Front Mounted

Discussion in 'Modifications & DIY how-to' started by Timberwolf0924, Jan 25, 2008.

  1. Whats the best front mount intercooler, I have a 04 sti with a turboxs exaust, turbo back, and a cold air intake. I'm lookin to get around 450-500 hp by the end of the year. I'm selling my blazer and bike(blown engine) to get the funds for it.

    Any reviews or personal experince advice is appriciated.

    Thanks,
    Dustin

    *forgot to say I have a turboxs manual boost controller*
     
  2. nsvwrx

    nsvwrx Active Member

    ... soooo why do you have a MBC.. get rid of the MBC.. SAVE UR ENGINE.
    Get some real engine management before you get anything else.
     
  3. SUBY_RUE

    SUBY_RUE Member

    ^^ access port is your best bet, I love mine :) A freind of mine did a bunch of mods to his sti before he got any kind of EM, and results... blown motor :(

    As far as frontmount, take your pic. There all pretty good.

    MBC=byby motor... do your self a favor and let you ecu control your boost. When you get a tune, the tuner wil up your boost to the level in wich your motor will best perform.

    Hope this helps a little.
     
  4. Jake

    Jake Active Member

    engine management first.

    and not that you can't slap a front mount on it now, its not really gonna gain you anything unless you had a bigger turbo that needed it.
     
  5. Alrighty...

    This thread is now about engine management..

    I hear AEM has a good one that runs vai lap-top, that one any good. Do I need a laptop or does it come with one.. and whats the level of install?

    Thanks in advance
     
  6. calmnothing

    calmnothing Shlimp Flied Lice Supporting Member

    You can frontmount your stock VF-39 but it wont net you very much. It'd be best to save your money and do a big turbo and frontmount all at once. Or better yet, get a kit from Ultimate Racing or any of the other companies out there. The ease of install from the shop is going to save you labor.
     
  7. Jake

    Jake Active Member

    AEM EMS is VERY complex. would only probably be needed if you had multiple things to monitor, or wanted to monitor everything on a regular basis (i.e. you were consistently tracking your car). the tuning involved with it would probably run into DAYS not just hours, because you would have Meth/nitrous/water injection, big turbo, built block, etc.

    for a daily driver i think most people one here would recommend you get COBB's AccessPort V2. its very simple, the tuners love to tune with it, and is great in case you ever lost your tune for some reason. not to mention their technical support is top notch from what i've heard from multiple users/tuners.
     
  8. SUBY_RUE

    SUBY_RUE Member

    http://www.cobbtuning.com/products/?id=3256

    Here is a link to the cobb access port, IMO the most reliable EM, this is the v.2.
    You can still find the v.1 used here around the forum or on the other forums as well.

    Fro the price of the AEM you could get the AP and a tune and possably more IMO.
     
  9. Alex

    Alex Community Founder Staff Member

    In order to obtain those types of numbers you will need to invest in engine management, a new turbo, huge fmic, methanol (maybe).

    Budget carefully, its going to be a fun and long project! :)
     
  10. nsvwrx

    nsvwrx Active Member

    honestly anyone on the forum will tell you to do EM first. because well... ther RIGHT@

    access port is by far the best.. and the funny thing is.. its cheap!

    that should be everyones first mod!
     
  11. Cool_____

    Cool_____ Banned

    You have a 2004? Ummmm upgrade your pistons!
     
  12. slowwrx

    slowwrx Supporting Member

    AEM is great if you live in a county that doesn't require emmisions testing. But since you have an STI there isn't an AEM available for it yet. You would have to go with a HYDRA which is still a very nice ecu.

    Matt
     
  13. WJM

    WJM Banned

    Why? they are the same from 10/01/2002 production date to 06/30/2007 (End of G11 production aka GD chassis).
     
  14. WJM

    WJM Banned

    Its a long and expensive road unless you jump right into a known set up that will produce those numbers.

