intercooler and a/c condensor

[robbo185]

Those of you running a Punishment racing intercooler and have your air conditioning still, how did you outlet pipes from interfering with the a/c condenser? Is there a new way to route the lines for the a/c?


Also if you have a picture that would be helpful as well.

 

[92AWDHX40]

I removed my ac long ago, reroute maybe between the radiator and intercooler.

 

[RED AWD GSX]

Well I have an ETS street fmic and I wasn't going to just get rid of my a/c, what I did was just cut the core support above the a/c hard lines until the intercooler piping cleared and trimmed the bumper support and you should be fine.

 

[moidsm1]

Bringing this back. Please do not reply if you took your AC system out.

Can this short route core be used with AC?

 

[bertrenolds]

Bringing this back. Please do not reply if you took your AC system out.

Can this short route core be used with AC?

I believe short route wont work. I think some people have gotten different AC condensors but I think long route is your only option if you wanna keep the AC. I guess having a FMIC and having an AC condensor causes our cars to run hotter so you need to upgrade your fans as well as your radiator and get a lower temp temp sensor.

 

[moidsm1]

I appreciate the reply. Is there anyone out there who has a short route FMIC But also kept their A/C. Sounds lime I mah just have to go long route.

 

[victorious420]

When I installed mine, it didn't look like there was a lot that could be done to keep A/C, unless you were willing to do some fabrication and relocation of lines and canisters.

 

[Seamus]

Going with a top to bottom flow intercooler lets you have short piping and keep your AC. I even have my stock power steering cooler, just relocated slightly. Top to bottoms work really well too. my intake temps are no more than 30 degrees above ambient at the top of 4rd gear with 28psi on a 20g. I'll let you search to see all the benefits of a top to bottom, but after all the testing i've done with mine, i am convinced that they are the only way to go. The configuration allows you to use a very simple, short piping route as well. I can still service my entire intercooler system by the side of the road without having to take my bumper off.

 

[kchaazz]

Yes, you can easily keep the AC. You must enlarge the two D shaped holes in the core support, and then gently bent the AC lines to clear the intercooler pipes. The AC lines are aluminum, they will easily bend, but just be sure not to kink them because you can do that easily too. Ive done this myself when I installed my Punishment Racing FMIC kit. Look closely at the AC lines in the pics, and you will see how the lines need to be bent, just go slow and easy.

 

[victorious420]

Yes, you can easily keep the AC. You must enlarge the two D shaped holes in the core support, and then gently bent the AC lines to clear the intercooler pipes. The AC lines are aluminum, they will easily bend, but just be sure not to kink them because you can do that easily too. Ive done this myself when I installed my Punishment Racing FMIC kit. Look closely at the AC lines in the pics, and you will see how the lines need to be bent, just go slow and easy.

How did you get around the AC condenser can on the passengers side? When I mounted mine it was directly in the way because my IC is only a half inch in front of my radiator...that's where the piping kit wanted to put it at, and the A.C. condenser would have had to be in my passenger side endtank to work, . It looks like you just decided to mount the IC further forward than I normally see it mounted... Did you have to ditch the bumper core entirely? Modify your piping? Is that a Punishment Racing 1g dsm kit, or something you pieced together?

 

[kchaazz]

How did you get around the AC condenser can on the passengers side? When I mounted mine it was directly in the way because my IC is only a half inch in front of my radiator...that's where the piping kit wanted to put it at, and the A.C. condenser would have had to be in my passenger side endtank to work, . It looks like you just decided to mount the IC further forward than I normally see it mounted... Did you have to ditch the bumper core entirely? Modify your piping? Is that a Punishment Racing 1g dsm kit, or something you pieced together?

I believe you are referring to the receiver/dryer, and that never gave me any trouble at all with my Punishment Racing kit. I only hacked the crash beam with an acetelyne torch per the instructions, and did not modify the pipes other than cutting about 1.5" from the pipe coming from the j- pipe to the intercooler inlet where the pipe connects to the intercooler because it was too long there to clear my alternator. I think you just have your intercooler mounted too close to the core support perhaps? Care to post a picture of yours? I have no experience with the VSRF or ETS 7" kit, so if you are running one of those, I cannot comment, though I have been told by numerous other members that the VSRF kit is very AC "friendly", and have been told that the 7" ETS kit is easy to keep AC with as well.

 

[victorious420]

I'm not sure what the deal with the PR kit is. The VRSF kit has a lot better reputation for fitment. The PR kit has gone through alot of revisions, something like 9 different variations in piping since it was introduced, ripped off, pirated, or whatever....and it still has its issues:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/409264-air-filter-relocate.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/pac...260-punishment-racing-fmic-1g-street-kit.html

So one PR 1g kit might fit a lot better than another, and might work with A/C, where another PR 1g kit revised slightly might route the piping slightly differently (putting the IC closer to the rad. core, perhaps).
Then there is the CXracing kit, which is the exact same kit, with who knows how many revisions, and who knows which is the current one...same as PR?
It gets wierd...which is why i'd go with another brand.
That, PR's customer service for these issues is nonexistent, literally...and the two times I've tried posting a real review of the PR kit on PR's website, they delete it because it tells the truth. So now you know my humble opinion.

 

[kchaazz]

I actually followed this kit from its creation, by a member of this site, -Lan, who designed all the piping and even sold the kits for a little while before letting Punishment take over. While CX Racing was involved in the designing of the kit and they do sell them, the Punishment version has all the updates, especially the BOV flange position and height changes on their pipes, while the CX Racing version does not always have this. I am aware that there are some people who have had fitment issues, but usually Punishment is very forthcoming when it comes to resolving these. Most people dont have any trouble at all, myself and all my friends who have the kits have had no issues. Im actually going to be installing this kit, which I ran on my 90 TSI AWD onto my Laser pretty soon when I put the new motor in it- the same kit being swapped from one car to the other, and I will post in this thread if I have any fitment issues, as it seems that there are slight variations in the actual bodies of the cars that may be causing some of the fitment issues- these things are old, and whos to say that there wasnt some front end damage to our cars that was repaired before we got them?

 

[boost97gst]

The 1G and 2G ac condensers and lines seem different. Is there any problem fitting the PR kit on a 2G with ac? Im going to be installing my PR in a couple weeks(hurry up machinist!)

 

[munkey42085]

I have pr fmic I had installed on my 1gb. I had to delete my ac due to piping being to short. I'm going to be installing it on my 1ga soon but with longer silicone couplings going through the core support. This should give me the clearance I need to keep my ac.