what is the best intercooler on a budget?
Feb 4, 2013, 09:54 PM
#61
Bottom line: There are people that will spend the money on Quality parts for their Evo because they believe in the motto's "buy once, buy right" and "sometimes you do get what you pay for".
Then there are others regardless of why they arrive at the cheap solution (previously owned a car where anything was un upgrade or don;t have the money to buy the good stuff) and they figure as long as its advertised to be better then stock then it its all gravy (wheels, intercooler, turbo's, suspension).
I'm not gonna be ignorant enough to tell someone how to spend their money. What I will say is this is a car in the realm of the Supra, RX-7 etc (performance-wise). I don't know if those automotive realms deal with what seems like a phenomena of the car becoming cheaper and owners jumping in with both feet and then trying to skimp here and there. I have been looking for suspension for my wife's STi and I see the same conversations being had on those forums as well.
This too shall pass. Most times the cost of the modifications or maintenance will weed out the people just getting one expecting to apply the same short sightedness they had with other "cheaper" platforms" will move on to the next cheap thing (or go back to what they know) and will leave people dedicated to the platform still looking to make their car better the quality way.
Not knocking the people that choose to do things cheaply (Hey I rocked 3 sets of Rota's) but just because it fits and doesn't make your car explode doesn't mean its the same "QUALITY" as your ETS's and BR's and CBRD's etc.
If you can't afford it then either hold off until you can afford quality, or buy the ebay stuff. Either you won't have the car long enough for it to matter or eventually when you reach the "evolution" of your car (yes i know pun intended), you will look a the cheap intercooler you bought and upgrade.
This is not opinion......this is fact. Its plays out the same way on this board.....ALL THE TIME. This is history repeating itself. Same as this question always comes up. Same as the people chiming in who have been there and done that. Same as the people who have bought said eBay part and swear its as good as other quality parts.
/sermon
Sorry guys.
Then there are others regardless of why they arrive at the cheap solution (previously owned a car where anything was un upgrade or don;t have the money to buy the good stuff) and they figure as long as its advertised to be better then stock then it its all gravy (wheels, intercooler, turbo's, suspension).
I'm not gonna be ignorant enough to tell someone how to spend their money. What I will say is this is a car in the realm of the Supra, RX-7 etc (performance-wise). I don't know if those automotive realms deal with what seems like a phenomena of the car becoming cheaper and owners jumping in with both feet and then trying to skimp here and there. I have been looking for suspension for my wife's STi and I see the same conversations being had on those forums as well.
This too shall pass. Most times the cost of the modifications or maintenance will weed out the people just getting one expecting to apply the same short sightedness they had with other "cheaper" platforms" will move on to the next cheap thing (or go back to what they know) and will leave people dedicated to the platform still looking to make their car better the quality way.
Not knocking the people that choose to do things cheaply (Hey I rocked 3 sets of Rota's) but just because it fits and doesn't make your car explode doesn't mean its the same "QUALITY" as your ETS's and BR's and CBRD's etc.
If you can't afford it then either hold off until you can afford quality, or buy the ebay stuff. Either you won't have the car long enough for it to matter or eventually when you reach the "evolution" of your car (yes i know pun intended), you will look a the cheap intercooler you bought and upgrade.
This is not opinion......this is fact. Its plays out the same way on this board.....ALL THE TIME. This is history repeating itself. Same as this question always comes up. Same as the people chiming in who have been there and done that. Same as the people who have bought said eBay part and swear its as good as other quality parts.
/sermon
Sorry guys.
Feb 5, 2013, 09:32 AM
#62
I would be interested in seeing a close up of the fin pack. It's hard to tell the detail in the picture but a lot of companies have problems inside the intercooler and they are not even aware of it. The problem comes from dull cutting blades when making the fin pack.
You can see the little pieces of material on the fin pack that are not fully removed. These little pieces clog flow and can come off. I'm not saying yours is this way by any means, but it's something that people need to look out when buying a cheaper or lower priced product.
I'm also like the other guys, i'm not saying you have to buy new, you can find great deals on used products on this forum. Just trying to give you some more information when choosing the right product.
Thanks!
Michael
You can see the little pieces of material on the fin pack that are not fully removed. These little pieces clog flow and can come off. I'm not saying yours is this way by any means, but it's something that people need to look out when buying a cheaper or lower priced product.
