i never thoght about flow rates or how much air capacity different intercolers would produce.i m wanting to go for a fmic but was to conserend with looks than anything else. can i find out what the capacity for the side ones combined then just make sure the front mic matches it or dose it not work that way.?

This subject has troubled me for a long time and its good that before you commit to a fmic that you have put some thought into it.

 

If you consider that when Nissan designed the Z32 they would have had acccess to all the technical information and lab development results and from that they came up with the intercooler design.

 

Now of course there were compromises based on the position of the cooler, the space available at that space and no doubt costing. So given those compromises it could be said that larger after market are bound to be an "upgrade" and better than the original.

 

Now looking at how to calculate the size of the intercooler which incidently would need someone much brainer than me, not only is the cooler internal capacity part of the equation so is the additional pipework and how this pipework will effect the airflow.

 

The engine and its capacity to produce boost and how the engine reacts to the boost also neeeds to be calculated otherwise just adding a larger intercooler could have the reverse effect of what was wanted, remember the turbos have to "fill" the pipework and intercoolers before the engine starts to benefit, so the longer that takes turbo lag becomes more noticable.

 

I am fully aware that after market parts have their own "hype" and for sales reasons but often that "hype" lacks real world technical information or back up but equally does sound and look very attractive making you feel good about fitting these parts.

 

I suppose you need to know if its right for you and in my opinion unless you have a big power motor and plan on driving it hard when air temperature are high and you can accept the possible downsides then yes go for it, if however you drive a standard or slightly moded motor and do not expect to be driving in Death Valley then I would leave well alone.

 

Having driven in all conditions in amost every type of zed out there on a daily basis I cannot honestly say I have felt any improvement, but that said on a rolling road in where heat soak has the most effect the figures do stack up remember though in the real world we drive OUTSIDE and stranger too the intercooler suppliers mostly rely on rolling road figures to demonstrate why their cooler is better than the next one.

 

Just my opinion of course :D

 

 

Jeff TT

Have a read through the link listed below. It links to a US Zed forum where somebody went to the trouble of listing I/C's, comparing them and also discusses the design issues of FMIC versus SMIC. In the body of the topic Legrath added in a few more I/C's that weren't listed by the US site for comparative purposes

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=119465

And just to add to Jeff's info above, another MAJOR factor in IC efficiency is charge temperature. You can have an IC with a high flow rate but little surface area (ie, area of all the fins added together) and the result will be a very inefficient IC. The trick is to find an IC which produces the biggest charge temperature drop (you want the air that enters the engine to be as dense - ie, cold - as possible to aid in the combustion cycle). Generally, these IC's will have a high flow rate as well but remember that it is always going to be a trade-off. The bigger the pipe work/flow rate, the more likely you're going to experience turbo lag.

 

Jeff is indeed correct when stating that manufacturers quote their IC figures based on ideal situations (ie, rolling road, perfect temp conditions). These figures generally do not hold up in real-life driving situations although the better the rolling road figures the more likely it is that the IC will fare well on the road.

 

My 2p worth ;)

See if you know of any other 300zx cars running diffrent intercoolers. Try and tested is always best, I had an HKS on my supra after the fitting of a link engine management system. This system was needed to correctly run the boost levels and set up to the intercooler. With out the system the intercooler upgrade would of been pointless. It all depends on the level of tune you require.

Have a read through the link listed below. It links to a US Zed forum where somebody went to the trouble of listing I/C's, comparing them and also discusses the design issues of FMIC versus SMIC. In the body of the topic Legrath added in a few more I/C's that weren't listed by the US site for comparative purposes

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=119465

 

nice one, how interesting was that!! think i may have to re-look at my setup.

See, you are able to construct a thread that's semi-readable!

 

i never thoght about flow rates or how much air capacity different intercolers would produce.i m wanting to go for a fmic but was to conserend with looks than anything else. can i find out what the capacity for the side ones combined then just make sure the front mic matches it or dose it not work that way.?

maybe i'm crazy but why don't people fits high powered fan onto the intercoolers? Help keep the body of it cool? Like the electric fan rad conversions

It's because you have a heatsource in a radiator whereas you don't really in an IC.

maybe i'm crazy but why don't people fits high powered fan onto the intercoolers? Help keep the body of it cool? Like the electric fan rad conversions

 

That's what a water spray system is for. The evaporating water droplets cool the fins of the IC more than just passing air could do thereby dropping the charge temperature further ... (and breathe ... ;))

Water can be stored cooler than ambient air too plus cuts down on the hardware. Fitting fans to everything restricts space. I'm helping fit a water injection system to a Nova Turbo at the moment. Should be able to see a Z or two!

