Front Mount InterCooler

 

FMIC is better then a SMIC. With a SMIC you get minimal performance.

SMIC = Side Mount Inter Cooler.

 

FMIC is better then a SMIC. With a SMIC you get minimal performance.

SMIC = Side Mount Inter Cooler.

While this might be true for the S13s,14s, or 15s, this type of generalization is not correct for other platforms. But he is correct with the acronyms...

 

FMIC is Front Mount InterCooler
SMIC is Side Mount InterCooler, which comes stock with the SR20 and will give you worse performance then an intercooler mounted on the front behind your bumper.

 

SMIC comes stock on any turbocharged motor. Depending on the company your getting the motor from they might throw it in. Most don't.

 

o i didnt know that, i was sure of it though with the SR cuz my brother did the SR swap on his 240

 

has anyone seen a top or v mount IC on a 240? I love the concept and it looks badass on my MS3, too bad about heat soak and all.

 

Numerous amount of v mounts have been done on KAs and SRs to our cars.

 

Side mount intercooler does not always mean reduced performance. It really depends on many things like, boost, size of the turbo, volume that needs to be pressurized ect. The quick and dirty of it is that in many applications (My Mazdaspeed Protege for example), a propperly sized side mount intercooler can provide more than enough cooling for the charge air, with a faster spool from the turbo. However emphasis must be placed on the part where I said PROPPERLY SIZED. A massively oversized front mount can be just as detrimental to performance as a heatsoak ridden undersized unit. So bassicaly you have to sit down and do the math to propperly size your intercooler.

Basicaly, smaller volume for the turbo to pressurize= faster spool, and greater responce, as long as the cooling effect is proficient.

 

amen benflagg, preaching to the choir. My buddies STi is a top mount with the stock turbo but the power band is that of a truck (serious downlow torque). I would love to get a lightweight cooling piping with liquid cooling integrated into it and a heat exchanger mounted elsewhere. I know the weight is a little higher but the power/response versus weight could be calculated and very well could be worth it on a street car (i.e. not super weight conscience and more worried about every day fun rather than max extraction of power.

 

smic = garbage. I don't know why people invest in them when fmic is more efficient. Been proven. End of story.

 

You are dead wrong here, sorry. It all depends on the set up,and what you are trying to do with it man.

 

for the most part i agree with benflagg but i still would never invest in a SM when given the "right size" a front mount will help cosiderably compared to a SM of the same size. when you get a rediculously big FM with a smaller turbo is when the FM would be less efficiant just because its keeping air from reaching the radiator.

 

Im not trying to defend just SMIC's here, Im just saying that the most benificial inter-cooler setup all depends on what setup you are going to utilize, and what you want to do with it. Be it air to air, air to water, fmic, or smic. There are so many different factors that come into play that there is no way you can make a blanket statement saying "this setup is the best".

 

there is no way you can make a blanket statement saying "this setup is the best".

when you take into consideration that most of the people who have SR's have a pretty similar setup, you can say that.

 

Tmic Ftw.

 

FMIC are NOT always the most best setup but may be the easiest, cheapest, most available or whatever the case may be. Just because most SR owners do it doesn't mean it's the best it simply means it's the most popular

 

omg..really? are you going to continue on about this?

remove the diapers, dude.

people who go SR and keep the sidemount usually swap it for an FMIC. after swapping to said FMIC, guess what, they gain power. imagine that.:greddy:

please..everyone..let this thread die.. :chainsaw

 

Well on all s series nissans:
There is no room for a top mount
The room available in the side mount location means you have to use a restricted size core.
Vmount setups are expensive
Plenty of space, available mounting points and simplicity of intercooler piping means front mount is the most valuable choice.

 

V-mounts are expensive because they are rare, production and reproduction creates a lower cost item. I agree the front mount makes the most sense for many s series but that there are other viable choices too.

 

I am upgrading from a FMIC to a SMIC after reading this thread.

 

I think it would be cool to run an air to water setup.......Some day. I do like my side mount setup on my MSP, it lags much less than the front mount I had on there, but than again that was a transverse mounted motor, so the piping is real short, and simple.

 

and it's a stock motor. not pushing a lot of boost. that defeats the purpose of having an intercooler that can cool a larger charge of air.

 

Fmic>smic