Hello everyone. I'm going to replace the tmic on my 2005 blobeye wagon, as it's full of bugs, bits of tree and gravel, so looks terrible. I'm pretty certain the amount of crap stuck in it isn't helping it's efficiency. I'm not going for big power at any point soon so don't want to go down the FMIC route. So the options are either a second hand STI version (about £160) or an uprated OEM (also about £160) eg one of these from ebay:


My car has PPP fitted so I've already got silicone hoses. What do people think? Old STI or OEM?

 

ebay 'uprated' intercoolers, no, just no.

second hand sti one by far better choice

 

I suspected as much. I think I'll try to get a STI version and give it a good clean inside and out.

 

i ran a hawk at 390 on a sti top mount, did struggle with temps on hot days but any mroe than that and your looking at front mount anyway

 

My car is 10 years old, on standard internals so I'm not going to be going for that kind of power! My current intercooler is a mess, bent fins, bugs (and I given the amount of bits of laylandii I've found in the intercooler and engine bay I think someone once drove the car through a hedge). So it needs replacing, it was just a question of if I go for something shiny from ebay or something older but better. And I think I know the answer, so here's hoping father Christmas brings me an sti TMIC!

 

If it holds boost and doesn't leak, I can think of a lot better things to spend the money on. But if you are determined to buy another one, OEM all the way.

 

just take the intercooler off and power wash it from behind, it'll soon blow all the crap out of it. just make sure you block up the outlets so you dont fill it with water

 

Go STI TMIC, it should increase BHP slightly and drop torque, which is better for the WRX.

 

Thanks for the tip, I might give that a go as an interim measure.

 

if you've got it off and are cleaning it, give it a wash through with a few cups of petrol (pour them in, cover the end caps and slosh it around). You'd be surprised at the stank that will come out of it

 

I have an ebay TMIC(the really big ones)..

tuner said it was great.. held up perfectly up to 450HP. even with no splitter.

This is on a GC8, P1 and a Fozzy STI.

It does heatsoak like mad.

 

This weekend I'm mainly going to be under the car swearing at rusty, seized bolts as I attempt to change the drop links and ARB'S. I've already bought some nut breakers in anticipation.
But the next job after will be to get under the bonnet to give it a proper clean and sort out the IC. Using petrol is a good tip as I was thinking about using carb cleaner.

 

So, thus far I've got one vote for STI intercooler and one for ebay intercooler... still not sure what to do. The sti is proven technology, it's a common upgrade and low risk. The eBay intercoolers are more of a risk as there are a lot out there that aren't well made and may even reduce the flow and increase the pressure drop. But a good one may give benefits... I still don't know and I suspect that it's not going to make a huge difference...

 

If it's geatsokaing like mad I'd say that isn't coping with 450bhp

 

I had mine modified (to fit on a V4...) by a company that makes/remakes intercoolers/radiators etc and even they said it looked like a good intercooler. everything was deburred, no ragged edges.

I ment Heatsoak when sitting still or in traffic i ment.. upon opening the hood after some driving intercooler is cold. it takes a fair amount of time to get it cold again once its hot. one reason is it sits more over the turbo, wich will heat it up when sitting still.

Buy what you want to.. im happy with mine wich costs less than a STI one with all the fins flattened

 

+1 for a good clean, mine needs it too, you can straighten any bent fins with a tooth pick, takes a while mind, but costs nothing but time.

If you have PPP the only thing you want off an STI is the de-catted turbo up-pipe.

 

Out of interest, as I believe the PPP main exhaust has only got one cat, if I was to fit a de cat up-pipe would my car pass the mot emissions test?

 

Why would fitting a STI intercooler reduce the engine torque?

 

Takes longer to pressurise as its bigger. So you wont get full boost until further up the rev range which is bad as the td04 has no real top end power, its designed for quick spool at lower revs.

 

going from a wrx to sti intercooler will make little to no difference in lag