Fmic Issues.

[fcruz3r]

might be off topic here ...but was there much drama's fitting the kit in? ..i upped my stocko cooler to a r34smic unit ..but to be honest..i dont think this was a worthwhile upgrade as i cant feel any increase in power...and after some stop start traffic..the car still has the same sluggish performance from heatsoak...so im thinking of getting a china cooler kit.

[Tangles]

agreement.

I used a R34 smic for a no more than a handful of months

I dont think its a worthwhile 'upgrade' at all. Only if you need the vehicle to 'look' 100% stock

But then again, if you must have a smic, go for an ARC brand (off ebay) side mount. bees knees right there

[MRO]

What China kit did you use, how much and was the install a drama. I am thinking about getting one of the Just Jap specials next week.

[wolverine]

might be off topic here ...but was there much drama's fitting the kit in? ..i upped my stocko cooler to a r34smic unit ..but to be honest..i dont think this was a worthwhile upgrade as i cant feel any increase in power...and after some stop start traffic..the car still has the same sluggish performance from heatsoak...so im thinking of getting a china cooler kit.

how is it getting heat soak in stop start driving? there is no load on the turbo unless you drive like a madman between lights and it is not located above the engine (ie top mount)??

when you go to a front mount all the same engine pipes will heat up and probably more so on the cross over pipe.

the R34SMIC runs out of cooling ability under load but stop start it should be no issue.

[fcruz3r]

i agree there's no load on the turbo, but somehow i guess even on idle the air has to pass through the intercooler...and therefore i suspect that the small r34 smic just does not have the capacity to cool down the airflow.. its not like massive power loss...but just that i dont think the cooler works on boost pressures above stock....those that have used the stock s1 coolers and "upgraded" to the r34 unit will definately know what im talkin about.

[fcruz3r]

agreement.

I used a R34 smic for a no more than a handful of months

I dont think its a worthwhile 'upgrade' at all. Only if you need the vehicle to 'look' 100% stock

But then again, if you must have a smic, go for an ARC brand (off ebay) side mount. bees knees right there

there was an ARC FMIC that sold on the japan auctions for less than 30K yen.....still kicking myself for not placing a bid

[Mr_RS4]

I used the R34 side mount for some time and was quite happy with it. Although I did have a descent air feed and the intake shroud for it. It doesn't flow as good as a FMIC (going by the fact I had to turn my boost down after fitting the FMIC). I have to admit the current reason I went for the front mount was because of the Nismo kit I'm about to get fitted. It would look really stupid with a big gaping hole at the front and I HATE mesh (way to rice for me) but I also plan more mods down the track so it will pay for itself then.

I used one of the GKTech kits (was cheaper than a Just Jap delivered) and was pretty happy with it (bar the clamps, but you get what you pay for) the piping was spot on and the cooler itself was nicely polished and no ugly weld or patch jobs with good mounting points. The brackets are spot on too (unlike the Just Jap kits aparantly) and allow you to shift the cooler side to side when they're loose (becuase it probably will need to be just a little when the new front is on). You do have to cut a hole under the battery but this is done easially with a 3" hole saw and some rubber tubing to protect it. And contrary to popular beliefe you DON'T have to cut the bloody fan blades. Take a good long look (this goes for a lot of work shops out there too) and just cut the hole under the battery a little further back and drill another hole about 10mm back from the last one on the bracket that goes to the tappet cover. BINGO you blades are no where near you fan. Also will need to trim just a little off the front bar support. I sat mine a little further back so I (a: didnt' have to take as much out of the front support and (b: becuase I cut the hole back further the move the cross over pipe back). You'll also need to trim a fair amount of the front bar but this is a piece of cake. All in all it took me 5-6 hours or so. Could do it in less now.

If I had to do it again I'd use another cheap kit, but look out for dodgy ebay ones as a mate got one which was meant to be brand new and the core had been repaired. I'd stick to either GKTech (can't go past the price) or Just Jap.

Very sorry about the off topic rant, back on now

[GorGasm]

For those wondering about fitting Josh has answered most of it i think. I know what you mean about the heatsoak. S2s come with R34 coolers as standard and they dont provide the cooling capability of a large front mount. Theyre fine for stock boost but suffer on 10-12 psi especially in hot weather. With a front mount its like driving on a cold day every day!

I got a cooling pro kit which has two pieces for the piping coming off the j-pipe past the radiator fan whereas a lot of others are a single piece.

Fitting was not too hard at all, just time consuming.

For the install you will have to cut a hole under the battery, Cut two little lines into the bumper iron and bend the metal up to fit the cooler behind. This allows the aircon fan to stay.

If you have a stock trans cooler you will have to remount it closer to the radiator. I just hacked up the original bracket with a grinder, pretty easy.

I also dont think you have to cut the rad fan provided you have cut the hole under the batter right and angle everything correctly.

I have the dayz front bar and only had to cut two little semi circle pieces out of it to fit the cooler pipes behind.

If you do have any questions im sure we can all give you answers. I was actually putting off the kit because i was worried about the hassles of installing it but it wasnt that hard really. Also ill take some pics once ive cleaned up the car and it stops raining :]

Edited April 14, 2007 by GorGasm

[wolverine]

i agree there's no load on the turbo, but somehow i guess even on idle the air has to pass through the intercooler...and therefore i suspect that the small r34 smic just does not have the capacity to cool down the airflow.. its not like massive power loss...but just that i dont think the cooler works on boost pressures above stock....those that have used the stock s1 coolers and "upgraded" to the r34 unit will definately know what im talkin about.

i have been there done that with both R34 SMIC and a Trust SMIC.

stop go = no issues (from my experience). due to a relatively average/poor hiflow (ie non-GCG) meant lots of hot air at higher boost levels and this was a challenge for them. i would have the Trust one back in heart beat with a decent hiflow.

Edited April 14, 2007 by wolverine

[GorGasm]

pics for the interested!

[Mr_RS4]

Very neat install. I have to admit the kits aren't anywhere near as hard as i would have thought to install. Just got to make sure you leave yourself a descent amount of time. Love the RACE BLING radiator cap too... And I'm still debating wether to install a oil catch can, when I removed my old cooler there was stuff all blow by residue in the pipes or the cooler, so I don't think I'll worry for now. But the do look cool

[GorGasm]

haha the cap was a freebie too :].

Not sure on the catch can really. Mine doesnt catch much but the pipe has gone brown. More bling that anything else i think.

I should really tidy up the engine bay too.