Another issue to consider is heatsoak. There seems to be a belief with some that the stock core is "Good to 400whp," yet on a road coarse many have seen their OEM units become hot to the touch with less power than that.

Tuning on 91 octane, running an efficient aftermarket IC will make your car significantly more knock resistant, which means the tune can be more aggressive, which means more power.

 

+1

I can't wait to get my ETS intercooler so I can get even more agressive with my tune.

 

After intalling my AGP intercooler, I must say one thing I think all people who have differing opinions on aftermarket IC will agree on: The Evo looks sooo bad with an aftermarket IC versus the stocker.

 

ETS all the way. I am getting the 3" later this year and getting rid of my eBay fmic.

 

ets all the way.

 

that is the main concern when looking to buy a new intercooler.
ebay cores might look good and not have any leaks, they might say they can flow tons of air, Great!, but they cant cool as well as others and the pressure drop is bad.
I guess if you stay within ETS, AMS, BR, XS Engineering, AGP, etc. You will see gains specially if turbo if getting upgraded.

 

Bad? They look 100,000x better with an aftermarket if you ask me. Fills out the front much nicer than the stocker. I love being able to see the end-tanks of my FMIC through the holes lol.

 

I think he meant bad as in good bad

 

^^yeah

 

90% (or more) people said to go with ETS. I don't see why u shouldn't.

 

I guess somethings is better to be different?

 

ETS 3.5 ftw!

 

I wish ETS would make a big core to fill the EVO 8 bumper opening like the Nisei intercooler does.

 

+1 on that

 

The overall dimensions tank to tank width are going to be the same, because there is really only so much space behind the factory crash beam. We use a 24" wide core to allow for a nice gradual taper of the endtanks bottom to top, so that airflow is properly distributed throughout the height of the core. Wider core comes at the cost of width of the endtanks especially at the top where they would hit the crash beam, which restricts flow to the top rows of the core. The new wide-tank design is actually a 22" core, because that's all the wider that the bumper opening is on the IX. We then use the rest of the space behind the beam for an even wider endtank on both sides, with an even more gradual taper for maximum distribution. The picture below compares the two. We build for the best possible performance, but obviously keep aesthetics in mind





Tom