Front mount.

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Pythonmsh
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Front mount.

Post by Pythonmsh »

I want to front mount my car eventually but I'd like to keep my bumper and my oem jdm fogs. What intercooler might I be able to go with to do this? A few people I've talked to just say good luck. I've also thought about buying an intercooler and having a shop custom make my piping. Every shop I've asked has just ignored me.

Does anyone here know of a decent fmic kit that won't break the bank but will allow me to do what I want?
James614
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Re: Front mount.

Post by James614 »

There are slim intercoolers like this one which can fit under the bumper beam. But you will still need to cut up your lower bumper opening to accommodate it. And the piping may still entail further cutting behind the cover depending on how you route it.

Our cars (and most scoobs) simply weren't designed with that clearance in mind. There's kits for newer WRXs that actually have a bumbper beam custom made to accommodate the intercooler, but nothing like that for our cars exists, at least not in North America.

My suggestion is, if you absolutely want to do no cutting, then TMIC and AWIC are the way to go.
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James614
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Re: Front mount.

Post by James614 »

Oh yeah, and if you want to absolutely the least amount of cursing, then TMIC is the way to go ;)
93 Touring Wagon (EJ20G 5spd Swap) -- Finally back and running strong as ever!

05 Outback 2.5XT 5spd -- Now the wife can have her SUV and get in on the turbo Legacy goodness at the same time.
Legacy777
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Re: Front mount.

Post by Legacy777 »

AWIC is the best of both worlds, but even it requires some bumper beam cutting to get a decent size exchanger in there. The bottom line is you won't find anything off the shelf....and anything you do will require some modification.
Josh

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Pythonmsh
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Re: Front mount.

Post by Pythonmsh »

Legacy777 wrote:AWIC is the best of both worlds, but even it requires some bumper beam cutting to get a decent size exchanger in there. The bottom line is you won't find anything off the shelf....and anything you do will require some modification.
How much might it cost to do everything? I'd imagine I'll have to do some cutting but I'd like to keep my bumper and fog lights. I don't want anything crazy but I'd like to be able to run the td04 at 16-17psi along with maybe upgrading to a vf39 in the future.
Legacy777
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Re: Front mount.

Post by Legacy777 »

I'm not really sure about the costs. Here are some of my AWIC threads talking about the setup. They are in chronological order so you can see what I started with, what I ended up with, and what I had to do.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23089

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35394

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36822
Josh

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1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
dscoobydoo
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Front mount.

Post by dscoobydoo »

If you get a slim enough core and run the outlet on the top you might keep your fogs. But your piping routing will be challenging.
Regardless you will have to hack the bumper some.
If you don't want to do that then AWIC is an upgrade over TMIC. As long as you don't live in Texas Cali or Arizona
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Legacy777
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Re: Front mount.

Post by Legacy777 »

I live in Texas the AWIC works alright ;)
Josh

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1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
James614
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Re: Front mount.

Post by James614 »

If you size the pump, heat exchanger, and fluid capacity right, and take advantage of forced air flow via the rad fans or even aftermarket fans, you can keep an AWIC under any condition. And that's not touching on using an icebox for drag racing :)
93 Touring Wagon (EJ20G 5spd Swap) -- Finally back and running strong as ever!

05 Outback 2.5XT 5spd -- Now the wife can have her SUV and get in on the turbo Legacy goodness at the same time.
Pythonmsh
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Re: Front mount.

Post by Pythonmsh »

Ideally I'd like to do a FMIC but I could do a AWIC. I'd like to do that slim FMIC someone linked and hook it up then take it to a shop and have them fab up some piping. I just can't get a single reply from anyone who might be able to do this...

They just read what I have to say and ignore it.
Legacy777
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Re: Front mount.

Post by Legacy777 »

Pythonmsh wrote:Ideally I'd like to do a FMIC but I could do a AWIC. I'd like to do that slim FMIC someone linked and hook it up then take it to a shop and have them fab up some piping. I just can't get a single reply from anyone who might be able to do this...

They just read what I have to say and ignore it.

Are you saying people on the BBS are ignoring you or shops in your area to do the work? I'm a little confused by your post after reading over this thread.
Josh

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1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
Pythonmsh
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Re: Front mount.

Post by Pythonmsh »

Legacy777 wrote:
Pythonmsh wrote:Ideally I'd like to do a FMIC but I could do a AWIC. I'd like to do that slim FMIC someone linked and hook it up then take it to a shop and have them fab up some piping. I just can't get a single reply from anyone who might be able to do this...

They just read what I have to say and ignore it.

Are you saying people on the BBS are ignoring you or shops in your area to do the work? I'm a little confused by your post after reading over this thread.
Nah just the shops. But I may of found a guy who can do it for a good price.
Legacy777
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Re: Front mount.

Post by Legacy777 »

Ok, well hopefully that works out for you.
Josh

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1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
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