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

[wastefuldreamer]

Make which one fit. Im confused.

 

[declipse91]

How do I install the supra SMIC on my playmouth laser???

 

[ProStreetOnline]

Originally posted by declipse91
How do I install the supra SMIC on my playmouth laser???

Well, it will take come work to get it in there, and you may have to custom fab some brackets, but it IS possible. I rememebr seeing a good how-to on the web somewhere, but can't find it now. The next time we do it to a customer car, we'll have to do a write up for you guys.

 

[Oreopride18]

Laser? As in 1g?

www.vfaqs.com

go to the "intake" section. 1g Supra SMIC. Full nice write up on how it's done.

I'm debating whether to do the SMIC or wait it out for a FMIC...

 

[declipse91]

thanks that would help a lot if you could give me a step by step on how its done.

 

[DeezNutsForYou]

pretty sweet setup, I would like to run the starion with the stock sidemount if thats possible. Have 2 1/4 pipes put on both ic's. That should perform pretty well I think. I'm just not sure how to run the pipes.

 

[autronicDSM]

It's spelled thick not think.

Originally posted by FastRthenU
Well this weeks turbo said a few things that I have been trying to get answered now for a while. I have wanted to know how important it is to get a intercooler that is 3.5 in think. Because all the good intercoolers out there seem to be that think.

But what the said is that surface area is better then thinkness. which makes sense. I want to buy a intercooler that is tube and fin. It is only 3 inches think. But its 24x12x3(core) so it has a big surface area, but is not that think. Also they said with tube and fin core a 3.5 inch think core is only 2.87 inches. So i guess a 3 inch core is 2.37 inches think. Is this going to be good enough?

Sorry to hi-jack the thread. But i can answer you question very easily.
Indy GOOD starion BAD

Definitely not worth it.

pretty sweet setup, I would like to run the starion with the stock sidemount if thats possible. Have 2 1/4 pipes put on both ic's. That should perform pretty well I think. I'm just not sure how to run the pipes.

 

[DeezNutsForYou]

what about running the stock ic with the startion fmic both in series. If you modded all the pipes on the endtanks I think it would do a good job for a great price.

 

[13secGST]

it might cool but you would have massive pressure drop and be overworking your turbo. Besides I think that it is just better to have one intercooler...i've never seen any race car (indy, touring, drag...) with two but I'll leave it to you to show me.

 

[DSMeclipse4G63]

so your saying that a big t28 killer all the supporting fuel exhaust and intake mods and some internal work done that a starion with 2 1/4 end tanks wouldnt be good enough?

 

[kpt4321]

Originally posted by GreenGSX
Here is a picture of my Starion FMIC setup with the bumper off the car. I had 2 1/4" pipes, that I got from RRE, tig welded on. With a big16G I was able to get 12.7 at 109mph out of it. Now I'm not saying it was easy to go that fast and the core does have its limits. I had to use water injection and I hosed down the core after each pass at the strip.

Thank you for proving that the starion FMIC does suck.

With a stock 160k 14b, a stock SMIC, stock rubber intake pipes, stock injectors, stock MAF, and no fuel control, my car has done 12.8 @ 108. This really isn't even that impressive, I am friends with several people who have done the same or better. If you're running the same times with a big 16g, FMIC, and supporting mods, then something is slowing you way the hell down. It certainly isn't the 16g, since those have done 11's, so it must be the Starion FMIC.

The Starion IC is *maybe* a feasible upgrade over the stock SMIC for someone who just wants a little more cooling and a little less heat soak. I's about as efficient as our SMIC cores, just with a little more surface area and a little more mass.

The Spearco core of the ICR intercooler is just not comparable to the core of the Starion FMIC. It rules, get one.

...Kyle T.

 

[DeezNutsForYou]

I still think that if you modified both ic's that you would only have around a 2 to 3 psi drop which is about the same as the stock ic. So with the same amount of pressure drop, and twice the volume for cooling, it has to be pretty efficient. You would get no heat soak, and it would have the same amount of piping as any other fmic.

