True, although depending on the fan means you're limited in how much airflow you can actually get via the fan's design, versus full airflow across the complete surface area via proper ducting. An IC is much thicker and denser than a radiator, so you need a fairly deep and powerful fan in order to get decent airflow movement. Still, a fan is an easier and less labor-intensive way to get at least some improved flow.

yes, i am aware of the fact that any air exiting the louvers comes from the general engine bay. my objective was to promote some flow.

another louver benefit is at engine shutdown. the ambient air temp in front of the throttle body zooms to almost 200 degrees and stays near that figure for 30 minutes w no louvers. w my louvers the temp peaks at 170 and is around 120 v 175 after 30 minutes.

given the fact that my IC sheds such a huge amount of charge air temp and the fact that there is very little flow speed thru it the IC must function by radiating. maybe that's why it is called a radiator.

howard coleman

No need to get all snippy and defensive, Howard. I was only stating that you really won't be increasing the flow of the air through your IC very much by just promoting increased airflow through the engine bay. I never said the louvers were an absolutely useless exercise.

well here are my temp install pics with duct, im going to have a new pre charge pipe made to angle better. The one that comes with the IC is a +90 degree angle and it really needs to be a smaller than 90 degree pipe. The way i have it now really stresses the y-pipe and inlet couplers. I had the y-pipe couple pop off like 4 times till i finally squeezed it and held it at the angle needed so i could properly tighten and seal the clamps. The flange block off i on there temp till new pipe arrives. So far so good now and my .02 is that this baby made a nice nice improvement 4.5k and up. Definately worth it to me considering total package price with duct was like $220. Im happy with it!


before:
http://f5.putfile.com/5/12801191171-thumb.jpg

ic:
http://f5.putfile.com/5/12801200512-thumb.jpg

installed:
http://f5.putfile.com/5/12701471644-thumb.jpg
http://f5.putfile.com/5/12701460237-thumb.jpg
http://f5.putfile.com/5/12701330050-thumb.jpg
http://f5.putfile.com/5/12701222785-thumb.jpg
http://f5.putfile.com/5/12701123422-thumb.jpg
http://f5.putfile.com/5/12617343742-thumb.jpg

oH No! It doesn't fit with Apexi Intakes??

Grr.

well, the way they are supposed to fit...no. However i know ive seen a few ppl get them to work...but i think they had to remove the pipes coming off them for the accessories. I actually wasnt fortunate because i work at Autozone and i got them next to nothing. I have a stainless steel filter on top and a nice ( not the cheap cheapy) cotton fiber on bottom. I have another stainless and was probaby gunna put that one on the bottom. Also The pipes are AZ too and that are actually pretty decent. They are 3in diameter and the filters are huge and have opening in the top too. So i think the airflow was increased with all those things, if not, i felt that these intakes also quieted all the random noised i had with the apex'i. I dont know, im usually doing so many things at once that its hard to tell what fixes what and vice versa. :-)

All the ducts so far that was ordered are in the Mail.

Look at the thread on the Ducts

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=528600&page=2

Thanks

Do any of the IC guru's have an opinion on whether wrapping the "shoulders" and top-plate of an ic with rubber would be bad for cooling? Does alot of heat radiate out of the sides of the radiator or is it all through the actual core?

I'm going to try to finalize my ic and duct this weekend and will hopefully post some pics.

IMO, I think it would actually help cooling, because the rubber (if thick enough) will act as an insulation barrier to resist heat soak. With a stock engine compartment and hood, the airflow over the exposed surface area of the non-ducted portion of the IC isn't sufficient to radiate enough heat to offset the advantages of insulation against heat soak.

Well, I started designing my duct for my intercooler. I'm designing it out on my ACAD software and using constructionboard to do the layout. Once I have the design complete, I'll finish the duct in fiberglass.

i was thinking about getting the stock mount from xspower. problem is, on ebay they have a few listings. they are confusing in the title. one of the smic's they have is at a buy-it-now price of about $225 and then they have one with no reserve for $125. in the title of the lesser priced one it says something about pipe kit..which leads me to believe that its for just the pipes and not the intercooler. but in the actual auction's body it says the intercooler is included. can anybody tell me if it does include the intercooler or what? PM me thanks a lot.
-jake

I got my complete kit with i/c, pipes, etc for $125. I was the only bidder. You can buy the $225 one with the buy-it-now option or you can wait and see if you can get the whole thing cheaper.

Yah, just curious if someone was still doing the ducting for this? I want to get the kit(its a step up from stock and a good hold me over until i get a good FMIC or go vmount), but I'd like to get a duct from someone and not deal with ducting it myself. Anyone?

