ah ic, i think i will still use a ruler for dick measuring then

on serious note, don't really justify the cost diffrence between the two, but each to their own

on a side note riggs, still want to come down check out the seats, getting car back 2morow, yay! been emo without it so will let you know, cheers

[QUOTE=Kato;607635]

Ebay coolers are cheap ass shite bar and plate. You may as well stick a heat sink on your engine as all it will do is heat up and make your intake temps shocking causing shite performance.

STi cooler is tube and fin so a much, much, much better design for heat exhange. If you can get the Spec C unit which is better again (has the dimpled top tank). MY99 won't require much modification to install the STi TMIC and you should be able to fit a strut brace easily. I have a Cusco strut brace with STi TMIC on my MY98.[/QUOTE]

Just spoke with my friend and the "china cooler" is in fact Tube and Fin...

This throws me a bit.. It's 3 months old and near new and he only wants $100 for it.. The STi one is easy 5+ years old $400 and banged up rather bad, not including the stuffing around to fit it in.. Not that I'm bothered doing that..

Load up a picture of this other cooler.

Yet to see a tube and fin ebay spec.

I'm not 100% sure that it's "eBay spec" but its cheap as chips and has no brand name on it that I could see. I'll get him to send me some pictures and I'll post them up.

** Think I just founded it on eBay!!
Looks 99.99% the same as the one my friend is selling for $100 but his one is slightly larger.

[url=http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/70mm-Subaru-Impreza-WRX-GC8-Top-Mount-Intercooler-Turbo-/290439707110]70mm Subaru Impreza WRX GC8 Top Mount Intercooler Turbo | eBay[/url]

Hmmm... Quality doesn't look that great. "It is eBay spec" might keep looking for a better condition STi tmic..

[QUOTE=red dragon2002;607709]everyone always says the spec c is better than the standard sti, better flow or something? and realisticly what diffrence would there be from the two? is this just another statement that has no proof? for e.g the sti cooler vs pw[/QUOTE]

The fact that only the Spec C got the "dimple" for years but now it has become standard on the V10+ STI says to me Subaru are happy that it has performance gains.

[QUOTE=red dragon2002;607709]is this just another statement that has no proof? for e.g the sti cooler vs pw[/QUOTE]

PW cooler was marketed as being better than the STi cooler. To date, not even PW has been able to prove it is better. From the information I've seen, it is the same as a STi cooler.

Spec C coolers have been shown to be better than standard STi units, but not by much. However, it is all the small gains that make a big gain in the end. Why port and polish items, why heat wrap/ceramic coat. It is all small gains that add up and if you can spend the little bit extra to get the best, why not. i.e. See people whinge in the horsepower thread that someone got an extra 10hp over someone else. Sometimes it is the little mods that help.

^ very good point indeed. i see now, some people may say that for the cost, it may not be worth heat wrapping ect but in the end it all counts

researching and learning and slowly getting there i guess for me :)

Is there any reason the above mentioned ebay spec cooler would actually not cool as good as a STI one? is there a difference between the core on different tube and fin coolers or if it's tube and fin it's much the same? advice much appreciated as then the STD splitte etc would all line up..

cheers

Turbo Upgrade
 

Hey guys, just wondering what the best upgrade for my TMIC would be?

I have a MY97 Hatchback WRX with a MY99 Motor installed running a VF34 Turbo 3" Turbo back exhaust. Im fairly sure its just running the standard intercooler at the moment.

Evole.

A lot of people tend to go for MY02 on STI intercoolers, I'm not sure what's required to get them to fit your model but they're generally cheap (<$450) and do a great job.

All GD sti intercoolers are the same size (except Spec C witch has the notch). Get the GD mounting brackets, GD offset clutch resivior, and the GD splitter. Some fiddling with washers and spacers it should fit up fine.

Be sure 100% its a 99 engine as the newer cooler will not fir a 97 donk.

tmic
 

has any one used a process west top mount I'm considering getting one i love the way they look just want to know if they are worth it?

[QUOTE=tris7an;634024]has any one used a process west top mount I'm considering getting one i love the way they look just want to know if they are worth it?[/QUOTE]

Before any of the other WA people lynch you... yes they work.. how well.. who knows?

There is no conclusive data that PW TMIC are any better than an STI TMIC.

