I'd go with the Nisei. One-piece LICP with a support bracket. Smooth, consistent design, made on a CNC mandrel bender, not 3 pieces welded together by Joe Shmo. It looks good and the price can't be beat.

 

This thread should probably get the sticky treatment... people are always debating about the gains in the different lower IC pipe styles. Might as well make it easy to find.

Seriously though,

 

I have the AMS licp and helix uicp 4 sale if you are interested? shoot me a pm

 

The more pcs used to make a pipe, the more internal welding beads/flash/bumps you will create when you put 2 ends together. Each connection point will have one of these flash/bumps. They are like having speed bumps in the road (changing the air speed or disrupting the flow path).

This is why you guys want to get the Nisei Engineering pc:

Read about it - http://www.nisei-evo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=434

See the difference - http://www.niseiengineering.com/vide...eering1018.wmv

Nisei Engineering - 1 pc, Smooth Flow Path (NO Disruptions in flow), Precision CNC bending.

Other's - Multiple sections, Made from U-Bends then sectioned into smaller degrees then welded together (starts out as 180* pipe, cut to form 45*/60*/90*/etc.).

 

air out of the compressor out of the turbo is gonna be orders of magnitude higher in temperature than surrounding air around the LCIP. no heat is gonna flow into the charge air

the rate of heat leaving will be higher in the aluminum pipe than the steel, but then that is why you have an intercooler

 

im sure the point about the welds will induce some friction, but that seems like a negligible difference.

does nisei have any data to back this claim up (pressure drop with welds and without)?

 

nisei has got me hooked for now...gonna compare and look around though...

 

Is a mini battery needed for the complete ETS kit? The site says Recirculation pipe is needed for mini battery. Are they talking about the intake (filter to turbo), or upper IC that runs past the battery. I'm confused.

Oh, and does it work with the stock intercooler?

 

Air likes the smoothest bend possible with no sharp, or harsh edges greater than 7 degrees. Anything more and airlow is disrupted. This is ONLY done with a cone that spreads out the transition in a 2" length like our pipe. If a pipe is all 2.5" and uses a coupler to do all the transition work in a mere .25" the angle of the transition is too great and causes tubulence and is not the most eficient. Our aluminum pipe weighs in under a pound. A steel pipe can weigh up to 5 pounds. Aluminum will cool off and disperse heat quicker...period. These are some of the facts that make ours stand out from the rest

There is more info here http://www.paradigmperformance.net/p.../evo/licp.html

 

have you performed any qualitative tests showing decreased pressure drop with your design over a design that transitions in the silicone coupler?

 

The numbers I have mentioned regarding angles and airflow have been design standards and guidelines that I have worked with in the industry for decades. They have been proven...most people have no idea though. I worked at Kinsler Fuel Injection for many years and they are one of the world leaders in fuel injection and manifold design and they know a thing or two about airflow I was also a engineer in the automotive industry for tubing companies where I have gained the knowledge of what air does and does not like. It is the consumers choice to believe what I say or not. That is fine, as they have the freedom to make their choices based on whatever facts presented to them. I will not argue with vendors as that is not my style. Just tyring to help fellow enthusiasts make an educated decision.

 

I would 100% agree with that, though turbulence and such is another discussion, but I don't know enough about that stuff so I can't comment either way. Personally I tend to think as Tom mentioned above.

 

We have both a short route UICP (requires mini battery kit or trunk relocation of OEM battery) and stock battery UICP kit that retains the factory battery in its stock location. Here's a picture of the OEM UICP, ETS Stock Battery UICP and ETS Short Route UICP and the stock battery UICP installed:





Our recirc kit is simply a nice piece for aesthetics (instead of the black rubber hose) with the short route kit, but is not necessary for either kit.

Back on topic for the sake of the thread We are offering a winter special on our LICP at $149 for those interested! You can order directly from our website or call to place your order.

ETS LICP $149 - http://www.extremeturbosystems.com/p...7k7enmdjd423d0


Tom

 

thank you.

this is the reason i started this topic, to get a good discussion about the design of pieces most people take for granted. being an engineer myself i take a special interest in these details.

 

Tom,

do you see good gains from the upper intercooler pipe like you do when replacing the LCIP? what about the performance difference between your short and long UCIP?