what intercooler to get...
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I got mine from MAP (www.maperformance.com) when it was on sale for ~$520 back in November. I know Perrin has a 14% off sale going on right now for Valentine's Day which MAP will honor and maybe even cut a few extra bucks off for you. One thing though, the Perrin does not include t-bolt clamps in the kit so be sure to order some (unless you want to reuse the stock worm drive clamps). One of my local friends followed my lead and also ordered one, but he got the Perrin Stealth which is nice too; the black FMIC looks pretty sweet on his silver car.
Last edited by Kracka; Feb 9, 2009 at 06:38 PM.
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yeah that could be a problem i have the injen piping do you think it will fit and i wont be installing the IC right away when i purchase it most likely ill buy the t bolt clamps as ive heard they work wonders...thanks for the responses guys!
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yeah i was figuring that too i PMed MAP to see how much they are going for they are also going for 557 on ebay which isnt too bad all the others are really pushing it with the prices... Thanks alot s2kracka youre a cool person man
I'll use eBay parts for some of the smaller things (short shifter, catch can, etc.), but generally not the larger, more expensive parts.
Last edited by Kracka; Feb 9, 2009 at 07:24 PM.
Building the perfect (Almost) intercooler....
Step one - Get job at intercooler shop.
Step two - Beg for drops
Step three - Build the BAFMIC

Honestly, the number of internal channels, there by the height, and to a smaller degree the thickness of the core are the most important dimensions. The more channels, the more air, the less restriction. Oddly, length has diminishing returns past a certain point, that is to say you may see 80+% eff. across 20" of core but adding 4-6" more might only net you another 2-5%. This depends alot on the HP rating of the car and actual CFM across the core. Buying a longer core with similar to stock HxW dimensions is pointless.
Still, just like a radiator, the most important figure is frontal area, but height more than length until power levels are high enough. I have seen at least 2 major manufacturers who sell FMIC's that use the exact same frontal area dimensions as stock but switch to a bar/plate core with maybe .5" increase thickness. You may as well save your money and keep the stocker, cause your eff. improvement might be 5% at most for your 500.00 purchase. That won't be 5% in HP, more like outlet temps of 95 instead of 100, just an example.
Mention has been made about the cores themselves which I like to see. Core quality and design can vary greatly. Vacuum braised plates are always best and you can visually spot ones that are done that way. Some ChinaBay cores don't come with internal turbulators. Others use oversized bars to increase the size but in total it reduces the number of channels for a given size. Look out for non staggered external fins or external fins that are widely spaced, (See Ford PS Diesel IC style, i.e. /\/\/\/\) Others use 1/8" aluminum top and bottom plates. You know how much pressure it takes to bend 1/8" aluminum? Not alot.
The endtank design of alot of the FMIC's I see on cars are just pathetically inefficient as well. Tanks with a 90 degree bend on the tank, no baffling, box tanks, just sad. Any time you redirect airflow, you lose power, that means any time. If it's in a pipe, mandrel, or the endtank of your IC, it's a direct power loss to redirect the air.
One more thing, I am yet to see an IC manufacturer give an honest value as to the rated HP of their core, with rare exception. Just because a friend is running 480 on his/her ChinaBay core, it doesn't mean that it isn't woefully inefficient at that power level and he/she would see a large and immediate gain from going to a better core. IC's are rated at max HP for a given drop across the core. The calculation isn't as simple as it seems. As large as my core is, we still rated it for an honest 625-650 at 1psi. Have SSGhettochrome/Random Ebay Seller rate that core and it's in the 1000's. It would probably do it, but never at 1psi drop.
So for me, I made my FMIC as big as I thought I reasonably could. Why? I wanted my car to overheat...and it does.
Sorry for the lecture. I work around these things all day and I think there are more IC myths than ancient Greece had gods.
/brox
Step one - Get job at intercooler shop.
Step two - Beg for drops
Step three - Build the BAFMIC