All comparisons have been done between a PW TMIC and the standard WRX TMIC.

After looking into this question a fair bit it seems that the only advantage is that the PW TMIC takes longer to become heat soaked (it will still heat soak the same but just take longer) than the STI TMIC.

[QUOTE=RedMY01Owen;634069]After looking into this question a fair bit it seems that the only advantage is that the PW TMIC takes longer to become heat soaked (it will still heat soak the same but just take longer) than the STI TMIC.[/QUOTE]

Do you have a source on this?

Bar and Plate is pretty poo compared to tube and fin on the efficiency scale..

Bigger does not necessarily mean better.

Yup, every test I have read has shown the PW to be the same as the STi unit. If it was better, I'm sure Kevin would have released something on it.

It is 100 x better than the stock wrx unit, and given the amount of configurations he has they are a good plug and play option. STi units on certain models require a lot of dicking around to make them fit remember.

Cool
 

[QUOTE=Kato;634085]Yup, every test I have read has shown the PW to be the same as the STi unit. If it was better, I'm sure Kevin would have released something on it.

It is 100 x better than the stock wrx unit, and given the amount of configurations he has they are a good plug and play option. STi units on certain models require a lot of dicking around to make them fit remember.[/QUOTE]


Awesome thanks guys

That's the biggest upgrade my engine will be getting so was a tie between Sti TMIC and process west TMIC I wanted the pw one as it looks different to the others I've seen but needed to make sure it worked just as well if not better then the one I already had ; )

Thanks for helping

just reading back a couple of pages and its all about sti or pw ic in this thread so don't know how many times its been covered already

on a side note i also thought that sti has less heat soak over pw

Process west
 

If I were to upgrade to a pw TMIC what else would require upgrading because obviously you just can't fit a bigger TMIC without having issues with stick components not being able to take the extra pressure being put on them? Would I need oil cooler I have stronger hoses being fitted soon and a better expansion tank just want to know what else you guys think it would need to perform at it's best?

Cheers

You just need a re-tune so that the engine doesn't run lean (very bad)

Adi

What stresses does a tmic put on a car?

[QUOTE=tris7an;634273]If I were to upgrade to a pw TMIC what else would require upgrading because obviously you just can't fit a bigger TMIC without having issues with stick components not being able to take the extra pressure being put on them? Would I need oil cooler I have stronger hoses being fitted soon and a better expansion tank just want to know what else you guys think it would need to perform at it's best?

Cheers[/QUOTE]

You won't need any of this, and whatever you do stay away from an oil cooler. Spend money on a good alloy rad instead.

tmic
 

[QUOTE=Riggs;634430]You won't need any of this, and whatever you do stay away from an oil cooler. Spend money on a good alloy rad instead.[/QUOTE]


okay sweet thanks will do. any recommendations on brand for alloy rad?

[QUOTE=Kato;634424]What stresses does a tmic put on a car?[/QUOTE]

+ 1 to this i would also like to know

koyo radiator

Kato's question was rhetorical. The answer is none.

Kevin at Process West recently started marketing the PW TMIC for MY09-11 Foresters.
I bough one because the stock tmic is tiny. I found the PW TMIC to be well manufactured and it came with all the necessary parts including custom shroud and y pipe/clamps. It arrived in one week from Process West and was very well packaged and protected. I would purchase again.

taken from [url=http://www.processwest.com.au/website/prod_09forester/pw_p_09forester.html]PROCESS WEST - WRX/STi Products - Top Mounted Intercooler[/url]

Features…
*Unique core layout for optimal effeciency
* largest surface area of any MY09-11 Forester top mount intercooler on the market
*comes complete with underhood duct

Increasing the intercooler surface area beyond that of the factory unit is all well and good but only if all of the ambient air is available to all of the upgrade intercooler so maximum heat exchange can take place.
The answer here is of course a revised under bonnet duct.
The new Process West 09-11 Forester intercooler addresses all of the above issues and it does it very well. Our new top
mounted intercooler is virtually a small front mounted intercooler mounted in the engine bay. With a massive 400mm flow length (almost double the factory unit) and a not too thick 90mm bar and plate core an effective top mount is now here.

