Intercooler questions?
 

alright..i have a 91 eclipse gsx. Because my car is some what of a daily driver,I don't want to do so many upgrades, just a couple, one of them is a new FMIC. i don't really like the Side mount intercooler, its just too small(heheh..) so i was wondering if there are any compatable FMIC with the car. Other parts will go into the engine, but as far as turbo goes, my 14b is probably just gonna get polished, etc. so yea..any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. thanks.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

You can get a kit or custom made setup, either way you may have to decide on what kind of core you want based on how you want to route your piping. Talk to some of the shops on the board, I'm sure they can fit you with a set of pipes and core or a kit. And also, depending on what your goals are as far as power goes will play a big part in deciding what kind of fmic core you want, but if you plan on keeping the 14b, any fmic core will work.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

As far as cores go, the cheap ebay intercoolers do work, but will not perform as well as a known, name brand core like garrett. For the power levels your looking at, keeping the stock turbo and all, that would probably be your best bet. I personally would not recommend a cheapo ebay core for anything over 250 whp though. As far as piping goes, there are places that make kits, but unless you buy the intercooler that goes with that kit it's probably not going to be a direct bolt up. We can also fab all the piping you would ever need at LSE performance as well, just give us a call anytime we're open and we'd be more than happy to quote ya out :::end shameless plug::: ;)

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Tons of online vendors have pre-made kits available at cheap prices. I personally had the Buschur street-kit and it was nice.

Get quotes though, if a local shops wants to build you a custom kit at a reasonable price go for it.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

I was going to recommend Johnnyracecar, but there are not any new ones out. A cheapo eBay core will do the trick.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Yeah, johhny racecar hasn't been making intercoolers for alomst a year now

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I bought mine 5+ years ago. I was as happy as could be.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

I don't agree with grouping all intercoolers boughten on ebay into one category. Some will suck, some won't. Maybe when I get home, I'll post up the pictures of the inside of my core, so all those who keep chirping "EBAY INTERCOOLERS SUCK, THEY HAVE NO TURBULATORS" will finally shut up. Just like anything on ebay, somethings are crap quality, and some are good. You just have to look at what you're buying, and figure out which of the 2 it is, good or crap.

I personally run an ebay core, and made my own piping in case you haven't figured that out already. Bar & Plate, tons of turbulators (offset, not perfectly allignt turbulators like some of the crap ones have), 24x12x3 with 3" inlet/outlets. I have 2 buddies running the same core on their evo's.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

There are a lot of different types of turbulators, but Ebay for life.

~John

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

I'm gonna call LSE for there quotes and prices. i did so some searching on Ebay and they seem pretty alright. it would be nice HALON if u post up some pictures of yours? and from which buyers did u guys buy your ebay ones off of? i at least want a good one. so any one you guys recommend?

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

My advice is no good, please delete.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

There wasn't anyone in this thread that said e-bay intercoolers would suck. They work just fine......to a certain point. When I get some time to actually get my car running, I'm planning on doing a side by side comparisson with dyno numbers so this argument can actually have some facts and testing involved

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

That's all I have for pictures. I wish I had better ones.

And for them being good only up to a point, does a Garrett stamp make them instantly better or something, and more capable? Tell me what makes a Garrett core better and more capable then the one I have on my car? You guys were quick to jump and say my core was heatsoaked the day on the dyno when it started to sputter slightly at 7k+ RPM's, and I'd bet my arse that it's because you know it was from ebay. And when I went and put my hand on the freezing cold end tank and UIC pipe, I questioned it instantly, and we found the problem ended up being solved with a new set of spark plugs.

You're going to do a back to back test. Great, with what, one style of ebay intercooler? That tiny one you still have laying around that's a tube and fin? And then state that all ebay cores are as equal and crappy as your tiny tube and fin JRC core because you compare it to a larger bar and plate Spearco one? You group everything sold on ebay into one group, and that's crap. I swear I could buy a used FP turbo off ebay, and if i installed it and said nothing as to what kind of turbo it was but only that I bought it off ebay, some of you would say it looks like absolute crap and point out apparent flaws, just because I mention Ebay.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

I bother because I got it for cheap, and I like the DIY route. So in my mind, it was why spend 800 or whatever on a kit, when I bought the core, built and powder coated the pipe myself, and paid no more then like 400 bucks, and had fun doing it!!