The only problem with that is, if your set-up is not exactly like the one the duct is made for (intake, battery size, pipe routing, IC angle and position) you will have fitment issues. I would be more than happy to make you a copy of my duct, but unless you use my exact set-up, it might not fit properly.

Does anybody know if there is any reason for the hump on the left side of the radiator? Is it just to allow room for the ic duct to squeeze through?

I think I have read through all 37 pages of this post now and haven't found the answer to these questions.

What BOV fits on the pipe kit that comes with the kit? I think I read in another post that the Greddy RS does not work. Is this correct? If so, what BOV will fit without problems?

Also, has anyone had any luck running straight 2.75" pipe from the Greddy elbow straight to the intercooler or do I need to have a pipe bent to fit?

my personal thoughts on the intercoolers....

Lots of honda/acura guys have been buying parts from this dealer and have had nothing but problems. The problems arise from the welds on the manifolds that ssautocrome is selling. They also sell cheap unserviceable turbos, and wastegates that malfunction or blowoffs that fail. either way just about every person i have talked to that has purchased anything from ssautocrome on ebay has had nothing but problems...... However, not one of the people i have talked to have had a problem with the intercoolers as far as function is conserned. Fitment of the intercoolers on thier applications is another issue, it is deffinatly not bolt on.

I dont know if any of this helps, but i hope its a little more info to add to the debate.

^ Nothing new - ssac/xspower has been debated to death on this forum. We are just talking about this particular IC

cblake3,
the flange on the pipe fits my Blitz BOV and I was told it will also accept a Greddy. This style is somewhat common and may fit other as well. I would also think you could use a straight or almost-straight pipe from a Greddy elbow, it would be worth a try. When I had mine in as a smic I did not have the Greddy elbow so I cannot say, but in doing my v-mount, I'm getting away with a straight pipe from this IC to the Greddy elbow.

i have this intercooler on my FD as well, seems to fit fine, the pipes are cheap but for the price can you really complain that much? i have an apex'i BOV on it but have also been told blitz and greddy style flanges will work fine... i dont really have anything to compare it to since this is what my car had on it when i bought it, it its mounted pretty solid, has a little tab for the AST and everything, the only gripe i really have is the pipe coming off the ypipe into the intercooler doesn't line up the way it should and sits kind of funky in the coupler, it holds boost fine though...

Thanks for the info guys. Anyone out there have problems fitting the Greddy BOV on the pipe that comes with the kit?

What's funny is that I hang with the local WRX guys in town, and one guy is running a $1500 name brand front mount, and the other guy is running the XSPower cloned front mount. With the same boost numbers (around 25-6 psi) the guy with the $1500 intercooler blew his intercooler at the welds. The XSPower one is perfectly fine.

I think talking shit about one product or another is petty, because I can name just as many people running the XSPower kit with no problems as any other kit. People just hate it because it is a clone / knock off of an expensive name brand product.

I thought I should give my review of the intercooler as I have finally had some time running it with my duct. I have been tuning my car for the past week or so and have done probably around 100 WOT runs with it so far. With the duct I made, 12.5 psi, and around 25-30 deg C outside temp. says I am seeing between 34 and 42 deg AIT. I have not moved my sensor to the Greddy elbow yet, hopefully soon. I think that should give me some better data. These runs are usually back to back and then I go to the garage to review my logs to change my map. I know that numbers like these are not usually relevant between cars and locations but I believe the intercooler is doing a good job. I was amazed to find how quickly the AIT rises in stop and go, I guess I had never paid much attention to it before. May put a fan on it if I spend much time driving in the city.

I took my car with my xs power ic and homemade duct to VIR a couple weekends ago and watched my temps carefully before, during, and after my sessions. The first session of the day (no heat soak) was at about 80 degrees ambient, air temps started at 42 degrees and after 5 laps involving repeated 3-4-5 pulls my temps had risen to 52 degrees. I never saw any spiking during the high speed runs, it seemed to rise steadily and then hold at 52 degrees. Later in the day the temps were low 90's and it would start around 52 degrees and end at 62. My air temp sensor is in the stock location so the numbers are all suspect. The car basically never really cooled down during the day so there was lots of heat-soak.

Well not saying the intercooler is bad or anything but If the company is to cheap to design their own intercooler, what makes your think they arent going to be cheap in the construction? An intercooler is a pretty simple device, so look at their more complicated ones, like a turbo, most people have them last for 8 days. Id rather save my money and get a name brand with the warranty and comfort of having a well built product than worry about my ebay IC bursting. Just my oppinion.