Intercooler worth it?

I have a 2009 spec b. Nothing crazy on it. Slightly bigger turbo from a 2015 wrx, catless exhaust, intake, tune. Is it worth upgrading to a bigger top mounted intercooler? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The 2015 wrx had the new low mounted turbo on the new engine? Are you sure that's the turbo you have?

 

What does your tuner think?

 

My understanding is that you leave something on the table with the OEM intercooler (even on stock fueling). I just got a new intercooler to for my set-up (VF52 - off the 2009-2014 wrx)

 

However, talk with your tuner.

 

You can also "bulletproof" your stock intercooler which will allow you to run more boost.

Functionally speaking, the stock intercooler is fine until you get into much higher boost levels. The plastic end tanks are a weak point where they can separate from the aluminum center section. You can reinforce this area using some DIY or a kit.

 

A Timex tells the same time as a Rolex. Some people just have to have the fancier watch.

It may be a 14. With a retune then it would be beneficial?

I agree that the stock tmic is "good enough" until you are hitting much higher boost levels then stock... however, I disagree that it'd just be adding bling and not increase performance. The bigger tmics such as GS and PW will certainly perform better with heat exchange and heat soak, and even the smaller Perrin and AVO units will yield better results over the stock tmic.

 

That said, I "bulletproofed" my oem tmic (after previously replacing my leaking stock tmic) to prevent the plastic end tanks from separating due to higher boost... and it should be noted the stock tmics have failed even under stock boost settings.. Fwiw

 

Will an aftermarket tmic add gobs of power? Not so much.. but it will improve the intake air temps and allow a tuner to get more out of it with different turbo applications, and provide peace of mind over the known weak link, stock tmic.

 

It's certainly a more useful investment then shiny rims... but definitely not gonna transform your numbers simply in and of itself.

 

Just my pennies worth

I really appreciate everyone's input.

 

Will an aftermarket tmic add gobs of power? Not so much.. but it will improve the intake air temps and allow a tuner to get more out of it with different turbo applications, and provide peace of mind over the known weak link, stock tmic.

 

It's certainly a more useful investment then shiny rims... but definitely not gonna transform your numbers simply in and of itself.

 

Just my pennies worth

 

 

First statement is right on and why I decided to get a GS intercooler. It's a lot of money to spend and not get 40+ more horsepower though (at least not on it's own)

 

However 100% disagree with second statement. "shiny rims" if lighter and with stickier rubber will make a huge difference in every aspect of your cars performance.

Both my cars have the GS tmic. They make R&R of the tmic so much easier.

 

They are what the car should have come with. Easy to install.

 

I also have Moore Performance Blast Plates on the 5mt too.

The Grimmspeed TMIC is lovely, a work of art, really. It also costs over $900 new which is pretty insane considering what it is. My point is that from a cost/benefit standpoint, there are better ways to spend your money.

Sure, but when I hop into bed and whisper into my wife's ear "I have a GS intercooler" it's go time.

 

Can't put a price on that. But if you had to, I would say it was just over $900.

...it's go time...Can't put a price on that...

A lot of irrational human behavior works that way...then there are also sugar pills to cure illness.

Can you smell that? It smells like bullshit.

The Grimmspeed TMIC is lovely, a work of art, really. It also costs over $900 new which is pretty insane considering what it is. My point is that from a cost/benefit standpoint, there are better ways to spend your money.

 

Insane price considering what it is? Not really. We are lucky that they designed a splitter to work with our cars, have perfect fitment, hand crafted quality made in the USA and amazing customer support. It is a fantastic value for what it is. There aren't a lot of companies developing parts for 10 year old cars that don't have a huge market demands like GD WRX and STi.

First statement is right on and why I decided to get a GS intercooler. It's a lot of money to spend and not get 40+ more horsepower though (at least not on it's own)

 

However 100% disagree with second statement. "shiny rims" if lighter and with stickier rubber will make a huge difference in every aspect of your cars performance.

 

My point was that an intercooler is more then just aesthetics... Shiny rims in my analogy were not suggesting a lighter and wrapped with superior rubber- in which case that's a no brainer.. of course it will handle better, for the costs it better! Lol, Definitely agree with you there, just missed my point. An after market intercooler isn't merely for looks like other additions can be.... maybe saying over hubcaps would've made my point clearer.

