universal 27x7x2.5 intercooler?

[RAAMaudio]

The HP ratings on IC's is a bit arbitrary, many factors to consider.

The J-Line is a great value and probably more than enough for most needs and may of for mine but I had to shave off some weight. I most highly recommend it as a great budget IC unless somebody wants some thing lighter in weight but for most the tradeoff is well worth it.

I mentioned the far more expensive Cobb only because it is lighter and for those with a car with a lot more weight taken out of the rear than the front it helps balance things out. My car was unstable at 130MPH and jumping on the brakes due to a bit to light in the rear so I had to top off the tank all the time. Though Cobb has less mass and less volume could effect the end results a bit but the added exposure to direct air flow will make up for some if not all of it, in the right situation.

The DHM on a hot day with in the 300WHP range on a road race track, that is why I went that route as was not sure the J-Line or Cobb would do what I needed. Added weight is only around 4lbs over the stock setup and the price is amazing for what it is. It would likely be overkill for many.

 

[MegaBuster]

The J-Line works very well but I believe something can be found that is half or less the price and cools just as well on the FiST and perhaps fits a little better. The J-line is probable using the same core the cheap ones are using. Mishimoto started out the same as CX racing and all the other Chinese parts houses. They just make a little more effort, package their produced with better accessories, and where able to establish themselves with a better reputation. I would bet their cores are made in the same factory as the CX and Godspeed cores. They make a good product but your paying 50% more for the same core.

Long story short. I am going to find myself what I feel is the right core and put the whole thing together for under 150bucks if I can then we will see how it fairs with charge temps on pulls compared to stock. people are sold on the J-line because it has proven to perform in the car. I just believe I can get similar performance for half the price. I guess once I sell some parts from my other car and get some mod cash we shall see.

That's the great thing about having the AP. you can really see what these mods do much more so than with older generation cars like my MSM. On that car everyone used the 27x7x2.5 ebay intercoolers and they proved to work very well even at the track. This is a different car and a different turbo so it will be a little different.

 

[Sourskittle]

I'll agree that a china core is a china core. The end tank quality and design may differ.

DBM cooler will be the only way to go for cars seeking more than Stg1 and people not living in Alaska.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Thanks for reminding me about Godspeed, that was my first IC for the car and I forgot what it was, now it is a molten pile, it was on the burned down car in Canada

I found what looked just like the Godspeed for less money and ordered it, came in stamped Godspeed so it was the same thing exactly.

It was actually not quite as cleanly made internally, you could see it would flow a little less possibly but it was not bad at all, not like some really cheap cores I have seen.

The one I have was much bigger than stock but smaller than the J-Line which I had overlooked on their site so I sold it and bought the J-Line.
My car had the Cyborg turbo with plans to push the limits pretty far so I wanted a bigger IC. Now I am going to an EFR setup and even more power so the DHM makes sense for my road race track use.

Updated list:
Low budget, Godspeed
Moderate, J-Line (if need more cooling)
All out but low weight, Cobb
All out, big power, road racing, etc...DHM

 

[MegaBuster]

I don't intend to chop away at the car more than perhaps removing the black grill section in front of the cooler. Given that the opening is so small a 5.5-6" core would fill up the entire grill but cooling is conductive throughout the core so even though a part of it may not get airflow it is still cooled by the part that is getting flow and provides additional thermal absoirbsion capacity. Bottom line is I don't want to have to cut anything on the car to get my intercooler to fit and I dont want to spend 320 dollars and have to cut and fab my own brackets if I can do the same for half as much. I do see potential to remove some material in a couple places to get more airflow into a core but like I said I do not want to go hacking into my nice new car and I'm pretty sure with our tiny turbo there is an option out there that will do the trick

Dose anyone have the dimensions of the stock cooler or can take measurements of the distance from centerline to centerline of the outlets on the stock intercooler? and overall length?

here is an interesting option from godspeed

30x7.5x3 intercooler
24x7.5x3 core
540ci

a 2" wider core than the mishimoto and although not as thick dose have more frontal area in the grill which is much more important than thickness after a point. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Type-C-turb...0hp-/131063144229?hash=item1e83f8df25&vxp=mtr

Idealy it would be nice to find a 5.5-6" 3.5" core that was wider. I will continue my search. the opening with the black plastic grill removed would be 31"x3.75" about although I imagine 5" of core would actually get airflow. and if you trilled the inside lip only on the top that could increase flow to the upper part without messing with the looks