Intercooler Choices

[abaddon_baliel]

I have a 97 Eclipse Spyder GST (as you can tell by looking at my name). I'm getting a Forced Performance 68 HTA turbo. I want to keep my car as clean and functional as possible, so I really want to keep the a/c if I can. If I can't do that for a quality fmic, I need to keep powersteering. I didn't have powersteering for 1.5 years on my Eclipse GS and hated it. Driving wasn't a biggy, but parking lots sucked balls. I'm pretty strong (used to be a bodybuilder), so I can't imagine it being easy to maneuver for anyone in tight spaces.

That being said, I need options for a quality intercooler. I have some ebay kits on here, mainly because they have piping that allows me to keep the a/c. Yes, I know I can buy piping kits separate, but I prefer to have everything in one kit so I know everything goes together.

SSAC FMIC

Punishment Racing FMIC

ETS Race FMIC <-- I was looking at the Steet 7" one, since my HP goals are around there and I'm probably only going to run about 20psi.

SBR Kit <-- doesn't list specs, but I've heard a lot of great reviews. Would I have to lose anything or cut?

or...?

Give me some options, why they'd be good for the application, and links if at all possible so I can check it out myself.

I would like to keep it under $800 if at all possible. But I want a core that flows really well, and will let me get the most out of the turbo I'm going to use.

Also, I'm going to use this bumper. I'd prefer not to cut anything. That bumper has about the same clearance as the stock 2gb. I'm also getting a stock 2gb bumper for winter driving, or as a back up, so you have a good reference point for clearance. I don't care about the bumper support, I can remove that.

 

[Boosted98gsx]

DV/DT Fab

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Intercooler kit | DVDTFAB


And that bumper is ricey as shit.

 

[TSi Kid]

I would look into the PR kit.
Easy to install and i've never seen a problem with them.

 

[turboboy4]

The dv/dt fab kit is really nice but pricey as hell. And keep your stock bumper looks a hell of alot better than that other ricey thing

 

[agarc023]

What about the vrsf one. Its going for about $330 shipped.

VRSF 2G Front Mount Intercooler Kit : 2G DSM (BLACK FRIDAY WEEK SPECIAL!)

 

[abaddon_baliel]

Do you have the VR kit? Is it really as good as the site says as far as cooling? When I said quality, I meant good flow/cooling. Ebay ones like the Punishment Racing are generally considered to have poor cooling compared to something like the ETS core.

Also, I don't need any "ricer" comments, especially when that bumper looks pretty damn identical to the stock 2gb bumper. If you can't see that, you're blind. It has the same ports (cut outs), and nearly the same style, and it has a side vent! That is so rice! Whatever. It's my bumper, not yours. I'm not really into body kits, but I did want something slightly different than stock. I know what rice is, and that is definitely not it. Rice is this. That shit is ugly and unnecessary. This is about the intercooler kit and if it will meet the clearance, not about your opinion on the bumper I'm getting. If you don't have anything else to add but your lame ass "rice" comments, don't post at all.

Thanks!

And the DV/DT FAB intercooler kit is very nice, and it says it's customizable for your needs so I'm assuming they'd make the pipes to fit if I wanted to retain a/c and everything, so that's nice. But yeah, it is a little pricey. My HP goals aren't nearly high enough to warrant a $1200 intercooler kit. But thanks for your suggestion and the pics, it was really helpful. That is exactly what I was looking for in a response (minus your misguided comment at the end).

A recap:
HP Goals: 350-400whp
Turbo: FP 68 HTA
No rice comments. (Especially when you obviously don't even know what rice is.)

 

[98GSXtacy]

^+1. I am going with the VRSF kit for my 98 gsx and my g/f's 95 tsi awd. Price can't be beat and quality is very good as well as exceptional customer service. And I also agree with you on your opinion about the bumper. It's your bumper going on your car, if you like it then do it and screw what everyone else says. It looks almost identical to the buddy club 2 front bumper and when that came out everyone said that was the best looking front bumper available next to the stock 2gb options.

