Do I Really Need To Upgrade My Cooler?

[3LGODZILA]

ok im using a r34 SMIC on my car at the moment, some people say its good for over 200kw and some say its shit and will just act as a heat sink. ive got all the usual bolt-ons besides a tune (still got factory ecu) to see around the 200rwkw mark. i know in theory i should feel a bit more power and less restriction & a slight loss in response, but has any1 done a before & after for a r34 smic to a JJR stealth front mount with similar mods to me wether it be driving the car, being in the car or on a dyno? my car does feel pretty slugish on hot days and i will be using all the stock piping if i did it. is it worth the $600 ?

-thread for the JJR stealth FMIC, http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Co...er-t209304.html

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

I not too sure about the R34 GTT, as I have a R32 but a R34 GTT SMIC is good for just over 200kW's.

"A slight Loss in response"... Are you running any higher boost atm? Get a tune done?

Also if you want to go the FMIC make sure you up the boost and get a tune.

FMIC are hell of a lot better for cooling.

[paulr33]

i dont believe the SMIC will be efficient im sorry, i just cant see it doing a great job

at std boost sure it might be ok but once you do all the other basic GTST mods i cant see it doing much

a quick a way to test is easy, get a GTST with the basic mods (exhaust, boost, air intake, 12psi)

and trash the pants off it, really get her on boost. then stop quickly. run to the SMIC

and check the temp of the left and right side

if im wrong and its efficient one side will be mega hot, the other will be cold

if im right and its inefficient (i suspect) one side will be mega hot and the other will be warm to hot

ie there is little to no temp drop across the core

youll find with a bigger core whacked bang smack in the middle of the car and airflow

the temperature drop will greatly be enhanced

if you do find its in-efficient (i suspect) what you will likely see is higher intake temps

this will result in less power, more detonation and less boost crammed into the engine

give the cost vs gains, i see no driver to stick with a SMIC

a ching chong FMIC bolt on kit can be fitted for ball park $450 these days from memory?

[3LGODZILA]

so has any1 felt the difference after a similar cooler upgrade then what im thinking of doing?

oh and if i go for a fmic, ill be using the JJR one, not into cutting holes in my chassis, + the piping wouldn't be much shorter unless i do a forward facing plenum (dont think its needed for only 200kw)

[GUN_METAL_GTR32]

i got a saber frount mount and it is f**king awesome, really shiny as well lol

[Munkyb0y]

hahaha, well as long as its shiny

i had a r34 smic on my r33 for a short time running 12psi. on the dyno, the tuner wasnt happy. he said 'get rid of that piece of shite, and get a front mount' lol

basically it was limiting things.

anyway, a short time later i did. we made more power up top, and it was all nice and safe.

there was a small loss in throttle response. but the thing you'll notice the most is consistant performance.

with the smic, sometimes it would feel great, other days it felt average. and i did jump out of the car to check the heat of the smic after a good work out, and it was HOT.

the front mount doesnt get like that. its always cooler, especially on the exit side.

i cant comment on the stealth type fmic though. mine is the regular in one side, out the other.

Edited April 12, 2009 by Munkyb0y

[3LGODZILA]

yeh im pretty convinced to upgrade now, heres a pic of the JJR stealth one, still goes through the whole core, the outlet is just facing the same way.

[gotRICE?]

I did similar.

Had an R34 SMIC on my R33 and even after short bursts, both end tanks would be very hot to touch. And like it was mentioned, some days it felt great, others it felt ass.

Ended up splashing out for the Blitz LM FMIC. So pretty much the same as the JJR, but not shiny and fits better (but cost 10,000,000times more! hah )

Doesnt matter how hard i push it now. Even on the track, the "hot" side was only marginally warm to touch, and the cold side was ice ice baby.

And to be honest, i didnt notice and loss in throttle response.

Edited April 12, 2009 by gotRICE?

[RBwhatever]

What did you do with your reo bar? ^^^ Did you mod it and refit? or just get rid of it....

[gotRICE?]

Modded it to fit. Took a lot of time and trial fitting to get it fitting right. But ended up getting it to fit very snug.

Gave it a coat of black and you barely notice that its been done.

[jase-r34]

so has any1 felt the difference after a similar cooler upgrade then what im thinking of doing?

oh and if i go for a fmic, ill be using the JJR one, not into cutting holes in my chassis, + the piping wouldn't be much shorter unless i do a forward facing plenum (dont think its needed for only 200kw)

G'day mate, I have just basic mods on my 34 but also with a power fc. I put on a JJR stealth cooler and noticed the improvement immediately. Mid range is much better and the most noticeable.

I know it's not a 33 but thought it might be the kinda answer you're looking for.

[3LGODZILA]

yep im convinced now

hey gotRICE, how big of a job is it to mod the reo bar to fit? do u just have to grind away at some of it? ive got f all tools at home so im wondering what to borrow from work, i was thinking angle grinder and a few discs and maybe a hacksaw.

[_Ryan_]

so has any1 felt the difference after a similar cooler upgrade then what im thinking of doing?

oh and if i go for a fmic, ill be using the JJR one, not into cutting holes in my chassis, + the piping wouldn't be much shorter unless i do a forward facing plenum (dont think its needed for only 200kw)

i went 33smic-34smic-jjr stealth, notice a bit of loss of response, but i can feel the difference when i touch the pipes... i personally would look around for an ARC sidemount!

[paulr33]

yeah if you go from SMIC to FMIC and change nothing else, you will notice a slight increase in throttle response

ie time from when you mash the pedal to time boost hits the manifold, and thats to be expected

as you have to pressurize the bigger core, more pipework etc

usually when you go from SMIC to FMIC you add in a boost controller, exhaust etc so most dont notice

but if you told me you went from SMIC to FMIC and noticed no difference, your either lying or made other changes

ie: the physics do not support - the "dude i had no loss when i fitted a FMIC"

[gotRICE?]

yep im convinced now

hey gotRICE, how big of a job is it to mod the reo bar to fit? do u just have to grind away at some of it? ive got f all tools at home so im wondering what to borrow from work, i was thinking angle grinder and a few discs and maybe a hacksaw.

Angle grinder and a sharpie (and ear muffs and eye protection of course )

Its not a hard job, just takes time.

[Ultimategtr]

Theres been alot of debate as to whether the 34gtt smic is actually good. I dont think so. The single BIGGEST problem is going to be heat soak. The ONLY way i could think to make it more effecient would be to stick a fan behind/infront and stick a water spray - BUT by the time you spend money on the fan/spray it comes close to the cost of a fmic.. so do the math.

Seriosly, save up and get a fmic and you wont look back. All this talk about response loss with the fmic is bollocks. When i upgraded to a fmic i didnt notice any loss of response at all.

[bored33]

+1 for the fmic upgrade. I can only guess that anyone who loses response has not had a complete tune to go with it to factor in the extra piping although with the stealth types there's not THAT much more piping. But then again, the little bit of response lost compared to a more safer tune and a happier Skyline is an easy choice to make in my opinion.

[RBwhatever]

I got a S1 and the reo bar seems to be a lot bigger design than the S2.

Chopped the whole middle section out...