blown sn-95
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WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF A FRONT MOUNT IC??
WHAT UPGRADES TO THE COOLING SYSTEM MUST BE DONE?
WHAT UPGRADES TO THE COOLING SYSTEM MUST BE DONE?
Front Mount Ic Good Or Bad???
- Thread starter blown sn-95
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No matter which one you choose, you need to tune your combination well to get the most benefit out of it. Below are some generally accepted (but not by everyone) pros and cons to consider for front-mounts:
Pros:
1. The maximum performance you will be able to extract out of a given engine/turbo combination will be higher with a good front-mount than a stock location IC.
2. Your intercooler will not be as prone to heat soak, because it is always exposed to cooler air. If you do a lot of street racing, this could be an important.
3. The data that I've seen suggest that front-mounts are generally more efficient, meaning more air cooling for less pressure drop, than stock location. Admittedly, I haven't seen data yet for some of the latest stock location IC's (PTE's, Mease's). The data that I'm citing came from a "The Source" article that was done a few years ago.
Cons:
1. You WILL need to improve your cooling system. That means a larger radiator, and (more importantly) better fans. To get similar-to-stock cooling, I had to install a 3-row radiator and the Ramchargers fans.
2. Even with the above, your car will run hotter and the fans will run more in around-town driving.
3. Depending on the front-mount, you're giving away your car's performance (takes away from the sleeper effect).
4. The total cost (IC plus cooling mods) will be higher for a front-mount than for a stock location.
I went directly from a stock IC to a CAS-V2. I have to admit, that CAS V2 made a huge difference in my car. However, I struggled with the cooling system just to get cooling temperatures close to what I used to see with the stock IC. If I had to do everything over again, I would probably try one of the big stock locations IC's (PTE, Mease, etc.). I have to admit, though, the V2 front-mount does an great job, and all-in-all, I'm not disappointed that I went with it.
I'm sure others have other opinions. Do a search on "intercooler" using the search function.
Pros:
1. The maximum performance you will be able to extract out of a given engine/turbo combination will be higher with a good front-mount than a stock location IC.
2. Your intercooler will not be as prone to heat soak, because it is always exposed to cooler air. If you do a lot of street racing, this could be an important.
3. The data that I've seen suggest that front-mounts are generally more efficient, meaning more air cooling for less pressure drop, than stock location. Admittedly, I haven't seen data yet for some of the latest stock location IC's (PTE's, Mease's). The data that I'm citing came from a "The Source" article that was done a few years ago.
Cons:
1. You WILL need to improve your cooling system. That means a larger radiator, and (more importantly) better fans. To get similar-to-stock cooling, I had to install a 3-row radiator and the Ramchargers fans.
2. Even with the above, your car will run hotter and the fans will run more in around-town driving.
3. Depending on the front-mount, you're giving away your car's performance (takes away from the sleeper effect).
4. The total cost (IC plus cooling mods) will be higher for a front-mount than for a stock location.
I went directly from a stock IC to a CAS-V2. I have to admit, that CAS V2 made a huge difference in my car. However, I struggled with the cooling system just to get cooling temperatures close to what I used to see with the stock IC. If I had to do everything over again, I would probably try one of the big stock locations IC's (PTE, Mease, etc.). I have to admit, though, the V2 front-mount does an great job, and all-in-all, I'm not disappointed that I went with it.
I'm sure others have other opinions. Do a search on "intercooler" using the search function.
Great reply from Mike. I would submit that since the Ramchargers fans became available, it made the front mount alternative more reasonable. The $90 or whatever they are is much cheaper than the $300+ it used to take for a dual Spal fan setup.
Again as mentioned, if you are not in a really warm area and run A/C, you may get away with running water and RMI in your radiator and just using the Ramchargers fan. I'm getting away with the stock fan, but again I'm not using a/c. Also, you can jumper the ballast resistor thing on the stock fan to run high speed all the time.
But...your radiator needs to be in good shape, and I doubt any stock 17 year old radiator will meet the demand.
Again as mentioned, if you are not in a really warm area and run A/C, you may get away with running water and RMI in your radiator and just using the Ramchargers fan. I'm getting away with the stock fan, but again I'm not using a/c. Also, you can jumper the ballast resistor thing on the stock fan to run high speed all the time.
But...your radiator needs to be in good shape, and I doubt any stock 17 year old radiator will meet the demand.
