Turbo Setup Options

[Dasfinc]

Hey all, I'm buying a Snail over the winter, and found a setup that was forsale recently that I think would give a great sleeper effect, and be extremely efficent, anyone have any ideas on pros and cons of a setup like this one opposed to the standard wrap-around FMIC setup?

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[Mook]

so an ic up in the engine bay itself? sorta like some camaros and mustangs have with centrifugal scers? i think those are called aftercoolers tho i might be thinking of something else

 

[Mr Baytchos]

mkiv gti had side mount intercoolers....you'll have a better cooling effect with the front mount. pure cold air instead of some warm or hot air from the engine.

 

[Bru]

I'm not a turbo guy by any means, by I would think that it would all depend on the size of the turbo and how much boost you're running. The side mount would probably be good for stock-type boost levels and a stock-style turbo, but for anything else you'd most likely be better off with the increased surface area and air cooling capacity of a FMIC.

 

[Dasfinc]

Well, I have a spare hood thats rattle-can black that has a hole cut-out RIGHT over where that IC would sit as well, and I could do a Ghetto Ram-Air or something of the sort? *I got it for free, It had a dryer duct on it origionally for an IC in that spot that looked TOO ghetto so I pulled it off.

I may even be able do something crazy like move my radiator to the other side of my engine, and put a IC RIGHT off the turbo basically, I dunno, Its going to be a junkyard turbo setup, 7.8PSI T3 off a Volvo 740, DSM Side mount IC. Just debating where to put the pieces.

 

[Dasfinc]

mkiv gti had side mount intercoolers....you'll have a better cooling effect with the front mount. pure cold air instead of some warm or hot air from the engine.

With the headlight pulled it'd have just as much cold air flowing through it as though it were Front mount honestly. I'll see if I have a pic to better show placement.

 

[Mook]

ure still sitting in the engine bay tho. i'm sure as bru said its efficient for stockish levels but i cant imagine it yielding the same gains as a traditional front mount.....tho the 300zx's came w/ side mounts

 

[Dasfinc]

You can kinda see what I mean about placement in this pic, Its got some distance from the motor, and with the headlight pulled it'd have just as much flow as a FMIC I'd imagine.

Excuse the old pic, Crappy dead head and AC still on car.

 

[Mr Baytchos]

Here is a side mount.....

Here is a front mount.....

So you can see the size difference...they are for the same car.....downside to the front mount is it's almost twice the price.

 

[Dasfinc]

You see how I would mount the Side mount as a front-mount basically behind the headlight, thats how I'm basically envisioning it.

 

[Mr Baytchos]

yeah I see how you would do it. this difference being the size. More cooling area of the front mount so even if they are both getting the same cold air the front mount will show better results. Though you are not running a big turbo setup or anything either so the side mount may work fine for ya. the other thing you need to think about is what happens when the headlight is on? where is it getting cold air from then?

 

[Dasfinc]

I own a DD, This car will most likely never been driven at night, Lol.

 

[Mr Baytchos]

Well then its just a matter of the size difference. More cooling area=better results

 

[Dasfinc]

Think it'd be worth it? or to just stay with the typical FM setup? Cost isn't the issue really, just trying to be inventive, There is a decent sized FMIC from that volvo 740 that has the turbo also...

 

[Mr Baytchos]

I would say if its the same price then go witha front mount. If its more expensive for the front mount then its really up to you. If your trying to keep the sleeper status then the side mount would be more up that alley.

 

[Dasfinc]

I'm thinking now about mounting a side-mount RIGHT where the A/C rad used to sit, It'll still LOOK stock from the outside. I dunno why, but I just don't want the gawdy FMIC, I want something tasteful and not obvious.

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

I'm not going to bother reading through all the posts but heres my opinion.

Mounting an intercooler in the engine won't yield you great IAT's which is the point of having an intercooler. Not to mention the lack of air flowing over the intercooler surface and the small size of the intercooler. It'd probly be easier to run a direct, not intercooled setup with a small turbo on something like a civic.

The Front mount is a pretty obvious choice if you want real power out of the car. You'll get direct air hitting the intercooler, and colder ambient air. I wouldn't be surprised if the IAT's were at least 45% cooler than that of an engine bay mounted cooler. With a FMIC you'll have more tubing, which could effect turbo spool, but if the turbo is big enough, it wouldn't be noticable. Plus theres ways to drown out lag.

 

[NetChemica]

so an ic up in the engine bay itself? sorta like some camaros and mustangs have with centrifugal scers? i think those are called aftercoolers tho i might be thinking of something else

The inter prefix in the device name originates from historic compressor designs. In the past, aircraft engines were built with charge air coolers that were installed between multiple stages of supercharging, thus the designation of inter. Modern automobile designs are technically designated aftercoolers because of their placement at the end of supercharging chain. This term is now considered archaic in modern automobile terminology since almost all production vehicles have single-stage superchargers.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

i would go with a front mount and paint it black or something and then paint fake rust spots n shit to make it look like a radiator...

 

[Dasfinc]

I think Ima use a DSM Sidemount where the AC Condenser used to be.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

but why sacrifce power....

 

[IDAFC21]

front mount

 

[SRT41320]

ok heres my opinion - ive owned / built may turbo cars - a front mount can still be a sleeper if you know what you are doing. - most people know jeffs 400whp honda. big ass turbo, big ass front mount (painted black) and nobody ever knew. whatever you do just dont cut corners.

or if you want to do a cheap build there is the option of doing what i have on my honda - mits14b turbo, dsm 440 injectors, $200 ebay manifold, $75 ebay front mount - now i bought the car with everything on it but you can do the same build for under $500 - check out bmcrace.com for all sorts of adapters (14b using a crx hf exhaust mani adapter only $55) setup might be cheap but my 4 door should be running low 13s maybe high 12s once i dial it in.

remember dont cut corners - it will come back to bite you in the end!

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

hmm makes me want to make my integra a race car haha

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

i would go with a front mount and paint it black or something and then paint fake rust spots n shit to make it look like a radiator...

Don't ever paint an intercooler.

Paint basically blocks the air flow and shit.