intercooler situation

Here goes. I have a catless stage 2 with a Cobb short ram and a turbo blanket. I tried the ipr tmic and it wasn't for me, the fit was crappy and I had issues getting a good seal on the throttle body hose (avo). I recently got an Xo2/Godspeed Fmic with the sale money from the ipr and am pondering if I will b welcoming more boost leaks and throttle body pop offs. Will an avo top mount fit better and give me the gains I need? Perhaps a top mount is safer in the long run? Thanks for reading. Suggestions, comments reviews r welcome. Thanks.

I don't think any of the TMIC choices that use the same surface dimensions as the stock one are great solutions. I think it's pretty clear by now that the original AVO / Perrin design does indeed flow more air, or drop less pressure over the core at typical flow rates than stock. There is however reason to believe it doesn't cool the air any better than the stock intercooler and some think it's even less efficient. Then there's the heatsoak argument which says the alloy end tank above the turbo will absorb more heat than the stock one. While the Chinese copies of these products are undoubtedly even worse, I for one would not buy any of them.

 

Install your new FMIC properly with good clamps and be happy with your low pressure drop, high efficiency and lack of heatsoak worries.

 

<-- waiting patiently for new Spearco TMIC to arrive

hahha true true. those are all pros of the FMIC. TMIC heatsoak KILLED me last time i drag raced at epping.

could always just pipe everything together with the FMIC and see if its really necessary to have 12 pieces when you can have 6....meaning get more of the piping welded together. or sell the piping and get a custom setup which is what i am doing

 

<-- waiting patiently for new Spearco TMIC to arrive

 

Which looks like it's purely meant to heatsoak..

The day that I got my fmic, I felt my friends' perrin tmic and my fmic both immediately after a hard run. The "upgraded" tmic wasn't even cool enough to put your hand on it, my fmic was ice cold. Mind you it was pretty chilly that night, but we had just pulled over and there was no traffic, just spirited driving.

IMO upgrading a tmic is like walking down the up escalator, but that's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.

Which looks like it's purely meant to heatsoak..

 

I have a turbo blanket, the bigger WRX hood scoop and spend very little time in traffic. Go find another parade to piss on.

Ok.

 

Just unsure why they'd place endtanks directly over the turbo.

my previous IPR/ perrin clone had the "thermal coating" which needed ice just to bring it down to touchable temp at the track last OCTOBER..im sure that FMIC has less issues with heatsoak but potentially more issues with leaks. However a member mentioned previously to "mock up" the system on your car and assess which pipes must remain removable and weld the rest, thus reducing potential leaks. IMO thats a good idea but finding someone to weld my aluminum piping is proving to be a pita..

Ok.

 

Just unsure why they'd place endtanks directly over the turbo.

 

Pretty simple. If you're keeping the stock intake manifold how else are you going to make the intercooler surface area any larger, move the brake booster and mc?

so with these bigger IC that hang over the turbo. Why not coat the endtanks with some thermal spray? would that be worth while? Don't paint the fins because that doesn't make sense.

in my experience the heat wasnt an issue to me. i was concerned about the stock TMIC blowing apart at the tanks under 17 or more lbs of boost. BUT even my thermal coated IPR was super hot to the touch and consequently ran slower at the 1/4 than i did with the same stage two but stock top mount. but the end tanks held up

IPR is just badly made. Poor comparison.

true. but a aftermarket TMIC made of a conductor of heat just doesnt prevent heatsoak regardless of the coating. ive seen people put some heat shield wrapper on the underside of the stock end tanks tho. i dont know how effective that is. the ipr held up under higher boost tho whereas the stock would have seperated

Turbo blanket and heat shield combo is the best you're gonna get. Unless you drag race, or like to race the local ricers at each stoplight, the heat soak with that setup is greatly overrated. Fmic's have no heat soak issues, tmic's have marginally better throttle response and are a simpler setup.

 

IMO a tmic is fine for most street cars, unless you drag a lot. You may prefer a fmic, but that's based on your particular build and preference.

 

All the knockoff tmic's are honestly worse than oem, aside from the fact they don't blow apart. That's what JB weld is for.

i agree after using a knockoff for 30+k miles..good for nothing except durable

Fmic's have no heat soak issues

 

Whos you talkin' 'bout Wills? I had really bad heat soak issues with my RacerX at the strip. Add a PTP turbo blankey and replace the heatshield 99% of heat issues gone bye bye. My experience in Los Angeles where it doesn't get cold.

I was talking about in most situations. Once the whole engine bay is heat soaked from repetitive passes, all bets are off. The core will never get nearly as heat soaked as sitting right on top of the motor though.

 

I agree, blanket/heatshield is where it's at if you live in a land of eternal heat.

Whos you talkin' 'bout Wills? I had really bad heat soak issues with my RacerX at the strip. Add a PTP turbo blankey and replace the heatshield 99% of heat issues gone bye bye. My experience in Los Angeles where it doesn't get cold.

 

do u mean turbo snuggie + aftermarket heatshield combination or just a turbo blanket?

I'm pretty sure he means blanket + aftermarket shield. It also helps to wrap UP, DP, headers, hotside piping on fmic, etc.

i might have to try a shield again..already got the turbo blanket. me cobb rattled bad so i ditched it. must have put it on wrong

There's nothing wrong with stock heatshield. Trimmed mine, PTP blanket underneath, works great.

Agree, ive also noticed after installing my fmic today that the pipes on there left were warm, not as hot as the end tank on the ipr was, but enough to consider wrapping the pipes.