Intercooler upgrade...what offers the best balance?

[AutoEuphoria]

Looking into intercooler upgrades...I'm looking for a unit that provides a good upgrade in cooling over the stock unit, but does not see a substantial amount of pressure drop. So, is an upgraded TMIC the way to go?

 

[acidbug]

Looking into intercooler upgrades...I'm looking for a unit that provides a good upgrade in cooling over the stock unit, but does not see a substantial amount of pressure drop. So, is an upgraded TMIC the way to go?

I would def suggest the ETS or SU TMIC.

Easy for dealer visits and easy on the install.

If you plan on going big power..I would def suggest going with a FMIC.

-C

 

[AutoEuphoria]

Yeah, I don't LOL. Intercooler, suspension, and wheels are the only three major things left on my list.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[STRICK-]

definitly a top mount IMO....

 

[Circle9]

TMIC to keep the sleeper look!

 

[AutoEuphoria]

Yeah, I think I'm going to go with a TMIC. That was my initial thought, but it is nice to have the confirmation. Now I just need to figure out which is better...the ETS or ths SU (which is $50 more).

 

[blackdragon0731]

I would never consider upgrading the stock unit with another TMIC. Regardless of improvement youre still going to get some serious heat soak.

If you believe that pressure drops are as bad as people make them out to be, then you need to think again. Turbo lag seems to be a big issue with FMIC's with you guys as well. Although there is minor turbo lag in an FMIC over and TMIC, its imperceivable. As far as pressure drops go, getting a really nice FMIC (such as a COBB) will afford you the lowest possible pressure drop.

Why upgrade a TMIC with another TMIC? Regardless of initial cooling improvement, you're still going to get a lot of heat-soak under the hood. Why not just go with an FMIC? You have to take into consideration the efficiency of your intercooler. Sure you can go with another TMIC, you'll gain a bit of power and efficiency, or you can just upgrade it to an FMIC. Sitting up front obviously bring in the coldest, most dense air. With it sitting up front, you'll lose hardly any efficiency.

 

[speed3driver]

I don't have one so i'm not talking from first hand knowledge.. but ive heard guys say the ETS TMIC has almost no pressure drop, has a very noticeable power increase, and is cold to the touch after running hard.. (almost no heat soak at all)

So yeah a FMIC might be "better" if your trying to make a lot of power.. but for most of us with turbo backs and intakes an upgraded TMIC would be a great addition and make the car run a lot better and pull a lot harder.

 

[blackdragon0731]

I wasn't talking about getting a power increase, although the FMIC does offer that.

I'm just offering my opinion, you can compare any good FMIC for our car and any TMIC, your pressure drop will be minimal and the power and cooling improvement will be more than enough to balance that out with an FMIC.

But you can go with a TMIC, it's really your choice. Your intercooler shouldn't ever get too hot even after some hard driving, heat soak isn't going to make it feel hot, it's going to make the intercooler less efficient at cooling the air that passes through it.

FMIC or TMIC, it's up to you, but if you want a much more efficient way to cool the air, use an FMIC.

 

[MS3Zoom24]

I wasn't talking about getting a power increase, although the FMIC does offer that.

I'm just offering my opinion, you can compare any good FMIC for our car and any TMIC, your pressure drop will be minimal and the power and cooling improvement will be more than enough to balance that out with an FMIC.

But you can go with a TMIC, it's really your choice. Your intercooler shouldn't ever get too hot even after some hard driving, heat soak isn't going to make it feel hot, it's going to make the intercooler less efficient at cooling the air that passes through it.

FMIC or TMIC, it's up to you, but if you want a much more efficient way to cool the air, use an FMIC.

I agree with you, it is more efficient as a front mount, but for the most part a front mount is not needed unless you are building the motor up or go drag racing or autocrossing and you are sitting in the staging area waitting for your turn, which is why later this year im getting a top mount, i never run into issues where im just sitting around and begin to heat soke.

 

[SHaW]

I heard that the TRZ TMIC might be coming out in march or something.

 

[UHATEIT]

i have the ETS tmic, it rocks! I dont see any pressure drop. If there is any it might be 1/5-1 psi if that. The intercooler is very cool, engine temp is way down. WOT response is great. I noticed an increase right away. More or less the top end rpm was a big difference. It doesn't let up on the freeway. I got it for $350 on a local pickup:

 

[oaklandopen]

I would never consider upgrading the stock unit with another TMIC. Regardless of improvement youre still going to get some serious heat soak.

If you believe that pressure drops are as bad as people make them out to be, then you need to think again. Turbo lag seems to be a big issue with FMIC's with you guys as well. Although there is minor turbo lag in an FMIC over and TMIC, its imperceivable. As far as pressure drops go, getting a really nice FMIC (such as a COBB) will afford you the lowest possible pressure drop.

