Intercooler Advice

After searching the web for info on intercoolers, i think ive raised more questions than i have answered

I want a nice shiney FM intercooler to place to sit behind my Do-luck front that will give me a nice HP increase and look the dogs at the same time. ive always been told that the greddy 3 row is the best option, but reading up on intercoolers, ive come across something that indicates that its not simply the biggest IC you can obtain that will give you the best performance It appears to be the "right size for the application" that gets the best results? is that right? i don’t know?...

So I suppose the second question is; what sort of power increases can you obtain from a well prescribed IC based upon the fact im currently at 410bhp with hybrid turbos.

If the increase in BHP is poor over stock, then i don’t want to be wasting money on a £1.2K Greedy 3 row intercooler, when a cheaper one would do the job and look just as good (if you see what i mean). But if i can obtain 450BHP for £1.2K then that would be worth it. Is that even possible? I really don’t know?

I guess some "starting out" advice would be good; advice on what you think i should be aiming for, and what’s practical / achievable. Then perhaps we could nail down a specific application. that would be fantastic. i would suggest that 1.2k on an intercooler would be the total limit, but 1.2k is a lot of money and i don’t want to be wasting it if i dont have to.

Thanks in advance chaps

Matt

I would also be interested to find out just what BHP difference it would make over std on BPU or hybrids, i have no doubt that there would be more improvement when using a single or high boost, the std side mount in good condition is supposed to be very efficient, i have had mixed results on other cars when going front mount, some have been very marked improvements and others not.

Have a read of these, some very useful info. Should help you decide....

http://www.max-boost.co.uk/max-boost/intake/intercooler_2JZGTE.htm

http://www.are.com.au/techtalk/intecoolersMR.htm

I have a Greddy 2 Row. Cost £430 and works fine IMO. I'm pushing 450 at the fly now on higher boost.

I can't see the need on spending over a grand on a more fancy one unless you're looking at a small single or more sometime in the future. The stock SMIC (new one of course) can handle a great amount of boost.

I'd look into CW SMIC instead matey if you have the £600 odd. Performs better, saves relocating things and you make full use of Toyotas professional ducting.

Greg

If your stock SMIC is shagged go for a CW or Miami GT replacement.

But if your not using the stock bumper your just aswel going for a 2core greddy instead of a side mount, the sidemounts are only so good because of the design of the standard bumper, and the way the airflow is forced/sucked through the intercooler. you loose all this when you chang the bumper for an aftermarket one. Go for a medium size front mount, block any air flow paths around the cooler, and ive no doubt you'll see good results

If your sticking to twins, a 3row is overkill IMO, a 2row is more than sufficient

If your stock SMIC is shagged go for a CW or Miami GT replacement.

OR the Miami GT "uprated" one

Ask No1 boy racer for a few tips.

HKS S type would suit you just fine.

I dont really want to go for a side mount, you dont get the aspthetics of the front with those sexy chrome pipes on either side. so were thinking a greddy 2 row or a HKS s type then, are the greddy 2 row the same size externally as the 3 row?

One more thing, ive heard people talking about radiator probelms with a front mount, any advice on that? cos its obviously going to be blocked off with the front mount

Greddy 2 -row is pretty damn big and I had to remove my Viscous fan and put a Tranny cooler in its place for the new Radiator too- I'm Auto though.

You Manual or Auto Matt? I'd spend less on the FMIC, Greddy 2-row will be fine and the rest on a new rad if yours is shagged.

No real cooling issues yet for me, but it is winter. Will look into a Spal fan for summer me thinks and another Tranny cooler too.

I'd look into CW SMIC instead matey if you have the £600 odd. Performs better, saves relocating things and you make full use of Toyotas professional ducting.

 

Greg

Group-buy!

I am interested in hearing about actual BHP/torque improvements after fitting a FMIC, rather than what might be the best type, also my STD one is in good condition, so it wouldn't be a deceptive change.

If your stock SMIC is shagged go for a CW or Miami GT replacement.

...or a brand new OEM Toyota SMIC

Yes Mac, I was pushing him towards the 3rd person needed for the group buy

Well worth the extra cash for Mr Wilsons one-off SMICs.

Miami GT install and pics on my car:

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?p=1173893#post1173893

The core technology on the chris wilson is far superior than either the toyota or the miami gt so ive heard.

1. Chris Wilson £600 odd

2. Stock Toyota £ 400-500 from nick i believe

3. Miami GT £ 200 on ebay! couple knocking round there

But as with everthing, you get what you pay for.

Have no idea about the uprated miami gt one. One of the main problems I have with miami gt, is that there is no conclusive evidence to prove how good they are. They compare a knackard stock smic to new miami gt. In my book that really doesnt show anything. Not saying its rubbish though, just not as good as the rest.