 

[Dsmj89]

For $260 shipped you can get the pr kit on ebay, from cxracing which offers the same piping kit, and save you lots of money.
Look at my thread " punishment racing fmic for 2g ".
When you go on ebay type in eclipse fmic kit aand you will notice an icon with a red 2g, that's the kit to buy, the piping in the pics look universal but when you get them they are the actual pipes that pr sells, not trying to knock them out just saying it's the same thing.
See my pics if you wish.

 

[abaddon_baliel]

^+1. I am going with the VRSF kit for my 98 gsx and my g/f's 95 tsi awd. Price can't be beat and quality is very good as well as exceptional customer service.

Thanks for the input. I'll eventually be turboing my wife's 95 RS, but that's an entirely different setup, haha.

The VR kit is nice, especially since it's a better price than the ETS Street one I was previously leaning to. I'll do some more research and reading on comparisons, because I really want a cooling comparison to the VR vs ETS. I'm really concerned with core quality, because I don't want to spend $300+ on a junk core that's only good for piping because they used an Ebay core, and I'm very wary about getting quality products for that cheap. I know ETS is good quality, and is proven. So I'll do some looking into the VR one and look at some reviews and see if it's comparable.

If ANYONE has any information on VR vs ETS, feel free to post it here! Thanks a ton.

 

[TSi Kid]

How the fvck is punishment racing an ebay setup????
Vsfr is also a good brand to look into.

 

[abaddon_baliel]

It's your bumper going on your car, if you like it then do it and screw what everyone else says. It looks almost identical to the buddy club 2 front bumper and when that came out everyone said that was the best looking front bumper available next to the stock 2gb options.

That's what I was thinking, which is why I didn't understand the rice comments. It's not like it's a Blitz or something, which look like complete trash IMHO.

Thanks again for the input.

 

[TSi Kid]

Nevermind, just looked it up, that's crazy I had no idea.

Anywho CX racing and VSFR are both great kits that will meet your hp goal with no problem.

 

[Dsmj89]

How the fvck is punishment racing an ebay setup????
Vsfr is also a good brand to look into.

They do business with cxracing, like a partnership, i'm not exactly sure how it works.
Jump on ebay and save, i'm trying to help the OP save $ and get the exact same kit that pr sells for cheaaper on ebay from cxracing direct.

 

[abaddon_baliel]

How the fvck is punishment racing an ebay setup????
Vsfr is also a good brand to look into.

Because they use the exact same core and piping kits as the CXracing brand does, which is an Ebay kit. Literally, it is exactly the same.

The reason I listed the SSAC and PR kits are because they are ebay kits, and I wanted input as to the quality of them. I've heard reviews go either way, saying they're cheap cores with terrible cooling compared to a quality kit like ETS, and I've heard they are really good. At $260 the price is unbeatable and you won't find one cheaper, that's true. But is that necessarily a good thing? Do they sacrifice quality?

If anyone has any comparisons (charts) in the CFM for the PR, VR vs ETS kits, it would help out a lot of people who can't decide between the ebay kits (PR, SSAC), the cheap kits (VR), and the more expensive ones (ETS, GReddy, SBR).

 

[98GSXtacy]

Well that ebay kit from cxracing says it is 22x7x2.5 where as the pr kit is 29x11x3 and the vrsf kit is 28.5x10x3.5 so you can use those dimensions and compare prices and see which one is more important to you. From everything I have read pretty much all of them are a nice and pain free install that won't take long or much work. So, there ya go, the three pretty much best bang for your buck options. Good luck with the build.

 

[abaddon_baliel]

Nevermind, just looked it up, that's crazy I had no idea.

Anywho CX racing and VSFR are both great kits that will meet your hp goal with no problem.

Yeah I didn't find out till earlier today (before this post, I already knew they were the same from doing a little searching before I started this thread).

Would you have a preference to either one? Personal experience? I want to really let this turbo be able to breathe properly.

