CSmoney28

Is it possible to contact ETS and get enough interest for them to consider doing a front mount intercooler for us ... It would obviously take some modification but should be worth it ... Comment as you see fit.

mrgold35

Would the longer plumbing add to turbo lag for the front mount?

I would think a water/air intercooler in same place would be a little better compared to the air-to-air mounted in the front bumper? A water hose would be easier to run to the front mount radiator and the top mount intercooler would get additional cooling with existing air ducts.

CSmoney28

Well to my knowledge the front mount intercooler you could compare to a cold air intake system ... it would pull in cooler denser air creating more horsepower compared to a short ram air intake which we would compare to a top mount inter cooler ... which would pull in air faster because it had a shorter distance to travel but the air would be warmer and less dense creating less horsepower.

bluecarbonfiber

i think that people forget the fact that the way the grill and under hood plastic work is to help channel the air much like a ram air setup.. a TMIC would be nice but with out upgrading the turbo its not worth it.. just my 2 cents

CSmoney28

The problem with the ram air scoop than channels air to the top mount intercooler is that it is warmer air ... if you put a front mount intercooler you could have the cooler denser air ... plus you could make a larger intercooler than possible with the top mount with more cooling possibilities.

bluecarbonfiber

as you are driving and you stick your hand out the window on a 80 degree day doing 60mph it may feel cool to the touch cause of the wind that is vortexing around your arm same principle with the underhood scoop.. if you look closely it hits the initial channel at the upper part of the grill then breaks under the hood and as its pushing through under there it creates a cooler air travel.. what the heat is coming from is the engine its self.. if you add the intake manifold gasket and do the coolant bypass mod maybe go the extra length and wrap the intercooler with some heat resistant wrap i am sure you could get better results then a FMIC with out the turbo lag..

Slow98teg

I would gladly take a front mount and not care an ounce about miniscule turbo lag. Heat soak sucks plain and simple. But a shelf kit for a front mount will be expensive. There's no easy way of running one without moving stuff around. You could cut the intake plenum and flip it putting the throttle body facing down and do a back door setup. And then run a small radiator.

Tomtwtwtw

So the air that is literally 12 inches higher off the ground that is forced through the TMIC is significantly warmer than the air that would go through a FMIC? The difference is negligible. I think you are not seeing what the actual benefit to a FMIC is - it has nothing to do with colder air flowing across it.

Compared to a FMIC, the top mount is typically has less cooling capacity (it is smaller, cannot absorb as much heat), and is therefore more prone to heat soak on extended pulls. On the positive side, there is far less plumbing and air volume, therefore turbo lag is minimized. Also, the set up in general is lighter and far less complex.

The FMIC has better surface to air ratio allowing the air to be cooled more, but added volume also increases turbo lag. They are also larger for the most part and able to absorb more heat. Extra weight from the larger IC and necessary piping can be an issue, as can routing it. It also reduces airflow across the radiator, so your extra air cooling can potentially come at the expense of engine cooling.

Each have their pros and cons. As someone else mentioned, the cost will exceed the benefit for anyone on a stock turbo. If / when / ever people are able to go aftermarket big turbo, then a decent FMIC set up could be a worthwhile investment. Until then, grab the ETS TMIC and enjoy the Ozzie.

RDX2007

new here, just bought an RDX that will eventually become all mine at the end of the year (it's my wifes car for now).

So no one has upgraded the turbo yet on the RDX. The question that I have with that is this. I've read somewhere that the SH-AWD gets over heated sometimes and shuts off, not knowing if what I read is true, but lets assume it is. With a larger turbo + tuning you could gain the full potential of the engine in horsepower. Would the AWD handle much more power since it was only designed for roughly 200 whp?

Back to the FMIC.

I would see where you're coming from on the FMIC, but look at all factory turbo cars now. The WRX,Mazda Speed, and BMWS all have TMIC for less lag. These cars are designed to ram air into the tmic the same way a fmic works. I am sure the intercooler still gets somewhat heatsoaked from the temperature under the hood, but WRXS are putting down 400+ on a top mount just fine. When I get ready to change mine out I will be getting a a new top mount.

