Hi guys,
can anyone help me?
I am thinking of getting a front mounted intercooler for my p1 and need some advice,
power gains
any problems with these
will the subaru dealer still service the car
will it damage my engine due to running higher boost or will the boost limit kick in and there will be little differences.
cheers

If you will have a problem with it, it'll be weird boost behaviour to some extent.

Is there anyone out there that's done this with a stock unfiddled ECU? :D

You won't gain much, but it'll deliver alot cooler charge air to the engine, and it will keep it down even in extreme conditions (track days)....so IMHO it's a good mod.

You will have to remap to get full advantage from it.

And if you should get problems hitting the boost cut...install a Dawes Device, set boost at the same value as the P1 runs normally and keep smiling. ;)

/J - disclaimer - I've been known to speak outta me rear end from time to time. :D

Jay,

Before we had our P1 I asked Prodrive this same question; the reply was:

Increased turbo lag / small increase in power / not worth it for something with 276bhp already.

Take that as you will......how far do you intend to go ? I was only interested from the point of efficiency.

Cheers

Why do you want one?

Only see the benefit if your running high boost and ignition advance so that you have to get the temps down. Plus need a replacment ECU to get the full benefits

You'd be just as well off wrapping the downpipe to get temps down under the engine bay!

Water injection is another option - but again a waste of time on a standard P1

Jerry is quite right, he has been know n talk out of his rear end! ;)

ANY reduction in intake temperatures (post turbo) will give you more power, Turbocharged cars respond very well to "good thermal management".

You don't need an aftermarket ECU, but a FMIC is excellent ground work to push the tuning further if you have got one. I have ran my STi 5 type R for 6 months now and results have been astonishing (even on the OEM Jecs ECU).


Don't forget as well, It's not just about gains, it's about reducing your losses as well. Come summer a FMIC will make a huge difference to the amount of power you lose as the ambient temperatures rise (If indeed they do). :p

Engine bay temps only have a very minor effect on temps at the inlet manifold (post intercooler).

Mike.

The only way to get true gains from a front mount is to reverse your throttle body which means you have to remove your air con and replace it with your alternator. By using this method you can keep your intercooler piping to a minimum therefore lag also.

The top mounted intercoolers are not that great, these intercoolers are at the worst spot to be affected by heat. But this evens out when you are at speed, due to the air that is being forced over the intercooler.

There is a lot of talk about FMIC's and lag. I've got one fitted to my MY94 WRX with the TD05 (which is supposed to be laggy) and I can't say that I noticed any lag at all when fitting the FMIC. I think it was Bob Rawle who said that given the amount of air a turbo will flow, the extra bit of pipework for a front mount is inconsequential. Of course a good map will help to cure lag problems anyway.

Hi Stuart,

Have you any pics on the install, what make of FMIC is it?

Cheers

R