The VR kit looks really good from its flow ratings on their website ("...rated at 1150 CFMs with very little pressure drop." quoted from the site verbatim) That is extremely high, especially for a $300 kit. I just want proof of this.

 

[TSi Kid]

Yeah I guess PR went to CX racing with some specs of their own and had them build the PR intercooler setup.

You learn something new everyday .

 

[abaddon_baliel]

Well that ebay kit from cxracing says it is 22x7x2.5 where as the pr kit is 29x11x3 and the vrsf kit is 28.5x10x3.5 so you can use those dimensions and compare prices and see which one is more important to you. From everything I have read pretty much all of them are a nice and pain free install that won't take long or much work. So, there ya go, the three pretty much best bang for your buck options. Good luck with the build.

If anyone has first hand experience with this, and can show in some way that the quality of the VRSF kit is for real, I'll be going with that one. The ETS is only rated at 650cfm/450HP (still more than I need), and dimensions are 25x7x3, so it's a nice, sleek intercooler that doesn't get in the way.

 

[98GSXtacy]

I know I shouldn't use this as an example as it is not "first hand experience" however, a friend of mine in AZ had an ets street kit on his evo 8 and cracked/ripped the bottom of the core when accidentally running over a blown out tire on the highway. Due to being low on cash he ordered a full kit from vrsf. When he got it he installed it and did not notice any negative effects whatsoever. Oh yeah, he still has the kit to this day(about 3 1/2 years old) and is running about 450 awhp.

 

[Dsmj89]

The cxracing kit may have a few misrepresnted pics,description but in reality in the end you will be getting the same kit that pr sells.

 

[TSi Kid]

Give them a call and see what they have to say. They'll be able to answer your questions you may have.

 

[abaddon_baliel]

I know I shouldn't use this as an example as it is not "first hand experience" however, a friend of mine in AZ had an ets street kit on his evo 8 and cracked/ripped the bottom of the core when accidentally running over a blown out tire on the highway. Due to being low on cash he ordered a full kit from vrsf. When he got it he installed it and did not notice any negative effects whatsoever. Oh yeah, he still has the kit to this day(about 3 1/2 years old) and is running about 450 awhp.

Well, going by the non-existent DSM honor system, I'm going to have to assume that is a true story. In which case, I'm going with the VSRF kit. Thanks a lot for everyone's input, if someone would like to hi-jack the thread for their own intercooler questions, feel free. Otherwise, my issue is resolved. (Rep points were given to those that provided positive input).

It was close between the CXRacing kit and VRSF.

Thanks a ton!! I'll be ordering this kit in the spring of 2011 with all my other parts, I hope it goes well.

 

[98GSXtacy]

You are welcome. As I said before, I'm ordering the same vrsf kit for both of our 2g awd's and don't have any doubt about them from seeing them perform well on other cars. Be sure to post up some pics and any positive or negative comments about the kit when you get it and get it installed so more people have more in detail information on this kit, and because spyder's look just plain sexy as hell with a nice big fmic staring you down .

 

[abaddon_baliel]

You are welcome. As I said before, I'm ordering the same vrsf kit for both of our 2g awd's and don't have any doubt about them from seeing them perform well on other cars. Be sure to post up some pics and any positive or negative comments about the kit when you get it and get it installed so more people have more in detail information on this kit.

I will, I'll be reviewing all the parts I get. I'm doing a complete rebuild from a stock 2g GST, rebuilding the engine, adding ECMlink, everything. I'll even do reviews on the gauges I use, . That will be in the review section though, or I may just make a blog about it since it'll be my entire build. I plan to include installation pics, gains/decreases in performance (hopefully gains only, haha), and the like.

 

[98GSXtacy]

Right on man. I'd say maybe follow the whole process in a blog and include links to each seperate tech article for each item. That way it keeps your blog shorter(since some people hate reading long posts ) and people looking in just the tech section can access each article by themselves. Either way, again, good luck and I hope the builds for both your car and your g/f's rs go well.