To start off, I've read quite a bit and reviewed the options available but having a bit of difficulty deciding on the best route for my car. My car is a street car first which will see some track time each season. I frequently attend car shows/cruise nights etc. Below is my current setup that I am looking to revise.

- 383 LT1 Procharged F1-A - 15lbs of boost at 6500rpm, 700+rwhp
- Meth injection
- Procharger twin 3.5" intercoolers
- MAF tune with LS1 PCM, LS2 MAF

Here is the issue:

- The LT1 Firebird nose provides only general airflow access from the fog light area
- The twin intercoolers get hot quickly and are likely a flow restriction
- Meth helps but I would prefer overall better intercooling
- Overall limited space and I do not want to cut the body

So without getting too long winded, below are the following options:

Twin Intercoolers:

- It's what I have now which I'm not all that happy with.
- Thought about trying to work with the 4.5" procharger twins but they are expensive and would require quite a bit of mods to revise the inlet/outlet differences.

FMIC:

- Generally inexpensive (ebay units) and proven to fit with some mods behind the front bumper cover.
- Want to keep fog lights for aesthetic reasons but with them in or out, will it provide sufficient cooling?
- How much of a CFM increase can I expect? Would likely need to go to a SD tune if this occurs since I'm maxing out the LS2 MAF at 6500rpm.

A2W:

- Likely easier to package the intercooler unit.
- Have to worry about a pump/wiring, water tank placement, water lines, etc
- Packaging for a radiator to cool the water may be difficult (seen a few interesting options - face down and horizontal between k-member and base of radiator, behind rear end)
- More expensive than other options and more weight in an already heavy car.

I'm leaning towards the FMIC for simplicity but I do not want it to be ineffective due to the front nose being generally enclosed.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Do Ebay units cool as good as the twins from the procharger kit??? And even if they do does the gain justify the cost. I have been thinking about switching from the twins to fmic kit, however the one that Bob sales for $1300. Hopefully this thread catches fire and advice flows in..

 

A lot of people use the ebay intercoolers (certain brands) and appear to have positive results for the most part. They aren't very expensive and switching over wouldn't be all that hard. Hope to get some info from the guys who have been around the block a few times.

 

eBay units are fine and work great. No need to spend 1300 on a fmic when you can do it for 300ish. I basically made pro chargers fmic but for waaaaaaaay cheaper.

 

Same here.

 

I'm not one to cut up the front of my car, so i will be sticking with the stock procharger twin 4.5" intercoolers.

With the LT1 nose, I think you would be better off with an A2W. Yeah it might be a bit more complicated with the pumps and hoses, but you will get much better performance than any A2A on that car.

 

i totally agree. A2w is the way to go... Especially with the nose on your car.

 

personally the larger fmic will prob give you better cooling, but without air circulation to dissapate it, you are going to have spikes in temps reguardless. Cutting on the LT1 car is a drag, but you can make it look good. I am not sure if the ls1 front fascia will fit or not. Also, I have the ATI FMIC and It came with the kit and was only 200 dollars more than the twin 4.5's. and it will require less hoses and clamps, aka more places to have a boost leak. individually it is really expensive and most do the ebay units instead, but I have to say, it is alot bigger, and is a quality piece. its very heavy. another thing that just crossed my mind is adding another nozzle from the methanol pump somewhere in the charge piping.

 

Good comments guys. I think the A2W is likely the best option but more involved than the others. I've seen the front cut up on a LT1 bird and it doesn't look as good as the 98-02 cars. I could run an additional nozzle in the piping somewhere to cool things down a bit more but I would prefer not to rely on the meth too much.

Anyone think if I slot the front bumper on the underside and try to grab some air it would make the FMIC a bit more plausible?

 

I'll be swapping out my air to air for air to water this winter too. IATs just get too high so going to go with an ice box in the trunk.

 

Are you running strait meth?..or a mixture of water and meth? I got a 50/50 mixture on my car and the smaller ATI twin IC's. I'm about to be doing the ebay front FMIC and piping ket on my cary very soon. I think it would work better on my style bumper since it's alot more open than yours, but I have considered cutting on mine in order to get the best cooling . I think there is a way you can run a cheap FMIC and do some well placed holes or some type of sylish cutting. Anybody that knows anything about cars will understand your reason for cutting on the front bumper. If they knock on your for it, then assume they are ignorrant and therefore their opinion would'nt matter much lol.

 

I am running the boost juice from Snow. They warranty the pump if using it so I just stick with it. I'm assuming its not straight meth. I don't care what others think of the car but I personally do not want to cut up the front bumper.

 

A2W is the way to go

I have the ebay 1500hp A2w intercooler with a icebox in the hatch And a bosch intercooler pump on the rear frame rails. And it works awsome. The intercooler fits perfect under the bumper

I think i paid

$250 for intercooler
$110 for ice box
$150 for pump
$50 in hose

 

Since you cannot cope with cutting, then obviously A2W is your solution. yeah relying on meth is not as bad as it sounds. Julio at Alkycontrol says it is typically not beneficial at all to run straight methanol. I run Snows Boost Juice from the Summit Racing Website. It is 51% water and 49% meth. I found out last nite that snow makes a methanol gauge $59.99 that will let you know if it goes out. And odds are if you get a good kit like Alkycontrol or Devils Own, then you won't have an issue for some time. I have seen some LT1 cars cut personally and I didn't think it looked bad at all. Like I love Chevy said, if they do not understand why you did it, tell them to

 

Not bad at all. Would you be able to provide any links to some of the major items you purchased?

 

intercooler

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Liquid-Water...item2c515fee47

ice box fit perfect in hatch. couldnt be a better fit. this is pretty close i cant find mine any more

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Water-Air-In...item48435083b5

water pump

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-Electr...item1e685c037d

and the hose i got threw my buudy at a hardware store

 

ive personally used a ebay fmic and made 841rwhp on pumpgas so they do work it was a 32x12x4 piece.
for your car i would probably go with a/w and i forgt the company but there is one that makes barrel style cores that are very easy to package.here is an example but i dont know the quality of them

http://www.horsepowerinabox.com/HPIAB2/category76_1.htm

 

So what is good retailer on ebay for a quality fmic? They all look the same to me? Sorry dont mean to hijack, just looking for some advice/help...

 

Op, what are your average I.A.T. temps with your setup in the hotter days without meth? The F1-R of mine sure kicks out alot of heat just sitting at idle compared to my old p1sc.

 

I got my 31x12x4 fmic from Cxracing. I think they are all the same but don't hold me to that.