What is the difference between the greddy v-spec intercooler kit and the greddy r-spec intercooler kit? I heard that the v-spec intercooler kit is not as good quality as the r-spec. Just wondering if anyone has one and what their opinion of it is.
VSPL will be fine for around 350-370 hp after that a RSPL is a better choice. RSPL has a fin instead of bar or somthing like that, RSPL will get your air colder with less pressure drop. VSPL will be fine if you dont have big plans for the motor (ie 350 hp).
VSPL is more prone to heat soak and doesn’t look as sexy as the RSPL. I, however might be biased because I have the RSPL.
Thanks, what exactly is heat soaked? Right now I don’t plan on having alot of horsepower (although I might change my mind later on) but I still want a good quality intercooler. Which do you think will be a better choice?
Heat soak is when your intercooler absorbs heat from the engine bay and negates the cooling effect.
If I can ask, if you’re not planning for high horsepower/high boost, why buy a big intercooler? It’s going to make you slower. If you’re only pushing 7psi out of a small turbo like a T25/T28 … the pressure drop from a big FMIC like that is going to be a step backwards.
Werd up 5 zigen bredrigen. RSPL has a better core design, and IIRC its
got a slightly larger core too… Call me silly but I think signal is using an
RSPL with custom piping and plugged the ends for their topmounts on
the drift twins.
lol
Which part do you disagree with? Or the whole statement?
I didnt have much time to explain myself, but even a huge intercooler like the RSPL will make a significant Temp difference even with only runing 5 - 7lbs of boost. It wont be as significant as when you are making 15lbs plus but its better than a SMIC or not having a IC at all. And honestly who with a 240 with a turbo plans to run 5 - 7lbs for ever? 
I didn’t word myself very well …
The pressure drop of a huge intercooler like that on a turbo that’s pretty much out of it’s efficiency (I don’t even know what turbo we’re discussing here lol)
But for example … the T25 runs out at about 12 psi … anything over that is generating too much heat to really make any more power.
And at that it’s only pushing 400cfm or so of air. If you try and run that turbo at max efficiency, you’re going to lose 2 or even 3 psi of boost … so even though your motor is seeing 12 psi, that poor T25 is trying to push out 16 psi, generating a lot more heat, and shortening its life.
On a well-built turbo, or something like a ceramic T28 (which is still only going to push 450cfm) this becomes less and less of a problem.
And intercooler efficiency is very dependant on speed and airflow … if you’re taxing your smaller turbo hard to just get it into boost, it will be hot for a while before it even starts to be cooled …
but again, this is IMHO …
Oh, and good on the signal guys … top mount ICs are garbage.
well, v-mount intercoolers being garbage is ur opinion as well, but anyway. I like the RSPL, had it, will get it again for my next 240, no question about it.
Where can I buy this midget?
Top mounts are bling bling … like on the Sti and such … ever notice how the race cars and rally cars don’t keep them there?
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Modern hood scoops don’t work. Once the air underneath the hood is pressurized, no air will come through them unless it is relieved and can go somewhere else. Air by itself doesn’t cool, it has to pass through the fins to be effective. If you don’t have a pathway for air to come out, it won’t come in. Take a look at any serious race prepped car that actually has aero invested into it, they relieve the hoods, and bring air in through the chin.
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add to the fact that a top mount puts the intercooler where all the heat from your motor is going to go. Heat goes up right? A serious turbo car will have underhood temperatures close to 500ºF at times. So you have an intercooler that’s not getting any fresh air, and is hot.
Top mounts are space savers … IMHO of course.
Well, i will have to agree with you that TOP mount isn’t suitable for everycar, and the points that you have mentioned are very good for TOP mount. BUT no one has been talking about TOP mount here, we are talking about V-MOUNT intercoolers (because that’s what Signal guys have).
The main reason why people do it, is to shorten the piping length, for less pressure drop, plus they are normally insulated from the valve cover so heat soak is minimal. Obviously you need to let the air out from the hood after it goes through the intercooler, no one deny’s it. I would want to try to do a V-mount, except it won’t fit with the engine that i want to put in, so i am going to have to go front mount just like before.
Are you for real?
Top mounts are bling bling? Sure they aren’t as efficient, but they still work well. Sure race cars and rally cars move to front mount, because they are more efficient, but that doesn’t mean that top mount is useless.
“Modern hood scoops don’t work” Bull shit. I guess if they were 20 years older on a Camero feeding a 6 pack they’d work?
Your theory about the air getting pressurized and having no where to go is crap too. WTF do you think happens to the air that goes through the rad? It exits the engie bay around the transmission (a low pressure area). Any air coming through a hood scoop, and a top mount will follow the exact same path.
Sure heat goes up if the air isn’t influenced by anything else… In this case you’re wrong, because it is being influenced by the fact it’s under pressure (provided the car is moving, if it’s sitting still your heat soak thoery has merit). Teh air does pass through teh top mount IC,a nd teh rad under pressure, then exits engine bay through low pressure are around trans under car.
Of course you did stat that this is your humble opinion… although I’m sure a lot of readers don’t know that IMHO means In My Humble Opinion… .
-Martin.