Honestly, the number of internal channels, there by the height, and to a smaller degree the thickness of the core are the most important dimensions. The more channels, the more air, the less restriction. Oddly, length has diminishing returns past a certain point, that is to say you may see 80+% eff. across 20" of core but adding 4-6" more might only net you another 2-5%. This depends alot on the HP rating of the car and actual CFM across the core. Buying a longer core with similar to stock HxW dimensions is pointless.
Still, just like a radiator, the most important figure is frontal area, but height more than length until power levels are high enough. I have seen at least 2 major manufacturers who sell FMIC's that use the exact same frontal area dimensions as stock but switch to a bar/plate core with maybe .5" increase thickness. You may as well save your money and keep the stocker, cause your eff. improvement might be 5% at most for your 500.00 purchase. That won't be 5% in HP, more like outlet temps of 95 instead of 100, just an example.
Mention has been made about the cores themselves which I like to see. Core quality and design can vary greatly. Vacuum braised plates are always best and you can visually spot ones that are done that way. Some ChinaBay cores don't come with internal turbulators. Others use oversized bars to increase the size but in total it reduces the number of channels for a given size. Look out for non staggered external fins or external fins that are widely spaced, (See Ford PS Diesel IC style, i.e. /\/\/\/\) Others use 1/8" aluminum top and bottom plates. You know how much pressure it takes to bend 1/8" aluminum? Not alot.
The endtank design of alot of the FMIC's I see on cars are just pathetically inefficient as well. Tanks with a 90 degree bend on the tank, no baffling, box tanks, just sad. Any time you redirect airflow, you lose power, that means any time. If it's in a pipe, mandrel, or the endtank of your IC, it's a direct power loss to redirect the air.
One more thing, I am yet to see an IC manufacturer give an honest value as to the rated HP of their core, with rare exception. Just because a friend is running 480 on his/her ChinaBay core, it doesn't mean that it isn't woefully inefficient at that power level and he/she would see a large and immediate gain from going to a better core. IC's are rated at max HP for a given drop across the core. The calculation isn't as simple as it seems. As large as my core is, we still rated it for an honest 625-650 at 1psi. Have SSGhettochrome/Random Ebay Seller rate that core and it's in the 1000's. It would probably do it, but never at 1psi drop.
So for me, I made my FMIC as big as I thought I reasonably could. Why? I wanted my car to overheat...and it does.
Sorry for the lecture. I work around these things all day and I think there are more IC myths than ancient Greece had gods.
/brox
I vote Buschur. Its been tested time and time again. I cant stress how many times this has been tested. I dont even know why people ask what intercooler to go with its a given. Even if the Buschur FMIC is more then the others its deffinately worth it espcially if you run your car hard. The cooler the air going into your engine the safer it is.
Heres a video for you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUk9A...e=channel_page
Thats an ETS intercooler vs. the Buschur race FMIC.
Heres a thread with all the testing of intercoolers you will ever need and you can see that the Buschur race FMIC is the best core out of the bunch.
http://buschurforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20445
Hope this info helps.
Heres a video for you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUk9A...e=channel_page
Thats an ETS intercooler vs. the Buschur race FMIC.
Heres a thread with all the testing of intercoolers you will ever need and you can see that the Buschur race FMIC is the best core out of the bunch.
http://buschurforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20445
Hope this info helps.
I vote Buschur. Its been tested time and time again. I cant stress how many times this has been tested. I dont even know why people ask what intercooler to go with its a given. Even if the Buschur FMIC is more then the others its deffinately worth it espcially if you run your car hard. The cooler the air going into your engine the safer it is.
Heres a video for you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUk9A...e=channel_page
Thats an ETS intercooler vs. the Buschur race FMIC.
Heres a thread with all the testing of intercoolers you will ever need and you can see that the Buschur race FMIC is the best core out of the bunch.
http://buschurforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20445
Hope this info helps.
Heres a video for you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUk9A...e=channel_page
Thats an ETS intercooler vs. the Buschur race FMIC.
Heres a thread with all the testing of intercoolers you will ever need and you can see that the Buschur race FMIC is the best core out of the bunch.
http://buschurforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20445
Hope this info helps.
Thread Starter
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thanks for the replies guys i do appreciate it. only reason i am asking what intercooler to get is because i dont have the money right now to get the buschur. i do like the buschur but its just way too expensive. ive heard nothing but good things about the perrin, ets, ams, and buschur thats basically narrowing it down. i am only worrying about heatsoaking in the summer since i havent driven my car with the current mods through the summer even though i think i should be fine because i dont race but i only drive hard on occasion...about the ebay one s2kracka idk i was thinkin it was kinda fishy too but it did say guaranteed 100% perrin or double money back haha id like to buy a knock off and get double money anyway
anyways sorry for the semi long post guys and thanks again you guys are really helpful!

anyways sorry for the semi long post guys and thanks again you guys are really helpful!