All I'M getting at, is don't lump every single thing on ebay into one category of "CRAP". If that's the case, then I guess I have some crappy block off plates on 2 of my cars that I saw were for sale on ebay. Know anything about those? They sure seem nice to me, and fit perfectly and work like a charm, but OMG they are on EBAY so they must suck a big one!

I just don't see why my ebay china core will perform worse then Chris's Garrett chinese made core.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Damn Halon, you look fucking OLD!!!

Nice cast tanks, what name is that stamped on the side?

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Hyperflow.

Here it is on one of my friends car. Yup, just another POS crap intercooler because of where it was purchased. Don't mind the fact that he's making mid 300's HP on the stock turbo, or wait... That must be impossible, because with it being purchased from ebay, and the lack of garrett stamp, this thing shouldn't be good past 250.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

My advice is no good, please delete.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

This is the last post I'm going to make in this thread, or even on the subject because apparently an experienced, and educated insight on something doesn't mean shit now adays.

Yes, your intercooler has plenty of turbulators. A garrett core (and other known well performing cores) have a different turbulator design that look similar to yours, but DO NOT perform like yours. Why is this? Because the entire reason turbulators are there are to slow down the movment of air through the intercooler. (stays in the intercooler longer, gets cooled off more) So tell me, if you can see through your intercooler (like most of the cores bought off ebay), how much do you think it's going to slow the air down compared to a core that when you look through it, you can't even see light?

Brandon, your argument about everyone saying "EVERYTHING ON EBAY IS FUCKING CRAP OMGZ!!" is gettin really old, ESPECIALLY when no one has even said anything close to that in this entire thread. Incase you didn't know, EBAY isn't a company that makes products, so I'm not lumping everything into one category. Obviously ebay has good products listed for sale, you just have to find them. There, I said it. Happy now? No one on here was bashing your intercooler, or bashing on you, so there really isn't a need to get all hot and bothered about it.

As far as my testing goes, the plan is to test a cheap-o no name brand off e-bay of the same core dimentions with a garret core of the same size, with the same end tank design, turbo setup, boost level, tuning, blah blah blah, and tune it to the ragged edge and see where the dust settles. So, until I find deffinitive evidence from my future testing, or from other places doing the same for or against a garret/no name core, my opinions in this post stand.

I'm not hating on you, or your car in any way, shape, or form, the only reason I'm posting all this is because I genuinly believe there is alot of misconception about intercoolers, and this exact argument these days

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

My advice is no good, please delete.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Josh, this wasn't meant to be about LSE, and I apologize for making it sound like I did. But with that being said:

He said they are only good to a certain point, a point of 250hp, in which he said he wouldn't recommend one off ebay, which is completely bogus and 100% false. It's not right to group all intercoolers on ebay into falling into that one category. I will never know if mine is good up to 1300hp, nor do I care, nor do I highly doubt the one who started this thread cares. I don't think even 1% of the people here care if their core is good up to 1300hp. What I do think matters, is that some work, and they work well, as long as you get ones that are decent, and you have to know what you're looking for. My turbulators are just as staggered as yours. I fully understand their purpose. They slow down, and "turbulate" the air so that more air becomes in contact with the surface of the aluminum, and so more air is cooled. I would love to test the PSI drop of my core, but I have no way to do this. My turbulators are just as staggered as the ones on yours. They are not perfectly alligned the entire way like some off ebay were. That picture I have doesn't show it well, but just to show the fellow audience, I will take off my piping and show you a better photo of the inside of my 2 year old core, so it may not bling like the one in your picture. I have a date right now though, so that picture will have to wait until tomorrow.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

The main part of the turbulators is not the fin inside the core like is show in Brandon's pic, but the little tabs that should be inside there. The Ebay core I had only had small holes stamped in the fins, which was basically useless. Like was said earlier, I could see right through it. The Garrett core I have has small panels bent out into the airflow from the fins, to actually cause some turbulance. The core I had was a TurboXS, so avoid that.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Chris,

