ive been lookign to upgrade my intercooler. and i know alot of people on the forum are running the "ebay intercooler" with no problems what so ever yet some people say..after awhile or a couple runs on the dyno it doesnt cool as well...but my question is what ebay intercooler and people running

 

bump

 

i went through this a couple months ago. there are a ton of great intercoolers out there. IE buschur, AMS, ETS, Perrin. I personally went with the ETS 3.5inch core. Everything bolted right up, retained the stock crash beam, no cutting required of the undertray, and came with all the couplings and t-bolt clamps

 

Evo deserves much better than a no-name eBay part. "No problems" is not necessarily "better performance". Just my 2 cents.

Do a search - this has been discussed to death in many other threads, and I'm sure you'll find some info to rationalize whichever way you decide to go.

 

Why do you need a new FMIC?

 

+1 on ETS.Like stated above in post #4 your EVO deserves better.I got the ETS 3" intercooler core with the UICP for something like $730 shipped so just spend the extra money and you will be glad you did.

 

If u want a cheap intercooler go to xs-power.com but remember u get what u pay 4

 

For 99% of the stock turbo folks the stock FMIC is plenty. I road race and never heat soak the thing.

 

You are never going to get a a straight answer anywhere. I have argued this many times myself. Most people on this forum are vendor biased. They recommend what they have because a) they read what the vendor told them b) is a brand name and c) they listen to what they have been told. An intercooler test had taken place by one of the smartest guys here and was knocked by vendors. Now you have people saying dont put ebay junk on your car. Go put a name brand on your car. Ask them why. They cant really tell you. Will a name brand intercooler outperform an ebay intercooler? Not all the time and rarely few.

Then you get to cost. My ebay intercooler cost me $127 shipped. I sold my stocker for $100 shipped. So for $27 that was one of the single greatest mods I did. It allowed me to tune more aggressive. I am not an auto cross racer so I don't have to deal with an intercooler heat soaking. Also an ebay intercooler doesn't heatsoak like people say they do. They have all heard it from a guy who heard it from a guy. Point being I am not going to buy a $700 intercooler because it is the best. That is too expensive for me and not worth it on a bolt on car. People hate the ebay intercooler because it is a cheap core from china. They are all supporters of domestic shops. I am too don't get me wrong but I cant see paying 7 times the price for a couple more horsepower. I will calculate it out for you guys.

Ebay intercooler: Made me about 14whp(after more tuning) cost $127= $9.07 per hp

Buschur intercooler: lets say 20whp average of what others have made(best ever) cost $759 + shipping so $800= $40 per hp

ETS 3.5 intercooler: makes the same power that I have seen as the ebay so 14whp(great quality) cost $570 + shipping so $610= $43.60 per hp

Anyone can take this how they want it and don't quote me on numbers. This is from info that I have collected. Simple question is if the cost outweighs the gains. We can clearly see what is the best bang for the buck. To me the $27 total cost in the end was worth the swap. I am not here to sell ebay parts but am one who have shown that they work.

 

Check out this thread that Buschur made on his forums, it provides some solid info on an array of intercoolers and maybe will help you decide what route you want to take.

http://buschurforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20445

Good luck with your decision.

 

Dude come on. That test doesn't prove anything. Not every intercooler is rated to 600whp. This question was asked for stock turbo. The size of the intercooler depends on your setup. No intercooler is good for everything. This shows lack of knowledge in your part and Buschurs. I am not going to run a 5" intercooler on a stock turbo and I am not going to run a 3.5" intercooler on a 42r. On stock style turbo a 3" or 3.5" intercooler is what you want.

 

Well obviously you're not, but it lists what types of turbo's were on the intercooler's, it's just to help him get an idea, that's all. He may want to upgrade ahead and/or he may be a autocrosser and require more efficient cooling.

I'm running the Perrin FMIC by the way and it's working great for me.

 

2 of my friends got the AMS intercooler and they’re very happy with it.

As for me I got the Buschur Deluxe FMIC, it looks very coon and clean, but thanks to my stupid mechanic, he broke one of the pipes (which I don't know how did that happen), and lost the silicon piece that connects the lower intercooler pipe with the turbo

but not to worry I already took my revenge :P

 

Obviously I am not what?

 

Obviously you're not going to run a big **** 5" Intercooler on the stock turbo. But whatever man, I'm not here to argue with you and what/not just providing the OP with a thread I found useful, for the first 3 pages that is.