Front mount intercooler fitting!!
 

Thinking of gettin a front mount intercooler for my blobeye sti, seen them on ebay for under £200!!!

Are they worth buying and how difficult are they to fit??

Cheers :thumb:

Hi,
From what I know, and I haven't fitted a front mount, you would be better off buying one from Harvey, you will also need to change your air filter to a CAIK and also change the dump valve.
As said this is from what I have found, as I have thought about fitting a front mount to my WRX.
Plus it will need a remap as the pipes are longer and the air filter will make a difference too.
:thumb:

Loads of debates on this if you search for them. Spikester has given great advise, as its not as simple as just buying the front mount, it requires alot more spending to actually get it on and working properly.

My advise is stay away from ebay ones! They are less efficient than most early TMIC's. Go for the GT2's from Harvey, fitted one to a friends car and its brilliant :thumb:

Standard STi top mount is good for over 400BHP. Unless you are going to put a bigger turbo on then a vf35 is best suited to the top mount. If you really want a front mount then you need to get in touch with harvey smith. He sells the hybrid FMICs which are top notch, also he will advise you on what else you need and also wont sell you something he doesnt think you need.
I had a blob STi with a TD05 18G on the top mount and it was much better than my classic with the same turbo and a front mount.
Unless you need it dont change it.

You'll see all sorts of things for cheap on eBay. The question you have to answer for yourself is whether the specific product you are looking at is good value for money, a cheap and nasty piece of sh*t (that performs worse than the OE fit top mount IC), or somewhere in between.

We clearly can't answer the latter part of that question without knowing which particular product you are looking at. Some of the cheap ones are nightmares to fit. Even in ideal circumstances you are looking at a good few hours work. Plus, as above, some of the cheap ones (and some of the cheap, nasty ones sold at over-inflated prices) don't perform as well as the standard part.

As to the first part of your question, as Scoobystiv8 has already ably said, the standard top mount intercooler is already more than capable of dealing with anything your standard turbo can put out. Moreover, what is your overall intent here? If you are intending to simply purchase the intercooler, bolt it (plus the necessary induction kit) on and have done with it, then don't bother. Your engine will need retuning and calibrating properly to the new parts.

If your thinking is that you can simply spend £200 on an FMIC, bolt it on and make the car better, you're incorrect. As has already been said, unless you need it, and are prepared to spend the money necessary to secure something better than what you already have, and have it mapped in properly, don't change it. Your car will work better as standard than it will with a gash, improperly installed modification.

its will be ok on a top mount, but you will see improvment from a front mount even witha vf35. well worth going front mount