No one said anything about ebay intercoolers in this thread, until your post, in which you brought up ebay intercoolers and stated that you'd not recommend them past 250hp. I'm sorry but I just don't see the educated insight in that statement. I don't doubt you've seen ones from ebay perform poorly before, we all have. But you can't let those couple speak for all of them. Also right there is where you basically grouped all ebay cores together, saying not to use cheap ebay cores past 250hp. But exactly like you said, EBAY is not a brand, but a store, so stating you wouldn't recommend ebay cores past 250hp is not a fair statement because there are many different kinds sold on there, both good and bad. I definitely do agree, that a lot of them on there are crap. Some trash core with advertised "internal fins" that don't do a damn thing, they are a line of single fins placed directly behind each other, and you could stare right through the end tank and out the other, and probably read a license plate from 50 feet away still. But there are also decent cores. I understand a lot of them are not the best designs, but not all of them. That is all I am trying to say.

Swanny about my friends car. It's a 2003. I can't tell you the specific mods as I don't know the mods exactly. But it has all the typical bolt ons, like exhaust, fmic and piping, intake. He also has HKS 280 cams. That's the main jist of it. The car was dynoed at Turbo Trix, and tuned by them, not sure what tuning method he currently has.

Here is the 3rd guy I knew, another local Yuma guy, who was the first of the 3 of us to do this. http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=57404 Again he has a picture that shows the inside of the end tank, but it's too dark to see the inside very well. Tomorrow after work, I'll try to get a good picture of mine.

I am just speaking from my experience, and the experience my two friends have had with the intercoolers we purchased for cheap off ebay. Maybe some day when I slap on a GT42R, I will find that this core no longer is enough for me. And when that day comes, I will speak of my experience again. But as of now, I purchased a cores that has many turbulators which are scattered to disrupt the air to aid in cooling by both slowing down the flow, and scattering the air so more of it actually makes contact with the surface. So far so good.

This is Brandon signing off. G'nite Twin Cities.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Cher's Evo made around 350awhp at Turbotrix on pump gas and around 285awhp here on the DD. Mid 300s at Turbotrix is well within the capabilities of even the stock intercooler, throwing a bigger intercooler on an Evo making around that power might not make much if any difference in power. I am not saying his eBay intercooler is bad though.

I ran that 12"x24"x4.5" Garrett core on my GSX. It works fairly well, it's cooling abilities are great, I would see a rise of about 10-15 degrees over ambient temps at 30psi during a 4th gear run the dyno. The downfalls of it are that it's very heavy and gets a bit restrictive at high boost levels.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

My advice is no good, please delete.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Just as I said I would, I'm reporting back with more Ebay intercooler findings.

My core just failed me. :(

I somehow blew a hole or a crack in it somewhere near the drivers side endtank. I can not see where. All I feel is a huge amount of air coming out of it. I'm think that since I didn't really like how I had to route the piping in the first place, I will scrap the whole damn thing and just buy a kit with a better piping route.

It seemed to cool just fine, but I guess the weak link on mine was the material or a weld or something.

Now I need to find a kit out there, that is compatible with a 91 that still has A/C

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Brand name IC's bust welds too, probably cracked a weld. That sucks though!

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Most of the sheet metal endtanks that crack were just not welded properly, you can make the welds look good but have any penetration and when the endtank bows out, bam, SRT fmic's do this all the time. I have seen people with 30 years of welding under there belt not weld an ic properly and have it crack, but what do I know.

~John

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I would just get it rewelded, Brandon.

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I would buy a Kinetic kit. ;)

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I have thought of just getting it rewelded, but I don't like how I had to route my piping with this side to side outlet fmic. My driver side pipe is real goofy and occasionally scrapes. I'm just gunna take it all out, use that old piping for the fmic piping on the colt, and just get a short routed fmic kit for the talon.

So if anyone has a kit, let me know.

Re: Intercooler questions?
 

Here is where it's leaking. Right on the inside, up against the end tank, in that very last row of fins, I feel a crap ton of air.