What a fantastic read but. im still none the wiser on fmic and which one will be the best,maybe there should be a poll on .just fmic whos got them how much and what ones

What a fantastic read but. im still none the wiser on fmic and which one will be the best,maybe there should be a poll on .just fmic whos got them how much and what ones

 

If the guy who wrote the article on the Zed driver website is correct, he suggests that the FMIC are not designed for the Zed as they cause the turbo's to spool more slowly. The SMIC's are suggested to be more effective. Therefore would it be worth reconsidering having upgraded SMIC's rather than a FMIC, or is it purely for the aesthetic's you are buying?

Edited May 12, 200916 yr by chayden
spelling error

Crikey! You're language skills improve by the day! :)

 

Only a small number of people run FMIC on here I believe.

FMIC's have an aesthetic advantage if thats the look you want, but compared to Aftermarket SMIC's they do have a higher pressure drop, block more air to the Radiators and more of a PITA to fit.

 

I cant reccomend any FMIC's, but if you went down the preferred Larger SMIC router then the Z1 Intercoolers are well worth the money.

im fitting a different front spoiler so not to bothered about cooling issues . or fitting as im more than capable and ill have two more holes in the front for cooling and ducting,but i cant beleave no-one has any feed back on fmic,at this rate im going to be a cheap one and mount it but not pipe it in and leavr the smic there as well.

or a nice set of pace sidemounts ,,nice bit of kit

This looks like a good bit of kit. Looks like a fmic but is double ic. any one have any opinions on this type??

 

Didnt hks do one like this??

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NISSAN-300ZX-Z32-TWIN-TURBO-INTERCOOLER-KIT-INTAKE_W0QQitemZ220395977018QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item220395977018&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Now im confused ive got bigger tubs and a very large Greddy FMIC but are my tubs to small for my FMIC grrr. Im stuck with it now but hope its not going to cause to much of a problem.

This looks like a good bit of kit. Looks like a fmic but is double ic. any one have any opinions on this type??

 

Didnt hks do one like this??

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NISSAN-300ZX-Z32-TWIN-TURBO-INTERCOOLER-KIT-INTAKE_W0QQitemZ220395977018QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item220395977018&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

 

That's two of there regular SMIC's welded together lol. Would be a better design in principle i think for avoiding turbulence clashing problems and the pressure drop you'd get with a regular FMIC.

 

I understand why people want a FMIC for the looks but to make it really work in the zed engine bay would involve a serious rejig of the components.

 

The flow rate over the surface of your radiator will be significantly reduced by putting a FMIC in front of the radiator and at high speed i'd suggest the FMIC would be a huge impedance to the air flow, and starve the radiator - this being the worst thing i think you can do to the car.

 

if i was determined to have one there would have to be some kind of design of shuttling the air around the FMIC face and collect behind it onto the radiator, with an up-rated fan to keep the air velocity up and some sort of design of bonnet to allow the air to escape through.

This looks like a good bit of kit. Looks like a fmic but is double ic. any one have any opinions on this type??

 

Didnt hks do one like this??

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NISSAN-300ZX-Z32-TWIN-TURBO-INTERCOOLER-KIT-INTAKE_W0QQitemZ220395977018QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item220395977018&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

 

I have this kit. Bought it months ago. Just not got round to fitting it yet so don't know how the performance will alter. Didn't do any research. More of an extra amount of refreshment one night and just had to get the last bid in on ebay.

I have PACE side mount intercoolers on mine. I would love to know how these stack up.

I went for them as they seemed like the ones a lot of the big boys had like MAC etc.

 

Anyone know how these compare?

I have PACE side mount intercoolers on mine. I would love to know how these stack up.

I went for them as they seemed like the ones a lot of the big boys had like MAC etc.

 

Anyone know how these compare?

 

Got them on mine too and they seem to be pretty good.

Pretty sure most of the big power cars here are using them so can't be bad.

None of the FMIC's seem to offer anything extra other than looks and they have plenty of downsides.

I've got myself Pace intercoolers too ready to fit.

I remember going on the Thor rolling road at JAE a few years back and seeing a couple of serious looking Supra's with big FMIC's go on before me.

Good for show but they had no go! Must have spent all their cash on the cooler LOL

I got most powerful car of the show :D

front mounts are fine as long at the rest of the cooling elements of your car have been upgraded, the border one i had was not sat flat, it was more like a v setup which allowed air to pass to the radiator, same with the hks one.

 

has to be said i have had 2 zeds with fmic and never had any issues and i think when you get above a certain level of power and i mean a very high level ie over 600-700 bhp then you would need to go front mount but anything less and an upgraded sidemount would be more than sufficiant, as its been said macs is still running side mounts and near on 600 bhp with no issues :)