Guys.... I have had that many discussions with various members about front mount intercoolers and whether they help or hinder a cars performance. The problem they believe is air flow to the radiator. Now for a 3s, I can ONLY see this as a problem for a circuit racing car. But straight line racing/auto-X is fine.

Now - why do we use a front mount over side mounts and top mounts? For me, it's so we can run higher boost. Cooler air intake temps etc. You guys in the know can maybe inform me as to your setup and how you prefer/dislike a front mount/side or top mount. The EVO's seem to love the FMIC for straight line racing, rallying, whatever. I'm guessing it's coz the core itself is smaller?

Discuss.......

Scotty

For a higher powered car its alot easier to fit a bigger IC in the front air dam rather than stuffed ontop or on the side of the engine..pluss all of that heat isnt good.

But does the longer piping affect anything on a front mount?

But by no means rice imo

Last time I checked this wasn't rice...

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com//images/projectCarImages/Mikes%20trans-Am%20outside%20again.jpg

+1 on what EVOXXX had to say.

Tyler, that sure isn't rice, but it aint pretty! :fear: And yes, the longer plumbing absolutley affects performance. I am all for FMIC's as I believe they are effective and help.

Scotty

Well its not always about the length of the pipe but the bends of the pipe as well can hinder performance.

if you got the right turbo, a FMIC is the way to go!!!

a TMIC will suffer from Heat Soak alot quicker because its sitting right on top of the motor and or the turbo (in the case of WRX/STi's) heat rises...

running a FMIC on a stock turbo or smaller turbo will drastically affect performance, and adding some serious turbo lag. with FMIC's youll also have to consider pressure drop because you have to move the compressed air a longer distance than if you had a TMIC.

i also believe that FMIC can recover from heatsoak much quicker.

so all in all...i do not think its RICE...i think it looks freaking HOT on cars!...well....most.....*cough.....STi's and EVO's ..........he he he

Well a FMIC is much better imo becuz although a top mount does have shorter I/C piping and must be small nuff to fit between the hood and motor which limits the size of the intercooler core that you can mount. And also since the core sits on top of the motor and generates alot of heat the intercooler has to dissipate.

A FMIC will cool the air charge coming from the turbo much better than a top mount will because the intercooler can be much more wider,longer and thicker. And The last VIII aka tyler durdenIX is right. Adding straighter piping will reduce turbo lag.

Im not saying subarus is bad at all for a stock design but when you want more power and denser air going into your cylinders the fmic seems to be the best choice. Only disadvatage I see to a frount mount is for the person who is looking for the "sleeper" look. So imo the front mount is most definetly not a ricer mod whatsoever.

Shit, the fugitive mind beat me to it. I shouldnt have taken that bathroom break lol.

Im proud of my FMIC!

Putting performance aside I like the stealth of a top mount in some ways but I also think that nothing is more hard looking than a huge aftermarket FMIC

Well a FMIC is much better imo becuz although a top mount does have shorter I/C piping and must be small nuff to fit between the hood and motor which limits the size of the intercooler core that you can mount. And also since the core sits on top of the motor and generates alot of heat the intercooler has to dissipate.

A FMIC will cool the air charge coming from the turbo much better than a top mount will because the intercooler can be much more wider,longer and thicker. And The last VIII aka tyler durdenIX is right. Adding straighter piping will reduce turbo lag.

Im not saying subarus is bad at all for a stock design but when you want more power and denser air going into your cylinders the fmic seems to be the best choice. Only disadvatage I see to a frount mount is for the person who is looking for the "sleeper" look. So imo the front mount is most definetly not a ricer mod whatsoever.

well...for the sleeper look...i know you can buy BLACK FMIC or you can paint them..so it just looks like an oversized radiator. he he he

well...for the sleeper look...i know you can buy BLACK FMIC or you can paint them..so it just looks like an oversized radiator. he he he

Black fmic's never fooled me because they literally sit right behind the bumper.

