Spike_Spiegel

As the title states, are they all just as good as one another? comparing off brand to name brand you can see what price is right but which ones are better. plz share your experiences. trying to decide if i should get a name brand and pay the extra money or penny pinch and get a none name brand. piping is piping right?

MORE IMPATIENT

you really just need to take into consideration the design(tube and fin, or bar and plate), and the pressure drop in the intercooler, bar and plate are known for higher flow rates and less pressure drop but are a little more expensive, but well worth it.....and to give you an example, alot of people with subaru's including when i had mine bought the ebay intercooler that was 300 bucks instead of the 1200 turbo xs or perrin ones and made just as much power and were just as happy with there purchase.....

yokojzz30

well id say just find a company (if offbrand) that u either have known someone to use and make the power u need....or ask the company if they have a flow or effieciency chart for the fmic...thats what i did

as far as piping goes...i forget all the positives and negatives but of course aluminum is lighter than steel (stainless/mild/etc)...remember w/ steel that it MAY rust if condensation/water gets into yer piping sumhow which would ruin the integrity of the piping...ummm i remember reading sumthing about one being better for heat transfer/or not bein affected as much by engine bay temps but i cant remember which one it is...also mandrel bends are best (as w/ most things flow is only gonna be as good as yer most restrictive/smallest point..hence no crush bent muffler shop piping...i mean u can use that but i wouldnt...probly not a HUGE difference tho

im sure some other people have more/better info

sethmo

Yah if you want a cheap FMIC, check out www.johnnyracecar.com They have descent Tube/Fin FMICs for a low price.

I got my FMIC from jrprp1 on eBay. He claims that his tube/fin FMICs flow is compareable to a bar/plate FMIC. Also you do not want a huge FMIC if you are just running a small turbo. You need to size match the turbo with the FMIC.

As for piping, you can just order the right mandrel bends off JCWhitney and cut them to fit and either use couplers or weld them. Of course aluminum is lighter then steel. But if you are worried about the steel pipes rusting, you can get them powdercoated inside and out so they will not corrode.

Fabrik8

A lot of what you pay for with the name brand I/Cs is the cast end tanks, which are very nice and have nice smooth laminar flow but cost a lot. Sheet fabricated end tanks are a good way to save money. Do yourself a favor and stay away from the 30" long, 6" tall intercoolers with the tanks on the left/right ends. I know they're popular, but they suck. They are crap for pressure drop and flow because of their length vs. cross sectional area. Go for a shorter, slightly more square setup. There is a reason why you don't see certain dimensional combinations from good intercooler companies; there are definate rules of thumb for intercooler design..

You can use crush bent tubing, just make sure that you go up a size to compensate for the restriction..

themacuser.org

isuzu npr

StraitLineSpeed

remember to touch on the "heat soak" issue.