Stop the voices in my head: FC RX7 Content

So I am in the office, trying the work and all of the sudden some random thought comes into mind:

“Should I go front mount intercooler or keep the top mount intercooler on the FC?”

Mind you the car is not even on the road yet.

The JDM motorset that I got has a upgraded turbo (compressor is slightly bigger) and an upgraded ECU. From what I can gather it block has been rebuilt, the motor sounds strong, there is no shaft play in the turbo. I checked the Japanese tuners website and it says that anything over 0.9 bar is no good.

So I’m trying to figure out should I go front mount or keep the top mount. The car is only for autoX and weekend, maybe track later on…

What say you?

What's the difference in cost & time to go with the front mount? Does this change add any significant time between now and when the car is on the road?

Will you kick yourself a year from now if you stick with the top mount? What about in 3 years?

Top mounts suck. Period. Ditch it.

You've gotta go front mount. I've got the plumbing for mine. Need to find a core. Wife says I can't start that project until the Chevy II is running.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda-Rx7-RX-7-FMIC-Intercooler-Kit-Turbo-M-Spec-New-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZModelQ3aRXQ2d7QQhashZitem20b4bb9c31QQitemZ140471147569QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Ebay Intercooler?

Nay?

Nis14 wrote: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda-Rx7-RX-7-FMIC-Intercooler-Kit-Turbo-M-Spec-New-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZModelQ3aRXQ2d7QQhashZitem20b4bb9c31QQitemZ140471147569QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories Ebay Intercooler? Nay?

That should do fine, though you'd be able to piece together something for cheaper if you've got time.

Until you start pushing serious power, an intercooler is pretty much an intercooler. Ebay is fine.

im not sure there is room upfront for a front mount IC?

If your looking for power from the motor i hope your not running the stock radiator or oil cooler set up.

it gets kinda tight up front for another heat exchanger

Just my $0.02

There's room. It's not an uncommon mod on FC's.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: That should do fine, though you'd be able to piece together something for cheaper if you've got time. Until you start pushing serious power, an intercooler is pretty much an intercooler. Ebay is fine.

So why can't a top mount be made to transfer heat as efficiently as a front mount? With some clever ducting you should be able to get to air to go across the intercooler. Or remove the a/c evaporator serving the interior and place in front of the intercooler, and wham-o, you have a mechanically-cooled intercooler.

So let me get this straight - you want to run the A/C compressor to cool the intercooler?

I like the top mount. Nice short piping = quicker boost response. The IC also gets a lot of fresh air directed right at it from the big frickin' hood duct. Also with the FMIC, you get less air flow to the radiator and a/c so coolant temps can be compromised.

I have run both on my FC and FD. I now run a custom V-mount IC and rad setup on the FD. Excellent setup since both IC and Rad get direct, fresh air from the nose of the bumper.

RossD wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: That should do fine, though you'd be able to piece together something for cheaper if you've got time. Until you start pushing serious power, an intercooler is pretty much an intercooler. Ebay is fine.

So why can't a top mount be made to transfer heat as efficiently as a front mount? With some clever ducting you should be able to get to air to go across the intercooler. Or remove the a/c evaporator serving the interior and place in front of the intercooler, and wham-o, you have a mechanically-cooled intercooler.

Heatsoak.

The fact that you're told you can't safely push more than 0.9bar through it speaks volumes. One, that it's too small to support any real power, and two, the location is pretty much exactly opposite of where you want it.

In reply to Nis14:

If you've got the time and skills, go front mount and get an aluminum hood from a convertible. Just make sure you leave enough airflow for your oil cooler and radiator. A workaround might be getting an electric fan from a V8 car and wiring it into your car will move some serious air, just build a real shroud for it. I want to say the Panther platforms had some good ones, but it is escaping me at the moment. Whatever the one I'm thinking of is, it would try to fly away if you got it spinning while it wasn't mounted.

86-87 Sport, 88 GTU, and 89-90 GTUs models also had the non-scooped aluminum hood. My JDM turbo-swapped 86 Sport model has the aluminum hood and already came with an FMIC installed, but the stock radiator was toast. If you go FMIC, get a good-quality radiator to compensate for the FMIC being in front of it (I will be installing a Koyorad N-Flow) and an e-fan to suck in more air. The two-speed e-fan from a 1st-gen Ford Taurus 3.8L moves a butt-ton of air, and the e-fan from a Lincoln Mark VIII is a monster. Make sure you upgrade the alternator, since the Taurus and Mark VIII fans have a lot of amp draw (33amp and over 50amp, respectively). I will be installing a 100amp alternator from an FD, but I've heard that may not be enough for a street car with the e-fan. A 130amp Taurus alternator fits with a little modification.

In reply to RexSeven: Ah, that was it. The Mark VIII. Thanks.