Ok Suby lovers, why dont they come with a factory front mount? I know they have some serious ducting up front for the WRC cars. Very curious to know why....

Scotty

so we can have a functional hoodscoop....he he he he he

so we can have a functional hoodscoop....he he he he he

They wanna act like the mustang's and camaro's with their cool hood scoops.:rockon:

yeah well at least the subarus is actually functional....

the later stangs had Fake hood scoops...

so i find that statement quite offensive! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

yeah well at least the subarus is actually functional....

the later stangs had Fake hood scoops...

so i find that statement quite offensive! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
lol
:fear:

yeah well at least the subarus is actually functional....

the later stangs had Fake hood scoops...

so i find that statement quite offensive! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

The Camaro SS hoods are functional once your going over 70MPH haha.

Is this a hood functionality thread or Front Mount thread you dirty bitches??? Focus! :brick:

Scotty

oh yeah!! ha ha^ thread hi-jacked!

FMIC is completely nessessary with larger turbos, I was recording 150 degree F air AFTER the SMICs with my 13T's. This was only 1 second gear pull. After heat soak I was able to hit 190 degrees at the top of 3rd.

not a problem anymore, that and with a little ingenuity it can be hidden. You CANNOT see mine with the bumpercover on unless you bend down from like 2 feet away, and this was before it is painted flat black. Notice I was able to keep the stock fog lights, which are a dead givaway of a FMIC on a 3S with anyone else's kit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v55/PrestoTuna/frmci002.jpg

Sweet setup! I wanna see a pics w/the bumper cover on

Sweet setup! I wanna see a pics w/the bumper cover on

I'll post some soon, Just got a couple things back that I need to install and it'll go back on for a few weeks, then it's back off for more work.

I totally believe in front mounts and that they are necessary. But when you see people like Matt Monet doing 10 second runs on DSM side mounts, you start to question certain things. Me, I'll always be sporting the big shiny block up front! :)

Scotty

Highboosted, what kinda car is that in the picture? Im having a blonde moment...

Looks like a stealth ?

The hood is the same on the Stealth.

It's a Stealth with a 99 front conversion I believe.

Scotty

It's a Stealth with a 99 front conversion I believe.

Scotty

I resent that...My car doesn't have a gaping fish mouth...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v55/PrestoTuna/lights009.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v55/PrestoTuna/lights011.jpg

New headlights:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v55/PrestoTuna/lights012.jpg

Ha Ha. The lights is what I was refering to! :p Oh, and the "gaping fish mouth" I am a huge fan of. Tho, I'm sure you like you "I just got braces" look too! ;)

Scotty

dude, those are some pretty sweet lights!

Ha Ha. The lights is what I was refering to! :p Oh, and the "gaping fish mouth" I am a huge fan of. Tho, I'm sure you like you "I just got braces" look too! ;)

Scotty

LoL, I like the 99...it's just SOOOO played out now....

dude, those are some pretty sweet lights!

Thanks! Modified them myself.

LoL, I like the 99...it's just SOOOO played out now....


Ha Ha. Fair call. Oh, and nice job on the DIY lights. ;)

Scotty

I just upgraded my TMIC...Normally I'de say FMIC FTW or somthing, but I want my hood to be atleast functional, and Im not aiming for huge #'s either

FMIC all the way for me, I don't think they are rice. As stated in my intro I built a lancer a while back which included a massive front mount. Performance gains where very noticable. I'm currently in the process of doing a front mount on my GTO.

Here is a pic of my old lancer (just sold it and I know it's not AWD)

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b294/dvscoupe/Hot%204s%20Shoot/Hot%204s%20Reshoot/Copy%20of%20ReShoot/Lancer_DVS45_005.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b294/dvscoupe/Lancer%20Pics/100_2704.jpg

Any other engine bay shots Dion? Are you hiding something from us? :p

Scotty

for the lancer???

Yeah dude.

I'll start a new thread in members rides with that and my new GTO.

Sorry to Hijake this thread

Good idea. ;)