 

[DSMeclipse4G63]

I know an after market ic isnt in the same ball park as anything stock, but when I went to a 1g ic from my 2g it was like night and day. So I figure it cant be too bad if it is a fmic and flows a little better and has alot more surface area. So with all that in mind wouldnt the starion flow enough for 300-350 right before it hit its limit? I just think its a little underated but still not as good as spearco or irc.

 

[DeezNutsForYou]

deffinetely it doesn't compare with a spearco, but neither does the price. You can get a starion for less than a hundred bucks and probably about 50 to weld on 2 1/4 pipes.

 

[DSMeclipse4G63]

I can get one for 50-120 on ebay ion good condition and I can do all the welding at work with help from vfaq.

 

[DeezNutsForYou]

is it hard to weld on bigger pipes yourself. Both the stock sidemount and the starion ic are both made from aluminum right. And I've heard that its hard to weld with that because it will blow through so easily.

 

[DSMeclipse4G63]

yeah there is a speacial type of weld you need to use...and the people at work know how to do it(I think) so I am going to hope for the best.

 

[draculia]

if you're gonna go through the trouble of modding an intercooler to work, then take a little more trouble and just buy a core and make endtanks for it. you can pick up a 20x8x3.5 pwr core for 320 or an 18x6x3.5 for 270. if you can have people tig weld for you, just get some 1/8" aluminum sheet, and fab up some endtanks. its really not that hard, the worst part is welding. the raw materials are cheap, its all labor cost. i'll be going this route with my friend's crx. i also want to do this

for my eclipse. i want to compare the pwr to the spearco that's on now. give myself a little bar/plate tube/fin war. or you could go one ebay and pick up one of the spearco assemblies that boostcontrollers sells. i got one of their 24x8 units, as did a friend of mine. it cost me 400, and their smaller ones are less. just thought i'd throw out another suggestion. my friend with the crx originally wanted to go the starion route till i almost hit slammed his nuts with a hammer.

 

[gsxstac]

the way i see it, the people that do things half assed always pay the price for it, every once in awhile u see people that did stuff for cheap and got away with it, if ur never gonna upgrade just get a starion and get water injection, or get the co2 sprayer, or use that stuff with ur stock sidemount, if its costs over 150 to do the fmic i dont think sit worth it. just save up, spring up the extra cash and get the real deal one. my stillen bar and plate never got heat soaked at all but i never got to really get crazy with it, i only ran 12.7 with that one, i was gonna run 11's with it just to show everyone that u dont need a huge ass fmic to get awesome times. go on ebay and get a small spearco fmic with cores on it for like 340, get the piping made or get it from victory performacnce for 450 which includes all the t-bolt clamps and connectors and use that, for less then 800 u got a huge fmic with short routed piping, t bolt clamps and everything, that or the irc is the bast way to go i think

 

[coltboostin]

I have acsess to a strion MAF and intercooler. Is the MAF an upgrade for the 1g and is the intercooler worth swaping oup the SMIC? I know it is a front mount, but is their a mass pressure drop, and is it really more efficient?
_________________

 

[greyforestgst]

the cooler helped a tad bit. id opt to just go with a bigger one right off the bat though.

no idea about the maf.

 

[DrZiplok]

The 1G MAF is an upgade for the Starion, so no. As for the Starion FMIC - it's not a great upgrade, and it requires a lot of work to get it to fit.

If I were you, I'd pass on both.

 

[coltboostin]

Thanks I apreciate it

 

[halik]

Alrgiht im trying to hook up my starion,
and the kid at ramchargers (DSMRaver on this board) told me the starion fmics are useless. Im still thinking the starion core cools better since its wider and unobstructed by body work. Any opinions?

 

[crashed97tsi]

I've also heard the starion isn't worth the hassle. It just doesn't flow enough and it has small endtanks if I remember correctly. You could go with a supra sidemount or just by a fmic core on ebay and make the pipes yourself.

later