    You will NOT need a standalone to reach those power levels.
    AEM does not make a Plug and Play box for the USDM STi, yet. The Hydra is PnP but it will not allow you to pass OBD2 emissions testing.
    Go with the APv2 or EcuTek. I would recommend the APv2 as it is more end user friendly and has better support these days.

    Perrin or APS FMIC.
    A stock location turbo, FP Red w/3inch inlet will make 500~550 at the wheels.
    Use the APS 3 inch inlet pipe.
    The APS 70mm intake is nice...but you WILL need a larger than stock MAF housing, so the cold air you have now will not suffice. The APS 70mm will get the job done.
    TGV deletes (I would port and polish the housings, take out the separation plate and leave the rod out and seal up the ports that the rod was once in. With the AP, the TGV codes can be disabled).
    Larger injectors: you will need 740cc or better.
    Walbro 255 fuel pump
    Looks like you've already got the TBE.
    AVC-R for boost control, or use the stock ECU-control system with an upgraded solenoid (will require a new MAP sensor and re-calibration of the ECU tables to accomplish).

    That stuff will net about 400 at the wheels, IIRC. You will need race gas or Methanol injection to make it to the 450~550 range. The SMC trunk mount-Spec C tank kits are super nice. You can run a water/meth mix, pure meth, or pure water. The mix makes good power and so does pure meth.

    I may be missing a few smaller bits, but thats the major stuff.

    You can do PnP manifolds w/crossover pipe and a nice uppipe for a few more hp/tq and better spool.

    Have Top Speed - either Doug or SS tune it. It'll be reliable and safe.
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2008
  15. Kokopelli

    Kokopelli Active Member

    I got 500whp using the el-cheapo SSAutochrome front mount.

    After selling your tmic to a wrx owner you will only be about 100-150 out of pocket.
     
  16. Cool_____

    Cool_____ Banned


    I heard the 2004 EJ257 pistons were inferior to the 2005+ ones.
     
  17. WJM

    WJM Banned

    Funny how they are the same part number....

    I am 100% sure that those 'early broken pistons' were people with MBC's on otherwise stock cars...
     
  18. Doug@DBW Motorsports

    Doug@DBW Motorsports Active Member

    FMIC will make less power on an STi with the stock VF39 than the factory TMIC.

    FWIW.
     
  19. keeganxt

    keeganxt Active Member

    Yes AP rulez...the new v2 has so many new features and is infinitely upgradable via firmware upgrades
     
  20. Cool_____

    Cool_____ Banned

    Quoted KitAuto on Nasioc::::

    I heard the same thing. So I started to compare the pistons. There are slight differences visually with the dish and skirts IIRC. I have a set of both in my garage. I'll mic out the ring lands if you'd like. As far as strength... I got nothing.

    The 04 pistons have been superceded to the 05+ pistons, but they were originally different. The most apparent was the addition of anti friction coating on the skirts, a different texture on the crown surface and a very slightly different dish.
     
  21. WJM

    WJM Banned

    They are all the same, 2004~2007 production date.

    Funny how SUBARU never changed the part number.

    SUBARU does not hesitate an bit to change PN's. I'm sure they LOOK for excuses to change part numbers.

    Anyways, from beginning of USDM STi production until the end of 2007 model year, the pistons do not change part number.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    No supercessions, no changes other than price back on March 11th of 2003.
     
  22. crashtke

    crashtke Member Supporting Member

    Well I know the block I have now broke a piston on stock turbo, stock tune and everything. It is from a 2007 model STi
     
  23. WJM

    WJM Banned

    Well...when you run the car on a race track at 16psi and 14.7:1 AFR...something is going to break.

    2007 STi stock rom FTL.
     
  24. hmmm, alot of information here..

    thanks everyone..

    didn't mean to make it look rude for not thanking people

    :wavey:
     
  25. revel

    revel Member

    sorry to hijack the thread, but its kinda along the same topic:

    i am buying a fmic. have read multiple gc owners having gd fmic kits. so which ones can retain the foglights......i guess on a bugeye since their fogs are about the same size and location....forgot to say this would be installed on a gc. read the ebay kits are acceptable, but require some modification to the pipes for proper fitment.......and the immediate 180degree pipe off the turbo seems not the smartest route.

    also: top mount oil cooler?? yes or no. aware i would need to fab one up....dont think the b-line one would match up to the intake mounting points or hood clearance.
     