The core technology on the chris wilson is far superior than either the toyota or the miami gt so ive heard.......................

......................................

Have no idea about the uprated miami gt one. One of the main problems I have with miami gt, is that there is no conclusive evidence to prove how good they are. They compare a knackard stock smic to new miami gt. In my book that really doesnt show anything. Not saying its rubbish though, just not as good as the rest.

Well said, there is NO conclusive PROOF to prove that any of the "OTHER" offerings are better than a BRAND NEW TOYOTA ONE......this is the same for the CW one, the greddy SMIC or either of the Miami-GT ones............

The core technology on the chris wilson is far superior than either the toyota or the miami gt so ive heard.

 

1. Chris Wilson £600 odd

 

2. Stock Toyota £ 400-500 from nick i believe

 

3. Miami GT £ 200 on ebay! couple knocking round there

 

But as with everthing, you get what you pay for.

 

Have no idea about the uprated miami gt one. One of the main problems I have with miami gt, is that there is no conclusive evidence to prove how good they are. They compare a knackard stock smic to new miami gt. In my book that really doesnt show anything. Not saying its rubbish though, just not as good as the rest.

our intercooler is a stock replacement.

Offered as an alternative to the expensive OEM Toyota intercoolers.

Im not claiming this is uprated but will do pretty much the same job as a new OEM one for a fraction of the price.

The reason they are so cheap at the moment is because I have surplus stock,not that the quality is poor.The usual price on these is £330.

There has been no tests done on the other intercoolers you have mentioned,so in theory they are no better than ours until proven.

Cheapest isnt always worse buddy,we are just trying to offer good value for money.

Plenty of people very happy with our intercoolers,so cant say better than that.

Why are they not as good as the rest?

Why are they not as good as the rest?

From an engineering point of view they are the most inferior available, but then what do people expect for the price. The whole point of Paul having these made was that it is an improvement on a knackered stock SMIC, not that its an improvement or even a match for a new stock one.

The CW one is the superior one, but you need to pay for that level of quality.

There is no point in having the stock one if the standard ducting etc doesnt exist anymore though, especially if its going to be put behind a aftermarket bumper (do-luck). A front mount would be much more efficient as the do-luck has a much bigger 'mouth' than the standard bumper. A new Side mount would be a complete waste of money IMO

our intercooler is a stock replacement.

Offered as an alternative to the expensive OEM Toyota intercoolers.

Im not claiming this is uprated but will do pretty much the same job as a new OEM one for a fraction of the price.

The reason they are so cheap at the moment is because I have surplus stock,not that the quality is poor.The usual price on these is £330.

There has been no tests done on the other intercoolers you have mentioned,so in theory they are no better than ours until proven.

Cheapest isnt always worse buddy,we are just trying to offer good value for money.

 

Plenty of people very happy with our intercoolers,so cant say better than that.

 

Why are they not as good as the rest?

Dont get me wrong, i think they are excellent value for money, and would be a massive improvement over a knackard one which most people have especially at current prices! Without nic on here, I think the going rate for a stock one from toyota is about £1200!

As for the CW, the design of intercoolers has changed quite a bit in the last ten years. The CW holds its title as the best you can get, because of its design improvements over stock in terms of cooling technology.

Lets put it this way, if a mate of mine only had about £300 to spend, i would recomend the miami gt one as a good stock replacement.

If money were no object, and he wanted something that would give him maximum cooling from a smic using, I would tell him to get the CW one no question.

The miami gt website always had an uprated miami gt intercooler on there. Ive never heard anything about this version? And was always interested to know how much better it was than the other miami gt one.

All of them are much better than a knackard one though, just depends on how much you want to spend really.

okay dokey, well im definatly, 100%, bet your bottom dollar, totally not interested in a side mount replacement! so no need to worry on that front!

The go for the Greddy 2-row I say Matt and save the other spondoolies for something else buddy.

save the other spondoolies for something else buddy.

i love that, something else indeed! watch this space!

There is no point in having the stock one if the standard ducting etc doesnt exist anymore though, especially if its going to be put behind a aftermarket bumper (do-luck). A front mount would be much more efficient as the do-luck has a much bigger 'mouth' than the standard bumper. A new Side mount would be a complete waste of money IMO

Not necessarily. It's all about pressure drop you see.

Any FMIC is going to have a stonking great big water rad behind it. This causes the air flowing through the FMIC to get kinda hit a brick wall.

A SMIC, even without the perfect ducting, has a nice big low pressure region behind it, sucking the air through. Even if the ducting around the turbo isn't the best, some air is going to get pulled through.

The VERY difficult thing to do is quantify the pro's and con's of each, but without suitable testing, it's not really fair to say X is better than Y.