the census seems to be that if you wanna big turbo you MUST go fmic. but the drawback is in the plumbing.. I have to admit I love the look of an fmic until you pop the hood and see how its plumbed with the stock manifold.

is it really necessary or could you get a more efficient top mount? I'd much rather keep the efficient plumbing (and the functionality of my hood scoop) of the tmic. I currently have the sti tmic and that seems to be about as big as one will fit there. it seems to me you could just increase the surface area or maybe even use a copper core (?) and not need to relocate it to the front.

how big does the turbo need to get before the tmic will no longer cut it? and does anybody have an opinion about existing or customizing a more efficient top mount? would copper help?

 

how big of a turbo you wanting?

i know the turboxs TMIC works great with vf30/34, i plan on getting txs tmic with vf34, and the rest of the supporting mods

 

thinking about a t88 twinscroll or t3/4

 

hey g, try looking at spearco, i heard that it is the best on the market. although you will pay$$$$$$$ for it. you could also try fored air technologies too.
good hunting

 

spend the money on an intake temp gauge and monitor your post-ic temp. with all the speculation going on, the only way you'll know for sure if your ic is sufficient is to know what the temps are for your particular setup.

 

saw some pics of the spearco here
my god do those welds look like ****

 

checked our forced air.. that twin turbo kit looks awsome! are two turbos always better than one??

 

Bigger is not always better. ARC makes 2 different TMIC for the WRX and they are actually smaller then the stock WRX TMIC. ARC is straight JDM probably the best in Japan. They hold patents on their fin designs. The TMIC is not yet available to the US market but they will soon. I hear its gonna retail for about $2000.

 

vendor on nasioc already had one 1600...on sale of course.

 

lol, i just looked on nasioc and found the vendor. I believe that is my car he has a picture of with it. They test fit both of the ARC TMIC on my car like a month ago. I guess Mackin(Volk) already started distributing them.

 

A tmic is fine when using a tiny IHI vf turbo, but when you go into medium to larger turbos like the t3/t4 or t88 you'll really need to have a fmic. You'll need the biggest APS FMIC for the t88. If you go with the t3/t4 you might be able to get away with a turbo xs fmic. It is NOT safe to run a TMIC with a t88. With a larger turbo you wont tell the difference in lag between a top mount and a fmic anyways.

Dan from Godspeed has written a bunch of replies over the many advantages of using a fmic over a top mount. Do a search on the clubwrx.net forum to find the threads.

 

hey gord, forced air puts out some bad *** products. the owner actually flew to my house in upstate ny from arizona and did an install on my 99 impreza l. he knows his stuff. 2 is not allways better than 1, but that setup rocks. one other set up he does not have on his site is a turbo system powered by a super charger. give them a call and ask for robert ansick. he is a real straight forward guy. i sold my 99 and am planning on having him upgrade my 04 wrx.

good hunting. todd