Starion intercooler [Merged 9-7] FMIC front mount conquest

[greyforestgst]

i bought it and did it
get a real one.

it does totally kick the sidemount's ass though, as it never ever heatsoaks. still, its pretty tiny, and the ins and outs are as well.

 

[Tallen]

ahh the myths...a front mount is better? not always!
Stock flow: 190cfm - no pressure loss - no lag
Supra IC flow: 496cfm - no pressure loss - no lag
Starion FMIC: 300cfm or so - lag and pressure loss

so whats better?
thanks for comin out!

 

[JayHass]

Originally posted by Spoolin'91TSi
How to Install Starion FMIC?

Step 1: Remove from Starion.

Step 2: Toss it in the garbage

Step 3: Get a real intercooler or at least keep the better flowing more efficient stock unit.

 

[UltraImports]

Originally posted by JayHass


Step 1: Remove from Starion.

Step 2: Toss it in the garbage

Step 3: Get a real intercooler or at least keep the better flowing more efficient stock unit.

So how do you really feel about that intercooler?

 

[greyforestgst]

Originally posted by UltraImports


So how do you really feel about that intercooler?

its not THAT bad

 

[RabidDonkeyBoy]

buy Starquest FMIC for less then $20
straighten fins for 4 hours
find welding shop to cut out old pipes from FMIC weld plates over and put larger 2.25 or 2.5 pipes on the endtanks $100-200
spend 8 hours and $120 in couplers and mandrel bends to attach starion FMIC.

if you use the stock pipes on it you are wasting your time

 

[RabidDonkeyBoy]

Originally posted by greyforestgst


its not THAT bad

if you're not concerned about 1/4 mile times, yes its not that bad.

 

[Vinnie]

Here you go, don't listen to anyone else, do what you have to do, I have a Starion Intercooler, I gain .3 seconds on the 1/4 mile, it not might be as good as an aftermarket intercooler, but look at the price difference. Just make sure you change the inlet and outlet to 2 1/4 minimum.

http://www.vfaq.com/mods/icpage.html

 

[P8ntBalla]

isnt the point of drag racing to gat a lower time? why would you want to gain.3 sec.s?

 

[Vinnie]

Gain .3 sec. meaning .3 sec faster in the 1/4 mile

 

[greyforestgst]

Originally posted by RabidDonkeyBoy


if you're not concerned about 1/4 mile times, yes its not that bad.

we can sit here, compare flow charts and bench race for however long youd like to, but my butt dyno knows whats up.

it might flow like shit, but it being in front more than makes up for that.

 

[JayHass]

Originally posted by greyforestgst


we can sit here, compare flow charts and bench race for however long youd like to, but my butt dyno knows whats up.

it might flow like shit, but it being in front more than makes up for that.

Butt dyno eh? Come on man...that's pretty weak don't you think? Bench numbers mean everything when talking turbos and intercoolers and the Starion unit is not good for high boost applications. I'm sorry, this is just the way it is. Production intercoolers aside from commercial diesel applications are pretty much garbage.

If you wish to argue this point you are arguing with an honest to God Garrett Engineer (A lead engineer at that) who does this for a living. He tested the starion IC and it failed for serious performance applications. He is a fellow SE-R owner, and friend. If you want to learn more about turbo's than "Corky Bell" could ever imagine teaching you go to www.se-r-list.org and search for "rob cadle" and your "question".

[Edit:] I did a quicker search myself here are some of Rob's comments on the Starion.

The Starion intercooler is OK, but not that good.

I don't like this intercooler too much. It has nasty end tanks and doesn't really have that high an effectiveness. (About 65% @ 8psi)

Considering a good FMIC is in the 80-90% range...it's not worth it IMO.

You put a starion on your car and are now finding out it's not that good. It's no big deal, don't get all upset and take it personally, we all have made bad choices in buying parts.