[IMG]http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j60/Aussiedave_2006/MY10%20Forester%20XTP%20DGM%20Auto/DSC_0086-3.jpg[/IMG]

Yeah dave, the only icing on the cake for that kit is throwing a nice dual head waterspray kit in there, operated via ECU/Hobbs switch at whatever target boost you want!

I wonder if that kit allows you to mount sprayers or they make it impossible?

Kinda like the standard STI splitters where there is a hole to clip them in.

yes kev thought of that and designed the shroud so you can tie in the sprayers, there are holes ready for them..much win

The hobbs switch idea seems the common idea for controlling a lowcost waterspray. Back in the day, i used a hobbs switch for controlling waterspray however the idea of drenching the TMIC (at a specific pressure) in water seemed a little wrong.

I thought the idea was to spray enough to allow evaporate cooling to take place, not drown it in 10L of water. :confused:

Having a pulsed spray (and a fine mist) makes sense when it comes too the principle of evaporation.

Subaru's factory ECU controlled ICWS uses a few "conditions" to determine when spray, I do like that approach as it helps maintain water usage and effective cooling.

Just another on of those things to keep in the back of your mind.

Building a PIC or AVR microcontroller to do similar duties isn't that hard either (lots of plans on the interwebs)..

<shamelessly taken from wikipedia>
"The greater the difference between the two temperatures, the greater the evaporative cooling effect. When the temperatures are the same, no net evaporation of water in air occurs, thus there is no cooling effect."

TLA = TDB – ((TDB – TWB) x E)
TLA = Leaving Air Temp
TDB = Dry Bulb Temp
TWB = Wet Bulb Temp
E = Efficiency of the evaporative media.

Intra, you'll find that equation is only true for still air; when the air is moving kinetic energy is supplied to the water from the air and causes evaporation of the water, thus absorbing heat energy from the intercooler. Like when you sweat and the wind causes it to evaporate and you to feel cold. Of course, if your car is stationary your point is completely valid.

Whilst not totally correct (and the equations have nothing to do with actually getting a waterspray system to work effectively) wind flow would just increase the efficiency. The equation is a simplified one for an evaporative air conditioning system, where there is air flow. (It has also been far too long since I've looked at that stuff so I'm probably wrong!)

The main thing for everyone reading to look at is that dumping water onto an intercooler is not the most efficient method for reducing intake temps. It is effective, but more efficient methods as mentioned (i.e. copying OEM) can be implemented.

Kato,

would you rate this based on its specs....

[url=http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2008-2011-IMPREZA-WRX-BOLT-ON-ALUMINUM-TOP-MOUNT-INTERCOOLER-KIT-BAR-PLATE-TMIC-/160669397401?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2568a47199]2008-2011 IMPREZA WRX BOLT-ON ALUMINUM TOP MOUNT INTERCOOLER KIT+BAR&PLATE TMIC | eBay[/url]

also what is the name of the hose called that goes into the the stock blow off valve (the corrigated 1inch diametre one with the pinch clamp not the vaccuum line) it appears it traces back underneath my manifold.... i have a hole in it and ive searched threads but dont know the name.... to get a result.... im think bOV return hose but google says F.U

thanks


[QUOTE=Kato;341831]Tube and fin > bar and plate (heat sink spec).

MY08 STi cooler is meant to be the biggest to date. Smash one of them in![/QUOTE]

air bypass hose?

yea tried that, tried BPV hose, recirculation hose....

the hose has started aging...and there are several small splits... i plan to get a silicon one but i cant buy something i know nothing about... i was hoping there is a kit i could get so i can do the turbo to intercooler etc... as well...

I looked at that ebay TMIC a couple of months ago. Had a look at some hi-res pics of it that I saw on NASIOC, etc and it's a copy of the PW TMIC. Fairly poor copy too, the welds looked like cocky shit. I decided to go with the PW unit as I knew it would be a quality product.

[QUOTE=TROLLEY;640595]I looked at that ebay TMIC a couple of months ago. Had a look at some hi-res pics of it that I saw on NASIOC, etc and it's a copy of the PW TMIC. Fairly poor copy too, the welds looked like cocky shit. I decided to go with the PW unit as I knew it would be a quality product.[/QUOTE]

Is it that FMS (fast motorsport) version? If so it didn't look very flash internally. The PW core was much denser and free of crap.

I think so

I will take some very up close pictures of my PW tmic and post them here for discussion.