Why upgrade a TMIC with another TMIC? Regardless of initial cooling improvement, you're still going to get a lot of heat-soak under the hood. Why not just go with an FMIC? You have to take into consideration the efficiency of your intercooler. Sure you can go with another TMIC, you'll gain a bit of power and efficiency, or you can just upgrade it to an FMIC. Sitting up front obviously bring in the coldest, most dense air. With it sitting up front, you'll lose hardly any efficiency.

do you work at the department of redundancy department?



anywho...i would say it just depends on your need for "improvement". i agree that a top mount, no matter how good it is, will succumb to engine heat no matter what, even while moving.

if you just think about it, if you had 2 alike vehicles driving side-by-side at the same speed with the same outside temperature, and one has a topmount while the other has a front mount of the same type (material, dimensions) i think the front mount will still be just a little cooler. on the other hand, when you come to a stop, the top mount will always start heating up sooner and faster than the front mount

so what's more important to you? being able to have consistant intake temps while driving and when accellerating from a stop (better for dragstrip), or just being more efficient while driving (better for stock look)? your choice

 

[essejkcamraw]

i dunno bout waiting at the track for your turn. but i know traffic is pretty much the same. if not worse...

 

[Renzokuken]

I would hold out and wait for the TRZ. It looks damn sexy.

 

[madvillian]

who knows when that damn trz will actually come out, it does look killer though. go with a su tmic, i wish i would've instead of my fmic for simplicity.

 

[blackdragon0731]

I agree with you, it is more efficient as a front mount, but for the most part a front mount is not needed unless you are building the motor up or go drag racing or autocrossing and you are sitting in the staging area waitting for your turn, which is why later this year im getting a top mount, i never run into issues where im just sitting around and begin to heat soke.

Wait are you serious? Your engine doesn't heat soak your TMIC by sitting around.... your engine heat soaks your TMIC by running, hard driving, freeway driving, etc.

As far as intercoolers go, any TMIC is subject to heat soak... as oakland said...

but oakland clearly isn't thinking clearly talking about his side by side comparison.

You don't want your intercooler to HEAT UP faster. You want it to more efficiently gather and cool air. This means that an FMIC setup will bring in the coolest, most dense air, in addition to normally having better cooling ability due to next to no heat soak, an FMIC will perform better in just about all aspects.

So unless you want to preserve your stock appearance, go with an FMIC.

If you do your research you'll learn that the best FMIC for our speed3 (the COBB) has next to no pressure drop... in addition, the turbo lag FMIC's create due to the pressure drop is imperceptible.

Look whatever you guys think, a TMIC isn't going to be any more efficient while driving than an FMIC, and the FMIC is a tried and true way to avoid heat soak, add power, AND improve cooling considerably.

 

[oaklandopen]

Wait are you serious? Your engine doesn't heat soak your TMIC by sitting around.... your engine heat soaks your TMIC by running, hard driving, freeway driving, etc.

but oakland clearly isn't thinking clearly talking about his side by side comparison.

You don't want your intercooler to HEAT UP faster. You want it to more efficiently gather and cool air. This means that an FMIC setup will bring in the coolest, most dense air, in addition to normally having better cooling ability due to next to no heat soak, an FMIC will perform better in just about all aspects.
.

top mounts absolutley get heated up while just sitting around, that's when your engine is the hottest anyway. why else would radiators need fans? certainly not while moving. and as far as the intercooler is concerned: hot air is lighter can cooler air so it travels up, the top mount is up. therefore the top mount gets all the engine's heat while sitting

and intercoolers don't need denser air, they just need air flow (at least for air-to-air setups). denser air would be more for intakes, cuz you want denser air coming into the combustion chamber

 

[RaiderMS3]

cost-wise,my ETS TMIC fit the bill for my daily driver. I even stuck with a 3". I can drive it around town, park, pop the hood, and it will be cold to the touch. Sure, if it sits for 10 minutes, radiant heat will warm it up. But if I drive it for a few minutes, it cools off.

It depends on your plans, and budget. If I had 2x the $ to spend, I would for sure have gotten a CPE FMIC. But I don't have the funds, and I know of so many others who have had them for a long time and are happy.

 

[blackdragon0731]

top mounts absolutley get heated up while just sitting around, that's when your engine is the hottest anyway. why else would radiators need fans? certainly not while moving. and as far as the intercooler is concerned: hot air is lighter can cooler air so it travels up, the top mount is up. therefore the top mount gets all the engine's heat while sitting

and intercoolers don't need denser air, they just need air flow (at least for air-to-air setups). denser air would be more for intakes, cuz you want denser air coming into the combustion chamber

Of course they need air flow, but air flow that is already cooler and more dense will provide a more efficient means of cooling. Cool dense air is great for intakes, hence why we have short raim and cold air intakes that bring in just that. But cooling off air that is cooler to begin with provides even cooler air as a result.