^^^ shoulda used a koolatron
Im not a fan of top mounts, although I think V mounts work well. They
have shorter piping, thus giving better throttle response and less pressure
drop. Unlike top mounts, they do have somwehre for the air to go. Sure
they probably arent as efficient as a front mount, but in a motorsport like
drifting where throttle response can be crucial, they seem to suit the goal
of the sport. The air on a V mount does have somewhere to go… It comes
through the front bumper, is ducted through the ic, and then vented out
the hood on a proper setup.
And if anything is bling bling it would be a FMIC because you SEE it from
outside the car.
Heh, the only six pack you’ll find in a Camaro would be in the driver behind the wheel.
I mentioned old cars for a reason, not the scoop, but the different locations between an airbox and a carburetor. And the size of the scoops in those days (and no not a Cree-maro hyuk hyuk real cars, not dressed up cars, like Hemi Dart scoops, or Max Wedge) coupled with the fact the cars weren’t aerodynamic at all played a huge part.
And I’m talking almost 40 years ago … not 20. The 84 Camaro was hardly a bastion of performance.
But it’s ok, don’t believe me, or look at race cars, where you can see Aero being applied as a science.
Sawzalling a big hole in the hood of your Civic won’t make you faster … ducting a chin spoiler up to your airbox will.
Yes, air that hits your rad does follow the line as you mentioned towards the tranny. Air through a hoodscoop kind of has something in the way for the same path - ie the firewall.
And you kind of prove my point about top mounts being bling … “Top mounts are bling bling? Sure they aren’t as efficient”
Why else would you install something that is less efficient?
An FMIC is bling only on cars that don’t need them lol and man I’ve seen a few of those.
No idea how the above in any way defends your statement “modern hood scoops don’t work”… You’d think with all the “aero” work that goes in to cars today they’d have figured out how to improve the efficency of a hood scoop since that days of the Hemi Dart. Besides the use of the hood scoop of yesteryear isn’t even relavent to todays discussion…
Dart Hemi - air scoop fed air directly into the carbs
STI - air scoop ducts air through a intercooler
We weren’t discussing race cars, we were discussing hood scoops. And trust me I’ve looked at lots of race cars, in fact I’ve gotten a lot closer than looking.
Again, we weren’t discussing a hood scoop for induction…
Hmm… interesting. Perhaps I’m giving you a little more credit than you deserve… Initially I thought you had some idea what you were talking about. Have you ever even seen a top mount intercooler, installed or otherwise? On my TurboII Rx7 the TMIC has aluminum that directs the flow of the air overteh top of the motor towards the trans - yes that’s real close to teh firewall, but on every car I’ve ever seen there’s a significan’t amount of room between the engine/trans and the firewall. Certainly nothing like the air tight seal you elude to.
I guess I need an official translation of Bling Bling. My understanding was it basically meant something that was there just for show.
Rx7 TII, WRX, STi, top mounts certainly aren’t just there for show.
Hmmm… I though you were arguing that all turbo cars must use FMIC’s? Unless you’re referring to the fake FMIC’s for show… in which case we finally agree on something.
-Martin.
Actually my original point was putting massive FMICs on itty bitty turbos will result in a pressure drop which will lose a few PSI of boost, and shorten your turbos lifespan.
Then I applauded the Signal guys from going from a top mounted IC to FMIC.
Whether or not you’re ducting air for induction or cooling is irrelevant. You’re bringing air into the inside of the hood from outside.
And as for a total seal, it doesn’t need to be enen remotely a total seal. Ever try to open the door in your house on a windy day and found it really hard to open it?
Or how about this, driving in your car, unroll your window a bit (smokers will know this one) where is the air going? Out … not in. Open 2 windows, and the air comes in.
I’ve been very close to race cars too, and was along for the ride to test aero on said car. If you’ve ever wondered where the air goes in/around/under a Chrysler Daytona … lol I can tell you.
Air doesn’t usually like to make right angle turns. And as the Hemi Dart, (and a lot of Subaru clowns that glued on their WRX scoops found out) at high speeds, the air is not going in and down, in fact going into the lip and up, tearing scoops off at the top end of the 1/4. And I can guarantee you, even in a 426 powered dart, there was more room behind the block and firewall.
It was a pretty simple statement that’s getting way off topic.
My opinion (in fact In My Humble Opinion) as I did with my car, I would match IC size to output of your turbo, and put it in the chin of the car where air is already going. And at speed ducting air under the car will pull the front end down, rather than lift it as a scoop + wind hitting the firewall will.
Trying to defeat the slipstream of a modern car (the point I was trying to illustrate with old cars) with a little scoop might direct some air over the intercooler sure, maybe even enough to cool it isn’t the most efficient route.
But if you’re building a car for power and performance, why cut corners? My point was that TMICs have a performance disadvantage to a proper FMIC.
IMHO (to beat the term further to death) use what’s best suited to your application.
And intercoolers for show I meant either those people that polish oil/tranny coolers, or stencil Sparco on their coolers. Or my idiot neightbour with the turbo CRX. He bought the “turbo kit” off ebay for a ton of money. And he ended up with a used T2, log style manifold, and an intercooler the size of his hood.