i have a my 98 turbo 2000 and am after a top mount intercooler upgrade. are the sti ones any good and do i need the same year cooler to fit my car cheers.

 

Not sure of the power capability of the STi v.3/4 one? Up to 350?

You may as well future proof yourself more and fit a Blobeye STi one - good for around 400bhp. Will have to do some cutting, fabrication and general faffing around, but it'll be worth it in the end. I think there's a guide on how to fit one to a Classic. Do a search or check in Topics Archive...

 

For 350 TMIC will be good with the right turbo.

I'm running 411bhp on my STi 7 TMIC. (Remember running AVCS though).

Steve

 

whats avcs mate.

 

The only TMIC that fits bolt on are the one from MY97-89, and they have the same core, so no gain at all except for a little better flow if you get the STi Y-pipe.
The TMIC from MY01 and later ("STI7" and later) can handle up to abt. 400-450 according to Andy Forrest. But you need undertray and scoop that fits hte IC.
Heat soak issue is the same as with OE IC though.

 

i have a newage wrx one fitted to my 97 uk,not bad to fit and made a lot of differance over standard one.

 

I put a better TMIC on mine, had it mapped, it WAS better according to the mapper, but it still suffered heatsoak on French motorways last summer in 40 degree temperatures, and my engine went bang.

Now being rebuilt with a FMIC from Harvey

 

get a hybird front mount for 350- 40 pound job doen and it look nice to and is good for 500bhp and maybe more

 

i have fitted an sti tmic to my 1999 uk turbo by swapping the y pipe and it made quite a difference over standard so in my opinion i would say its worth doing! theres a reason you can pick up a standard item for as little as £10 there **** lol sti all the way!

 

As above i have a 99 uk turbo fitted sti tmic with y pipe,did not notice a great deal of difference but when you see the standard plastic piping,you know the y pipe and sti cooler is flowing the air into the turbo better(2-4 bhp). If your car is a early 98 then the sti intercooler will have an elbow which connects to your recirc/dv.If its a later 98/99,your recirc valve bolts straight to the intercooler.

 

I monitor air charge temperatures on all my cars on an ongoing basis, on the road and on the rolling road. I have also done this on a number of other cars. I also happen to supply air charge temperature guages and data log ACTs or view them through my lap top while mapping.
On a 97-98 STi, the O/E TMIC is already struggling at just over 300 bhp and much the same is true for the ver 5 and 6. New Age are an improvement on that but by the time you have exceeded 380-400 bhp on an STi 8 TMIC and a bit earlier on WRX, there is already a strong case for an efficient FMIC.
Having fitted an STi 8 TMIC to an STi3 Wagon, I found that unless you fit the bonnet scoop from the STi 8 and the undertray the performance of the topmount is poor.
The car in question was 335 bhp and 333 ft lbs on O/E TMIC, STi 3, injectors, turbo and ECU. ACTs were off the clock at 70C plus in the sprint from 0-100 mph. With the STi 8 TMIC, scoop and undertray, ACTs were reduced but on WOT of more than brief bursts, it was possible to have ACTs in the 40s and in summer in the 50s. I actually had temps over 60 C on a few occassions.
With development the car got to 392 BHP after final mapping with temperatures on the rollers in the 40s. I then fitted a Hybrid GT FMIC and returned to the rollers. 401 bhp straight off and 410 bhp after mapping with ACTs around 22/23 C. This was on a warmer day than the benchmark run for the TMIC.
So a gain of 9 bhp with no remap, 18 bhp with a remap but, importantly, far lower ACTs which has to add safety.
Hybrid GT £270. With extras.
Hybrid GT2 £290. ditto.
Hybrid GDB £350. ditto.
Delivery overnight £12.50 or fitted for £185.
Do it right, do it once.

 

Harvey, my PFC has provision for a ACT sensor and to be able to monitor it on the Commander.

Do you stock suitable sensors to be able to work with the PFC... or is it a bespoke A'PEXi one that I need to get?...

 

I have no idea what the Apexi PFC needs Joz. I always keep a spare temperature sensor because these are part of the standard install on a Simtek ECU. I guess the sensor will send a 0-5v signal but it is not something I have looked in to. As long as we can fit it to a hard pipe and it works that is the end of my curiosity there.
A mapper like Bob Rawle or Simon JGM probably have that information at their finger tips.

 

Yeah, I reckon Simon will know... Cheers

 

Joz, the PFC are ready for the OE STi inlet temp sensor. It sits somewhere around the airbox and is covered in plastic.
I don't know the resistance but it's possible to buy an OE one off a breaker and strip the plastic (be careful!) and cement it to a threaded plug of something. Then tap a hole/thread on your IC or piping and fit it.
2 pins, on to earth and one to (the right pin on) the ECU.

 

Ah cool - didn't know that.

This STi inlet temp sensor - any pics of its location? Does it come on all Classic STi's?