Interesting test and very creative.

Unfortunately what it really shows is the additional mass and greater surface area of the IC as is indicated by the slower rise of temperature. Perhaps a more interesting test would find out what max heat each IC hits after a longer period of time and maybe where each stabilizes. You might also try with and without the fan.

Either way it is very hard to test things conclusively in a living room.

Good effort

 

doesn't that make it better than stock?????????? wtf is so hard to interpret about this simple *** test. what the **** are you conspiracy theorists trying to disprove?

simple test, simple result, results are something we already knew.

now test something else.

 

I really think that this is lots of BS. The materials used in the more expensive IC are much better and therefore more expensive. Therefore you will have better product. The ones on ebay use cheaper materials thats why they will cost less. They are somewhere in the middle. Better than stock but not better then other IC
This is what I think.

 

i agree with trinydex.

question for you there 007...

how do you know that the core for vendor A is NOT the same as vendor B?? you dont know for FACT that the cores DID NOT come from the same supplier. you also dont know the history of the aluminium, so therefore the material may or may not be more expensive. that also does not justify the claim that more is better. just look at a certain vendor that did a o2 housing test...now he sells the "ebay" o2 housings...

 

Not necessarily. I can replace an IC with a piece of pipe and then conduct a test on flow and prove that it flows better with less pressure drop than the stock IC.

Does this mean that it is a better IC?

I could do a similar test with a 44 gallon drum full of steel wool. Stick a hair dryer in one end and measure temperatues that come out the other end. Obviously it is going to take some time before the temp rises.

Does this mean that it would be a more effective IC?

I am not trying to prove or disprove anything. I am just pointing out that this test doesn't really prove anything

 

badhabit90 I agree with you, but I was just saying that maybe the reason the IC made by these big companies are better because the material used in the production. I really do believe that the only difference might be only in the built quality. Maybe the welding is much better on the Others and not so good on the Ebay. I mean small things like that, but as far as materials go you might be right. They are all the same. I just wish someone would put this on a dyno.

 

A dyno test is the absolutely WORST WAY to test real world intercooler performance. You cannot test the efficiency of a FMIC by measuring the power of a car standing still on a dyno with a fan blowing on it I'm sorry. The test that was performed on this core was done on a small scale, and may not simulate real world usage, but it indeed hints at the real world performance numbers. Air friction and resriction to flow are not linear. It is a exponentional function of the air's velocity, so it makes sense that the numbers would be indeed alot different when measuring real world performance. However, if the Ebay core performed better at a LOW FLOW simulation (like the one described here in this thread) it will absolutely perform much better at HIGH FLOW simulation (i.e. real world on car performance). At low flow there is hardly any restriction, and any difference between the two different designs means that there is a BIG difference in high flow performance. This is because the restriction will be much higher at a higher flow. Unfortunately, to say that an intercooler FLOWS BETTER does not necessarily imply that it will cool better (at high flow conditions), nor does it imply anything about actual power increases. However, since the bar and plate design (and material) of the core is very similar to other aftermarket cores, it can (almost) be assumed that the cooling efficiency and power will be better since the flow is comparable. Hope this helps. Personally, I think a good real world test would involve estimating the horsepower difference via an accelerometer (i.e. G-tech II) when using the stock intercooler and then the Ebay core. The estimated power increase would probably be a very rough guess, but the other numbers (the difference in actual acceleration) would be more meaningful. Or maybe someone could do a few 1/4 mile runs with the stocker, then with the ebay core =)

To the original poster: Thank you for taking the time to do this simulation! You have served the EvoM community well.

 

How can you possibly draw that conclusion? The amount of air flow generated by a hair dryer is very different than the CFM of a turbo at high boost. You can draw no parallels what so ever.

 

For you next Trick why dont you try blowing in one end of each intercooler, and Seeing the Temp change at the other end.......

Im all for the EBAY intercooler if it works. but im affarid the only thing you did was waste 4 hours of your time.

 

I know this doesnt directly correspond with FMIC's, but you'll see my point, so here it is.
I just bought an 07 Dodge 4x4 crew cab w/ a Cummins diesel, a long truck to say the least. I can pick up a well built 5" turbo back exhaust, complete (aluminizied) for $360. shipped to my door, I can also get the same in 304 SS for $460.shipped, that's a huge exhaust compared to the whittle bitty 3" exhaust for an Evo. I could have spent 750-800 for the exact same exhaust from a "recognized" shop, and I don't have any problem with supporting a shop, but not at that kind of a jacked up rate. I can't justify paying 600-800 for an exhaust on my Evo, that's half the size of the one on my Dodge.
The same principal applies to the Evo, most of the exhausts available are way over priced and so are most of the FMIC's. Just because you pay 600-800 for a FMIC, doesn't mean it will work any better than a $150 ebay FMIC, it may, but whether it will give you $450-700 more actual performance is questionable. Same goes for an exhaust, if it's a straight thru, well designed exhaust, it will work whether you paid $300, or 800 (my aluminizied exhaust on my F250 superduty has lasted over 114,000 miles since I installed it).
I look for quality at a good price. There are great deals to be had if you look carefully. just because you paid a lot, doesn't mean you got a good deal, you just may have paid more than you should have.

 

Thanks sonicnofadz. Some people here don't understand the concept. Its such a simple one.

 

I forgot to mention that the Ebay core feel cooler to touch than the stock. Which means, it conducts heat better.

 

The concept is simple but it is also inherently flawed.

I know that you really want to believe that the IC you bought on Ebay is better than stock. It may well be. I appreciate the time you spent with your test. I think it was very creative. Sadly it really proves nothing.

For those that want this to prove that the IC is better -- they will believe it is. For those that don't -- it won’t.

The jury is still out and will stay out until someone comes out with some information that is actually relevant.

 

It's disturbing that noobs are going to see this and believe it. The OP started out acting innocent, but as the thread wore on, it became obvious that he is very passionate about proving to everyone that his $150 purchase is equivalent to a $700 AMS or BR FMIC. It's one thing to claim that the Ebay FMIC is better than stock, but then to extrapolate that into it being AS GOOD as known, proven FMICs is quite a stretch. When the cores on the AMS and BR FMICs cost more than the entire Ebay FMIC, then the claim that the materials are all the same is as inherently flawed as the useless test that prompted this thread...

 

Since your sponsored by vendor, Prove it and I will buy a AMS or BR FMIC. Do that and everyone here wont have to be debating on this topic. Please help the community out.

Almost as good meaning bang for the buck. Not all noobs or members here has all that money. I just wanted people to know that a cheaper IC doesn't mean that its junk, at least it performs better that stock. Of course If I have that much money, I would not buy an ebay one. I do have BR's 20g tme so I'm not bashing any vendor.