Front Mounted Intercooler Vs Side Mounted

Hi All,
Was just trying get the Pros and cons of both as it is time to take the front bumper off and was thinking of replacing or putting a new ones on.
Cheers
Dazza

 

pros ---- personal opinion some say they look better some dont care, I think they are easier to get for cheaper prices but its very likely that you get what you pay for.

Cons ---- most require removal of the bumper reinforcer which can be an issue if defected, (legal reasons) this also removes the mounting points for the front fog/driving lights. Also presents a potential heat source for air going through the radiator. looks may attract the Police, because being a Z does not do that already

 

http://www.aus300zx.com/forum/showthread.php?t=259638&highlight=FMIC+SMIC

http://www.aus300zx.com/forum/showthread.php?t=253875&highlight=FMIC+SMIC

http://www.twinturbo.net/nissan/300zx/forums/general/view/1623821/FMIC-or-SMIC.html

http://www.twinturbo.net/nissan/300zx/forums/general/view/2030703/gtgtgt.html

http://www.twinturbo.net/nissan/300zx/forums/general/view/1995528/some-data-points-on-intercooler-efficiency.html

Personal opinion, for 99% of cars it isn't going to make much difference which you decide to go with. I'd go with upgraded SMICs personally as FMIC is more of a **** around with piping / intakes / hacking front bars.

 

Side cant go wrong,do the sums . If that fails google why .
No good sending cool air to boost if only hotter flows through to radiator.
A lot wont like this but you get that here a lot .:br::zlove::rolleyes2:

 

In a modest street car side mount is definitely more sensible but with track work or aftermarket bar and bonnet the front mounts definitely start to see some benefits from increased air flow. It isn't hard to get the engine cooling system to a point where added load from an fmic is negligible.

 

Go with whatever is cheaper and least effort to fit.

 

Agree for the drag strip but for anything circuit racing beyond 1 or 2 laps, unless you are able to completely modify the front end to provide ducted cool air to the radiator and ducting to remove hot air from the fmic away from the radiator, you will have a very hard time keeping your engine temps down.

An intercooler is basically a heat sink. If you're on WOT constantly for lap after lap, the intercooler has very little opportunity to cool. So the radiator behind is receiving hot air lap after lap, severely restricting it's ability to work.

 

Thanks for all the info,
As I don't want to cut into my front end I am going to go with the ducted godspeed smic.
Bolt straight up.
And also it gets hot over here and want engine temps down as much as I can.
Cheers
Dazza

 

My engine temps are fine and seem to be stable with 10-15 minute sessions, if yours is struggling I'd definitely recommend venting the engine bay through the bonnet or guards to improve total air flow. I'm not running a heap of power but Black Beast and the slot car seem to do fine too, they do draw some fresh air through the nose panel but still getting lots through the cooler too.

 

They also have properly set up cars with very developed cooling systems and ducting

Mine is ducted by the front bar, the radiator sees additional cool air through the nose panel

 

True, but they're also some of the highest boosted Zs in the country and I don't think it would be hard to emulate their systems to 70-80% of their efficiency. On the track I'd prefer my water temp to creep than my intake air temp and I figure if a low-power zero RnD set up and High-power well developed cars can both make it work then the people in the middle probably can too.

 

For sub <350rwkw Zeds I'd suggest a twin vertical core HKS style copy if looking for a front

Let's air go around it to radiator without actually passing through mr heat soak

 

Mine is an HKS unit (Genuine ) so that probably does help with water temp, as does the low boost with upgraded turbos (2554r, 10psi).

Have you been watching water temps with the 1000m pulls? How long does it take for the water temps to recover? Getting any soak in the intercooler with 20 seconds of WOT?

 

1st year
420kw@24psi
22.6 seconds
Hks/hks twin vertical core style
Temps normally 80-82
Raised gradually over run to 85

Then when finished and stopped in return line

Temps raised very very steadily to 94 until I turned AC on full hot full fan

2nd year (last year)
420kw@24psi
22.5seconds
Plazmaman/UAS large FMIC
Temps run 79-82
Didn't budge on the run except to 83
When finished and in return que
Didn't go higher than 87 BUT I did spray water injection 3 times across the 1000m braking area before stopping to just try cool things a little

 

When you say stopped is that idling or off? Don't think mine has continued to rise more than 1-2 degrees when pulling in and idling since I ditched the old blocked up radiator, it does climb something around 10 degrees if I turn it off though.

 

Idling stopped with about 5 other cars

 

I'm running side mounts. I'm going off previous experience with a previous racecar and also other fellow competitors both in Improved Production and Production SportsCars.

Unless you are ducting two separate airflows (which from memory Black Beast is and I'm sure the slotcar probably is too), a FMIC will make a significant difference on your cooling system.

Think about it, on a 30deg day, a radiator without fmic is receiving 30deg ambient temp airflow, with a front mount, it's receiving 60-70degs plus air flow. That's going to put even the best cooling system under pressure under extended periods of boost. I used to get 3 or 4 laps in the Supra before the water temp climbed over 100 and I then had to turn on my water sprayers to bring the temp back down.

 

Oh, your profile pic looks like there's a front mount, must just be a stone shield.

Getting the separate air flow is really easy in a Z though with the way the nose is designed, just a vented nose panel and a bit of ply or sheet of plastic.

 

Yeah that's alloy mesh, keep all the rubber marbles out

Nah I'm happy with aftermarket side mounts, should be just as much surface area as a front mount, with a lot less work and maximum airflow to the side mounts and the radiator.