Dan W

If a front mounted intercooler is more efficient why has Subaru continued to locate them above the engine as opposed to following the Mitsubishi format of mounting at the front?

f4la k

iTrader: (1)

I used to think it was cost. But i think the top mount is a better set up for a road car, sharper throttle. I guess you would need to ask subaru why they keep putting them on the top..

rookymatt

iTrader: (15)

It's cheaper to produce,
Less to damage in the event of a front end accident,
you'll have a better throttle response.
Three good reasons right there.
Don't forget evos are alot more expensive new than the lowly subarus!

Dan W

Subaru must know what they are doing though so I trust their judgement.

Good point about fron end damage in a collision tho. I never thought of that.
It must cause problems for FMIC even in relatively minor bumps.

rookymatt

iTrader: (15)

As long as you are modding the car to what i would call stable levels, 300bhp or below. I would say go for an uprated top mount. Once figures start to reach 400bhp, you need to really be fitting a front mount.

Megaman

iTrader: (4)

As I understand it the pipes that go from the intercooler are very short on a top mount i.e. a short straight pipe meaning a much more responsive car as the air has less distance to travel and less restriction.

With a front mount the pipes go from the front of the car, down the sides of the engine and then loop round into the top of the engine, meaning the air has a lot further to travel and its path is round corners instead of a straight short pipe. This is the reason for the slightly laggier performance.

FMIC is better when your using the car hard because there is much more airflow and surface area for the intercooler at the front of the car than the scoop gap.

Why do Subaru do it?
Well like has already been said - more responsiveness for road cars, smaller intercoolers are more importantly to them is its cheaper to produce and out of the way if you have a low speed shunt. All cars are built to a budget, thats why the STI doesnt have 6 pot AP brakes or equivalent as standard.

With Evo's I believe most accidents end in a write off making them more expensive than subarus to insure from my personal experience when comparing the two, probably due to small shunts costing thousands to repair.

Dan W

Nice one. So Subaru probably know that they can produce enough power for everyday use with TMIC I would guess whilst keeping manufacturing costs down.

So they also would know that if someone wants more power then individual owners can fit FMIC alongside other mods to achieve the desired output if they so wish.

rookymatt

iTrader: (15)

subaru don't offer a front mount kit as per such. However so many people have modified these cars past what subaru's intercoolers can cope with.
Therefore aftermarket front mount intercooler kits have been developed. To allow tuners (and rally teams) to squeeze more performance out of their modifications.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

As above: same reason Subaru don't give the car AP 6 pots as standard.

OEM equipment is always a compromise cost/quality. Sure it'll be fit for purpose if the car is std, but once modified.......

TMICs are not in the optimal place for best cooling performance; no way around it!

BTW in a well set up FMIC car there is no significant "on the road" difference in responsiveness over the same car with a TMIC. When I swapped I braced myself for this and it just didn't materialise! I'm sure there is an objective difference, but most will never notice! What you will notice is the lower charge temps and the increased output!

Ns04