SMIC bigness

[shift_drift]

Originally Posted by superJoy

ARC side-mount's are supposedly rated at 300hp. In order to squeeze the most effiency out of a SMIC (hell, anything ATA for that matter), you need a proper duct to create a high pressure zone in front of the intercooler. The manufacturer probably takes this consideration into effect when rating a cooler for a specific power output, so you should as well.

Here's my ARC intercooler installed, which was fortunately found on eBay to the tune of $115 shipped:



As you can see, this specific model mounts at angle, reducing the length of the charge pipes to and from the cooler. However, this makes it even more essential to have a duct, lest the cooler do absolutely nothing due to the prohibitive nature of mounting the I/C this way.

you wouldn't happen to have the dimensions for that ic handy would you? I have a dsm sidemount sitting around and its pretty damn big, and my power goals are around 300hp so if I could get away with using that it'd be alot cheaper.

[superJoy]

Originally Posted by shift_drift

you wouldn't happen to have the dimensions for that ic handy would you? I have a dsm sidemount sitting around and its pretty damn big, and my power goals are around 300hp so if I could get away with using that it'd be alot cheaper.

Core size is roughly 10.25" x 7.5" x 3". At its widest point it measures about 12", the extraneous amount of width occupied by the end tanks.

Not sure if this is really applicable in this discussion as I've never seen a DSM intercooler before, but materials and build quality have as much of an effect on an I/C's ability to cool as size--at least in the case of a stock S13 turbo (CA18) intercooler compared the ARC. They're very similar in size, yet the CA18 intercooler is notorious for barely being able to cool the stock wastegate pressure. Most people toss them before ever installing them.

Your best bet is to try to follow firsthand knowledge as much as possible, i.e. get on some DSM boards and see what they've gotten away with. Size is a limiting factor on intercooler's for this chassis, as there really isn't much room between the frame rail and the fender. (As someone said previously.) That's one of the reasons it might be a better choice to get an intercooler designed for the car.

To the original poster, have you thought about getting a cheap FMIC? SSAC sells them for around $200 shipped, so that's always an option. Of course, they're of somewhat dubious quality, but many people seem to run them without any ill effects.