  26. integroid

    integroid Supporting Member

    SSAUTOCHROME can be had for like $300 shipped. That is your best/cheapest route. I have heard some good reviews on the WBR kits it you want to spend closer to $1K
     
  27. revel

    revel Member

    Wbr????



    edit: found them on iwsti.com. the piping is so clean compared to the ebay kits, but the core looks kinda slim for a gc.
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2008
  28. nicad

    nicad Yes I am a troll

    read a lot of horror stories with WBR. YMMV

    Will: so if someone sees a visual difference between pistons, you're saying they MUST be the same since subaru has the same part number? come on, now.... :) they may be the same design, but a slightly different alloy, machining, etc. it's all largely anecdotal until someone takes some measurements, though
     
  29. 07Ltd#767

    07Ltd#767 The Neighborhood Drunk

    bumping an old thread...and I don't care about the pistons ;)

    is it worth the extra $7-900 to get the perrin over their competitors? I've read the fin density is much better, and the aluminum piping (though fragile) helps much more with heatsoak, but is it worth it?

    Money aside (in practicality terms), is a $1250 intercooler better than a $300 AND WHY? I'm looking for answers such as better loss in pressure drop (i know perrin is ~1/4 @ 20psi, as opposed to some who are up to as much as 1+), fin density, fitment, keeping foglights, plus anything else I may have missed.
     
  30. undrgrndrdr15

    undrgrndrdr15 Active Member

    something too is what if you use a good intercooler ( perrin, aps, blah blah blah) and say use a universal piping kit or piping that is not in a kit.... that smart or stupid?
     
  31. integroid

    integroid Supporting Member

    I have an ebay FMIC on my car and so does Mike. Give me two weeks and I should let you know if the ebay FMIC is the weak link in my rotated setup. Mike made 500WHP with his SSAC kit.
     
  32. Mike@TTR

    Mike@TTR Active Member

    Good intercooler with generic piping means you will probably run into fitment issues and have to adjust. Not a big deal but you might have to buy additional piping to make it fit. Also some of the generics do not allow you to retain fogs. Just choose carefully and do some research on it. For what it is worth even SS who does not care for Ebay intercoolers seems to think the SSAC front mount is ok.

    My next project I hope to undertake after getting our rotated kits out and in production is a water to air intercooler for the Subarus! Little more complex, but hopefully it will be more efficient than air to air. I plan on running intake temp probes and testing it thoroughly.
     
  33. undrgrndrdr15

    undrgrndrdr15 Active Member

  34. Cool_____

    Cool_____ Banned

    The only thing about air to water is to really get the most out of it is you use ice. I'm more of a tune it and forget it type of guy. Water to air is more for the 'real' freaks as slowwrx would say :)
     
  35. wagunz_pwn

    wagunz_pwn Active Member

    what about CO2 injection?
     
  36. Mike@TTR

    Mike@TTR Active Member

    Assuming you mean a co2 sprayer, from what I have read, somewhat ineffective.

    As for the water to air...they are more efficient all around, but if you include a way to dump ice in your holding tank, then they get REAL fun.
     
  37. Ben@TTR

    Ben@TTR Member

    I am interested in the water to air setup ^^
     
  38. Mike@TTR

    Mike@TTR Active Member

    It is next on the to do list. Gotta get these turbo kits done first!
     
  39. Ben@TTR

    Ben@TTR Member

  40. wagunz_pwn

    wagunz_pwn Active Member

    2 words...liquid nitrogen; think about it.
     
  41. Mike@TTR

    Mike@TTR Active Member

    that would give a whole new meaning to detonation!
     

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