I'm also like the other guys, i'm not saying you have to buy new, you can find great deals on used products on this forum. Just trying to give you some more information when choosing the right product.
Thanks!
Michael
Feb 5, 2013, 03:23 PM
#63
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I jist dont see why people read the facts and then still go out and buy cheap ebay ICs. Then they say but but but ebay ICs can work blah blah blah. They are all jist trying to justify to us and to themselves being cheap so they can sleep better about buying crap parts. The way I look at it is if ur willing to skimp on performance parts specially to the ones that affect the engine , u clearly dont have the passion the rest of us do...
Feb 5, 2013, 03:29 PM
#64
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If you can't afford it then either hold off until you can afford quality, or buy the ebay stuff. Either you won't have the car long enough for it to matter or eventually when you reach the "evolution" of your car (yes i know pun intended), you will look a the cheap intercooler you bought and upgrade.
This is not opinion......this is fact. Its plays out the same way on this board.....ALL THE TIME. This is history repeating itself. Same as this question always comes up. Same as the people chiming in who have been there and done that. Same as the people who have bought said eBay part and swear its as good as other quality parts.
/sermon
Sorry guys.
This is not opinion......this is fact. Its plays out the same way on this board.....ALL THE TIME. This is history repeating itself. Same as this question always comes up. Same as the people chiming in who have been there and done that. Same as the people who have bought said eBay part and swear its as good as other quality parts.
/sermon
Sorry guys.
Is it pretentious to quote oneself, lol
Last edited by SmurfZilla; Feb 5, 2013 at 08:01 PM.
Feb 5, 2013, 05:24 PM
#67
OP, if you haven't already ordered your ETS unit, and you've managed to sift through all the BS in this thread, send Tiago @ VRSF a PM. He will offer you a great deal on either his own IC, or an ETS unit, which he also carries. He offers a good product at a nice price. Last year I ordered my new clutch and TOB, all OEM replacement parts for my 60K service, and all my Whiteline suspension parts from him. Very pleasant to deal with, takes care of everything quickly, and every time I got a quote for parts from him, he was able to considerably beat all the best prices I was finding (and I spent some time shopping around).
Feb 5, 2013, 08:36 PM
#69
This is not on a budget, but if you want the best then there's always Secan or Marston cores. Then you'd never have to upgrade! 
Honestly, this could keep escalating. The OP distinctly said best on a budget and under $500.
If he didn't include the $500, then I'd say all the ones listed here would work. If he said the best known to man, then that would be an interesting thread.
Regardless, it's up to the OP to research. I think all of the comments on here will help the OP make a decision. I was going to go the ETS route (because of all the great threads about them), but ended up with a good deal like blowngasket (VRSF).
I ended up buying the ETS LICP and will get their UICP soon, unless another deal comes around!
Or I make my own.
Honestly, this could keep escalating. The OP distinctly said best on a budget and under $500.
If he didn't include the $500, then I'd say all the ones listed here would work. If he said the best known to man, then that would be an interesting thread.
Regardless, it's up to the OP to research. I think all of the comments on here will help the OP make a decision. I was going to go the ETS route (because of all the great threads about them), but ended up with a good deal like blowngasket (VRSF).
I ended up buying the ETS LICP and will get their UICP soon, unless another deal comes around!
Or I make my own.
Feb 6, 2013, 07:54 AM
#71
im still waiting on evidence that a VRSF intercooler is crap, all ive read off forums is that it works and works well for everyone as described. Even Vrsf has graphs showing temps down 27C over stock after 4 pulls compared to 1 pull on stock for a worst case scenario
[same core style different application]
Untill such evidence is seen, where either it fails, or breaks or dont perform up to what it says it should do. Notice i said what it is said to do, "Descriptions of it must be crap cause its not $799 or cause its off ebay [so are most companys]" is just hearsay and conjecture.
cause as stated before and ALL over a bunch of forums, is how well it works and fits. Even here
[same core style different application]
Untill such evidence is seen, where either it fails, or breaks or dont perform up to what it says it should do. Notice i said what it is said to do, "Descriptions of it must be crap cause its not $799 or cause its off ebay [so are most companys]" is just hearsay and conjecture.
cause as stated before and ALL over a bunch of forums, is how well it works and fits. Even here
Last edited by blowngasket; Feb 6, 2013 at 07:59 AM.
Feb 6, 2013, 10:33 AM
#72
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keith sedlak
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Nov 15, 2010 09:48 PM