Slow98teg

And evo's, gtr's, bmw's , dsm's, supras, rx7's, 240sx's, srt4's had front mounts or side mounts. The point is heat soak sucks plain and simple. Some cars came with tmic because of space constraints and motor designs. Fmic is better plain and simple. Direct airflow with no heat rising under it wins. Sure you can make good power with a tmic, but do back to back runs on a dyno or track on a hot and humid day and see the difference.

protoRDX

1) you have not made your home work. What makes RDX different from other turbo cars? Very unique turbo system that includes a variable flow valve. That makes changing of turbo very complicated.
2) there are NO issues with SH AWD overheating Period. Except of after Schumi style driving in snow.
3) there are no STIs setups with TMIC and 400 hps. Same with other turbo cars. Why ? Because you cannot programm the ECU for such a high output at such a high IAT.

ivan_baez

I think you can swap the turbo for a larger one as long as you leave the variable turbo electonics aside, but connected to avoid CELs. This worked at least on the VW/Audi turbo cars.

The RDX can accomodate a large FMIC intercooler, on my revious experience with custom tubo setups the FMIC additional piping does not make much difference in regards of lag but it does on reducing intake air temps.

KenB350z

I wish I were in Vancouver, WA where ETS is. They said if I was there they could do it. So if any of you live in Vancouver, WA and are willing to spend the money for the custom work then get your butt up there and get a custom front mount made!!!!!

bluecarbonfiber

im there but i dont want to pay for the custom work to be done.. haha

KenB350z

Man..... Road Trip!

bluecarbonfiber

do it! we will have a mini photoshoot too =)

Revitup

iTrader: (1)

I am close, but they better give me a free one for the loan of my vehicle Besides I already have the TIMC..

KenB350z

Sale it, and talk with them about a project car discount or something.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I live in Vancouver...........BC>..hahaha..
alright done trolling!

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

you west coasters have to field this one. good luck with this however it turns out.

KenB350z

^ Yep!

protoRDX

1) too small turbo and too long piping = lag. Noticeable lag.
2) too many changes need to be done to route the whole thing. I know several examples on RDX's. Some changes will be irreversible.
3) too expensive, considering Air-to-Liquid IC like an option for the same cost with no changes and no moved parts. With the same or very similar efficiency + no lag issue.

And that is why I'm out.

KenB350z

I wouldn't mind a little lag the damn thing comes on to fast. It's custom, any custom work is expensive. Those poor GTR guys have to pay G's for any little thing. I'm in like flynn!!

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

I was thinking about trying to do something this winter in the front mount department. ill keep you in the loop! ill be using cheapo parts as its more for a proof of concept though so don't hate.

bluecarbonfiber

how close are you?? just thought it was marco and i that are in the area.. be nice to have another RDX person =)

youre about 4 hours away.. a nice drive for sure =)


ETS is 25 minutes from my house.. i sent them an email over the winter and they returned stating they dont have time to do any R&D so i guess if you pay them upfront they are game but if its for a greater purpose they just dont care to take the time

KenB350z

Wish I were up there, man.....

bluecarbonfiber

Northwest has lots to offer =) no tornados here either =)

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

so if someone wer to build offer to build a front mount what would we as a community want a down flow or a cross flow?

what about getting a different intake say one that has the TB on the bottom as some of the ones Ken found? would we want to go with a half radiator and have a trap door intake with a down flow intercooler? advantage would be a better flowing intake and slightly shorter piping.

or go with a cross flow intercooler and use the same intake manifold as KenB350z???

or do we see about going with a air to water setup and only have to worry about routing some coolant lines and the placement of a pump and a radiator.

bluecarbonfiber

RV6 was going to do a watercooled top mount intercooler.. not sure what happened to that.. ive seen photos of a guy in russia that did a watercooled intercooler on there RDX.. they stated they ordered it here in the U S and just did a few mods to it to make it work

unless you plan to do over 400hp to the RDX the front mount isnt worth it.. the top mount is the way to go... so think about what it would take to get above 400 hp first.. is my 2 cents

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

ok ill start looking around I know a few places.

KenB350z

I just want to be able to plug in the sensor located on the intercooler. If I can just drill a hole in a front mount, then I'll just go with one of these.

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

time for a transmission upgrade ^ ... man alive I wish I could win the big jackpot and get some serious stuff in the works for our platform. figure out the limits for what we have and what kind of money it would take to get it to live with those kind of power levels. 375-600 whp from the looks of things.

Revitup

iTrader: (1)

Not that close, I'm in Spokane WA. But I love ETS and English Racing for the Evo 9

andrewbenjack

I've seen someone on instagram with a front mount on their RDX

KenB350z

Well copy and paste why don't you....

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

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