Has anyone fitted a bigger Side Mount Intercooler (SMIC)?

[Blitzen]

Hey guys. I'm looking at taking the route less travelled, and I am looking at fitting an SMIC in place of the stock one.

I'm looking at it like this...
- No more boost piping means less boost drop.
- the thickness of an aftermarket SMIC is twice the thickness of stock, and about the same area of the Forge FMIC.

I have been looking at SMIC's for the Mk4 GTI, including Forge, Eurojet, Goodspeed, Godspeed, and Tyrolsport, and off eBay as well (this item looks exactly the same as the first 4 brands listed!!).

I think it was bfeboy that had a Bentley SMIC fitted to his car, but I was wondering if anyone has or knows of someone who has added a SMIC to their cars.

Cheers.

[Bug_racer]

Dont bother . gains are minor

[s4mmie]

I think that was the general consensus.
Might be worth it if you can cram a decent size core with good flow. Even then, you'll still need to get a good cold air supply to it.
I reckon a top mount with a MPS style hood intake would be nice, super short pipe runs, bigger cooler...

[team_v]

I think that was the general consensus.
Might be worth it if you can cram a decent size core with good flow. Even then, you'll still need to get a good cold air supply to it.
I reckon a top mount with a MPS style hood intake would be nice, super short pipe runs, bigger cooler...

Don't most of the subie top-mounts get replaced with front-mounts as they are inneficient?

[Tim]

mk4 gti side mount is not compatible with polo gti. pipes point in the wrong direction.
If you got creative you might be able to make it work but yeah. not a direct bolt on.

[s4mmie]

Don't most of the subie top-mounts get replaced with front-mounts as they are inneficient?

It wouldn't surprise me, heat soak, etc. Only reason I thought of a top mount is it would allow you to fit a much larger core and you'd end up with an even shorter intake pipe tract than the SMIC, which seems to be the only pro for keeping/upgrading the SMIC, less lag.

[Tim]

Since I have a stock polo side mount and an EJ mk4 unit on hand heres a pic to show the difference.



I reckon upgrading the polo side mount is a great idea. Would love to see some testing They get excellent airflow from the front bar. The standard one is just teeny.

[Blitzen]

mk4 gti side mount is not compatible with polo gti. pipes point in the wrong direction.
If you got creative you might be able to make it work but yeah. not a direct bolt on.

Fully aware of this... Was going to get a little creative with the lower piping and play with the upper mounts, as well as doing a vent mod on the inner wheel arch for better flow though.... Hell, it saves a lot of the cutting of the inner bar that is needed for the front mount to fit.

Awesome pic Tim. I was looking at getting the Chinese version I found on EBay for about $230 landed, that way if it doesn't work out, it's no real biggy.

[s4mmie]

.

Well that's a decent sized core! I haven't had a chance to poke around the stock SMIC location, but if you can fit something like that in there it may just be worth it. It looks like the core size has practically doubled.

If you compare the stock SMIC with an aftermarket unit, it looks like there's a similar difference in core size:


If you could channel air through the upgraded core nicely I think it would work a treat!

[kaanage]

Really interested in this thread as I hate the idea of extra lag being introduced by the extra plumbing needed for most FMICs.

But isn't airflow OUT of the rear area one of the big issues with the SMIC?

[gavs]

Yep, spot on Greg. We have performed testing on heat affected vehicles at work an it's not about the air you can get in, it's the expulsion of the heated air. You can have the best flowing front bar complete with sealed ducting but it won't do squat other than form an air dam if it can't escape.

The other thing to consider is velocity drop of the charge air with a bigger cooler. Bigger doesn't always mean better...

[kaanage]

I was looking at getting the Chinese version I found on EBay for about $230 landed, that way if it doesn't work out, it's no real biggy.

This one?

[Tim]

Really interested in this thread as I hate the idea of extra lag being introduced by the extra plumbing needed for most FMICs.

But isn't airflow OUT of the rear area one of the big issues with the SMIC?

Yep that is one of the challenges but surely it would be possible to address.

[kaanage]

The other thing to consider is velocity drop of the charge air with a bigger cooler. Bigger doesn't always mean better...

That's the big beef with the Forge it seems - you get lower heat soak but a bigger pressure drop according to some (not according to others, though )

[s4mmie]

Vent-age:

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/forums/f127/intercooler-air-flow-6140-4.html

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/forums/f14/diy-tt-style-vent-guard-mod-1-8ts-5019.html