 

[RabidDonkeyBoy]

Originally posted by greyforestgst


we can sit here, compare flow charts and bench race for however long youd like to, but my butt dyno knows whats up.

it might flow like shit, but it being in front more than makes up for that.

what i was trying to get @ is, if you plan on going to the track every weekend from april-october, you don't want to waste your time and money on the starion, if you're like me and could care less about drag racing this may be the right cheap FMIC for you.

personally i allready had a moddded starion FMIC on my old 2G GST. the car felt more powerfull then with the SMIC. but i got sick of riced out hondas reving on me @ every stop light this time i plan on keeping it low key with my 1G AWD and going with a custom air-water modded SMIC (w/AC condesor assist ) in place of the battery, less piping = les lag

 

[sidoze]

ive been looking at my options a lot lately and i really like the Supra SMIC i just dont know where to get it and at a good price for that matter.
i dont mind welding/metal fabrication/making custom piping. i know the supra SMIC fits like dick

 

[Nj94TsiAwd]

I have a friend who is parting out his '87 Starion, and I heard that their frontmount intercoolers work perfect for 1g talons. Is this true? And why?

And another question, can you have a 7cm turbine housing w/ a 14b turbo or do you just need 6cm?

 

[greathuskie]

dont bother with it, it flows as much as your stock sidemount does

 

[TsiOcr]

Whats up, Thanx for taken the time to try to answer my question. k here goes. Will a Starion/Conquest Fmic be able to support a 16g turbo? and also does anyone have one on there car? Where could i find the piping for it to fit my car (1990 eagle talon tsi awd)?

 

[Black95TSIawd]

i learned from this forum that starion FMIC is crap. Go with a supra sidemount if u dont wanna dish out the cash for a good fmic.

 

[bottledbird68]

I have a 91 Tsi with a Starion fmic. I don't know if it can support a 16g though, all I have is a 14b running 15psi and I know no matter how hard I beat on it the upper intercooler pipe is always cold when I check it. Not a very scientific test, but an observation nonetheless. As far as buying piping for it? I have never seen anyone offer a kit. I had to cut and reweld both tubes on the endtanks. One pointed at the radiator and the other sat so high it interfered with the hood latch. I could have lowered it a little but I wanted it flush with the bottom of the radiator support. (I drive hard and didn't want to chance ripping the tanks open ) Then I took the car to a buddy's muffler shop and had him bend up some custom piping. I went 2" from turbo to IC and 2" into 2 1/2" to the 2g throttle body elbow I installed. Then I cut up the stock IC hoses to make connections for everything. I used a piece of fuel filler neck hose to connect the throttle body to the UICP. All told I have a front mount IC for a total cash outlay of around $100. Yes it was a pain in the ass but it was cheap and serves my purposes. I'm just trying to see how far I can get on junkyard parts. My advice though, if your not a good fabricator go buy a premade kit. By the time you buy the IC and pay to modify the tubes and have piping bent you could have probably bought one of the cheaper premade kits. Just my .03

 

[TsiOcr]

thanks guys for replying. they have Starion fmic on ebay right now for 150 with the end tanks already modyfied. i am prob gonna get an estimate for piping before i make my decision. well thanks again
see ya

 

[declipse91]

I'm kinda short on cash but I still really want to make my car faster. I've done all the free mods that can be done. I was told I could put an old Starion FMIC on my car to give me more Hp as opposed to the stock SMIC. So my questions are how do I do it how much would it cost and are there any drawback to doing this????

 

[NOSNUSE]

You would be better off getting a supra side mount for about the same price and half of the hassles, there are dozens of posts here just use the search to see what others have to say.Personally I don't think it is worth the hassle of getting the intercooler modded to fit unless you get if for really cheap them it might be okay, but it doesn't flow much better than the stock side mount.




Hope this helps.

 

[wastefuldreamer]

id say get a supra sidemount instead of the starion. Ive heard the supra flows better then the starion FMIC.

 

[declipse91]

So where could I find one and how much would it cost me to get what I needed to get it installed? Thanks for the help guys

 

[declipse91]

ok after reading up and soing a little homework. I found out that its a bi*** to put the Supra SMIC on a LASER and well thats what I have so what do I do now????? What kind of cutting and stuff would I need to actually make it fit in my car???