

 

sti's internal flow is better than genuine wrx

 

cord, I recently changed to Samco turbo hoses on my UK99 and I am convinced that it seemed to improve the boost (as shown on my Defi guage). Needless to say, whether it actually did or not, don't know, but it seemed that way.

Also, seem to recall that I mentioned it to someone who knows far more about such things than me, and he concurred that it was not beyond the realms of possibility.

As far as uprated intercoolers go, I've been told on numerous occasions, by different people, that uprating the top mount is worthless, and the an FMIC is the way to go - just not very good on the wallet

Matt

 

IMVHO,
if you already have a 99MY UK TMIC then a P1/STi5or6 TMIC will not give you much benefit.
The STi Aluminium y-piece and hosing will give you far less pressure drop, but a SAMCO one is better than standard (unless it splits due to excessive boost!)
As a point of reference, I believe the Prodrive upgrade pack on 99MY UK also uses the STi y-piece and hosing.
Save your pennies and go for SAMCO hose, bit more money 2nd Hand STi alu+Hoses even more money FMIC.
FMIC you want APS core but HKS ducting

Jacko.

 

You won't notice or feel any difference with an STI V intercooler upgrade. I did it because it gave a tad extra safety as the turbo has to work a little less hard to make the same boost

 

Another vote for changing the intercooler pipes to Samco / ally. The OEM Y piece is a really nasty angular effort. The Samco offering has a bigger diameter and is much smoother (make sure you clean all the swarf out from the inside first !)

I noticed 1 PSI extra boost across all gears after fitting - that's combined with Tek2.5, full decat and K&N induction.

The MY99/00 part number is TCS143 and I got mine from Rally Design

Andy.