 

The GS unit is definitely one of the best possible tmics on the market in my opinion. Process west made a good product too, but afaik, it's no longer being manufactured. They both sport a massive core (heard of fitment issues with the PW). A huge upside for the GS tmic, is it comes stock with the piping to run an STi style turbo; and that's awesome!!

Insane price considering what it is? Not really. We are lucky that they designed a splitter to work with our cars, have perfect fitment, hand crafted quality made in the USA and amazing customer support. It is a fantastic value for what it is. There aren't a lot of companies developing parts for 10 year old cars that don't have a huge market demands like GD WRX and STi.

Feeling a bit touchy, eh?

 

Expensive jewelry can be beautiful and perfectly fitted, with great support, etc. But it has no functional value. People still buy jewelry, though.

 

We are talking function, of an intercooler, which is something that few people will ever see unless you like to show it off. Obviously, opinions and tastes vary. BTW, I have no cosmetic or appearance upgrades on my car, except maybe a few lighting upgrades. That's just my way.

You're jewelery analogy is a bit off. The intercooler does have a function and it works much better than the stock TMIC. It has less of a pressure drop across it, provides more surface area for heat transfer to occur which helps reduce knock which then allows tuners to tune more and make more power. It's also the reason why when you get to a certain power level you need to go to a FMIC because a top mount isn't big enough to support the power being made. Yes it does look nice under the hood but it very much serves a purpose other than just looks.

I am not saying it does nothing. I am saying it does not justify its cost for me, and people who think like I do, because the stock intercooler is actually a well-designed, unsexy piece that works fine for my power level. The additional money spent serves no functional purpose, for me. Is that so hard to understand?

 

Engineering is not particularly glamorous. The stock intercooler, with its ugly, cheap looking plastic endtanks, has some good points:

- it is not very restrictive

- it provides adequate delta-T

- it has a small internal volume

- it is less subject to heat soak than a larger hunk of aluminum would be

- it fits the stock hoodscoop

 

It is a point of view different from your own, but still a valid way of looking at things. Hopefully, I made my point. It is not intended as a criticism of you personally.

I understand your point but the stock one the end tanks separate at stock boost levels. That is poor engineering. And it actually heat soaks faster than a larger one at the cost of the larger one taking longer to recover from heatsoak. And I know engineering isn't glamorous at all. I am an engineer aboard ships.

Just trying to address OP's original question - "is it worth it?" That turns out to be a more complicated question than it seems at first. There are fixes for the separating issue, which is a known weakness. Heat soak might be an issue in traffic for some climates, but once the car is at speed the lower mass is an advantage. So, trade-offs.

To address the OP's question, an aftermarket intercooler is worth it. Doesn't necessarily have to be a GS one but anything is better than the plastic end tanks that separate.

Just won't let it rest, eh?

 

There is an easy fix for the end tank issue. Plastic has some advantages, all-aluminum does not equal high quality. There are all-aluminum intercoolers out there that perform worse (or no better) than the stock one in thermodynamic terms, although the aftermarket ones might "look better". Some aftermarket parts are expensive because the market is small so you don't benefit from economies of scale.

 

Is it worth it? Some people think so, others don't.

I have experience with the stock one even with a BP kit on it still starting to separate. It is a band-aid not a fix. You can argue it as much as you like however from mine and my friends experiences upgraded intercoolers are worth it. Even buying it used can drastically cut the cost.

For the price of the GS, why even stay tmic? Go fmic, win-win.

For the price of the GS, why even stay tmic? Go fmic, win-win.

 

For a few reasons,not cutting up your bumper support, wanting to stay stock looking and re-pressurizing all that piping does take a bit more time.

 

I really prefer the GS TMIC for the reasons above as it's a daily driven car. If I was preparing a track car, I'd go front mount.

 

To the OP, it's really up to you on what you want as you can't go wrong with a larger intercooler either way, just understand what the tradeoffs are of each application.

For a few reasons,not cutting up your bumper support, wanting to stay stock looking and re-pressurizing all that piping does take a bit more time.

 

I really prefer the GS TMIC for the reasons above as it's a daily driven car. If I was preparing a track car, I'd go front mount.

 

To the OP, it's really up to you on what you want as you can't go wrong with a larger intercooler either way, just understand what the tradeoffs are of each application.

 

And thanks to Dankness, we just had this debate too

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/another-tmic-vs-fmic-thread-259400.html

 

For the price of the GS, why even stay tmic? Go fmic, win-win.

 

I can probably pass smog with a GS TMIC. Doubt I can with a FMIC.