p1bal

Hello, these maybe simple questions which have simple answers but id like to know if anyone care to explain please.

What does a front mount intercooler do?

If I get a front mount will it work along side the top mount intercooler?

Which is the best one on the market?

Which is the best budget one on the market?

When should I be looking to add a front mount intercooler to my Impreza P1?


Look forward to your replies


Thanks

doormatty

Not sure on best on the market
but you dont use a top mount with a front mount
personally i dont like front mount make the car look ugly on the front but im also aware that the air intake which it gives creates more power but also more turbo lag
this in only what i was told when i looked it to it myself.

Splitpin

Cools the compressed charge air, just like a top mount, but, as the name suggests, is sited at the front of the engine bay, instead of the top. Therefore it gets its air supply through the front inlets rather than the bonnet scoop, and is moved away from a source of radiating heat. Although, the downside, more noticeable the less power you have, is that the significantly increased inlet tract volume reduces throttle response.

No, it replaces the top mount IC

Moot question, there's no such thing as "the best one on the market", as, if money is no object, the one you would choose would be the one best suited to your engine and its level of tune. The core best suited to around 300bhp, for example, would not be the same as the one designed for a 600 horsepower car, and even though the latter would be the bigger/better/theoretically more efficient, the smaller/cheaper one would still work better on the less powerful car.

Many people have good things to say about the HDi one, however there are no doubt others. There are also top mount intercoolers that are much better than the one you have on your P1 as standard.

Ideally when someone who knows your car, its level of tune, and the way you drive it, suggests it would be a positive way to get more power/solve a charge temperature problem. There are advantages and disadvantages to any modification, this is no different, and if your car is standard, it's not as though you can simply bung on a front mount and expect it all to work. Indeed if your car is standard-ish, there isn't a huge amount to be gained from this mod - the existing intercooler will deal with pretty much anything the turbo (at normal boost level) puts through it.

Fitting a front mount to a standard(ish) P1 would also require expenditure on supporting modifications - not least a good replacement for the standard induction tract and an immediate remap, so you would be budgeting for something in the region of £750 plus the cost of the intercooler itself.