legacycentral bbs

I'm picking up a used 06 WRX TMIC this weekend locally, $150 with Y-pipings but...

is it me or does it look like it'll take a lot of effort removing those pipes?when I popped up my hood I almost called 911. Did you guys removed all these?

I gutted out the A/C, so it's hard for me to say. I know you can tuck the A/C line under the pitch mount bar (did it on Phil's old '94). You will end up removing the "chimney" and the elbow since it's going right from the I/C to the T/B.

is the twisty metal tube that goes behind the elbow the A/C line? what's a T/B? sorry man, not really familiar with cars....

A/C meaning air-con ? Do i have to take off A/C when I install the intercooler? I don't think my girlfriend would like that haha ><

Trace wrote:not really familiar with cars....

If you aren't familiar with cars...then I wouldn't recommend trying to install an intercooler...

It's not easy if you don't have some background in the automotivological arts.

T/B = throttle body
A/C = air conditioner
G/F = girl friend

No, you do not need to remove the A/C from the car (so the G/F will still be happy with you). Removing the bolts that hold the pitch mount bar from the tranny to the firewall is all that would be required. Stuff the line under it and reinstall the pitch mount.

Installing it is not hard, but understand you are trying to put a non-standard piece of equipement on your car. Customizing and minor alterations will become common practice.

lol hey i know what G/F means!

yea....this is gonna be a bit tough . i've asked my friends to help me out. they do their own performance parts so knows a lot more than I do. However, none of them has ever tried customize fit parts since all the stuff ordered are dedicated direct bolt-ons. wrx, 350z, integra, and civics..etc.

I could have someone install it for me but I bet its not going to be cheap.. and I want to do it myself cuz I have big-ass ego. hey I'm an engineer too! but i only do cell phones...

Trace wrote:lol hey i know what G/F means!

Ok, so I was a bit of a smart ass with that one.
Once you get back moving stuff out of the way, it's pretty cut & dry. All you really need to do, is look under the hood of your buddy's WRX and you'll get the jist of what you need to accomplish.

Installing the intercooler is a much larger project than some may lead you to believe. It is a total custom evolution. If you listed all of the tasks involved, I would guess there are around 35 line items, maybe more, depending on how detailed your plan is, that need to be accomplished. Knowing what all the lines, hoses, wires, connectors, and various other hardware are, and what they do for the system they are a part of, is necessary to make the whole thing work. There are some people in B.C., on legacy central, who are real smart about this. If you could consult with them it would help. Remove the pitch stop and put the AC line under it, and anything else you can stuff under it. Move the ignitor out of the way, I put mine on the firewall drivers side. Remove the heat stack and its vent on the hood. You won't use the stock intake elbow to the throttle body. I did extensive reading, via search on this website, to develope a plan on what to do. I have posted pictures of my TMIC install, in some of my posts. Whether you are an engineer or an attendent in the men's room, you need to plan this job and understand all the components before you start, and be ready to design and fabricate at every step. But, I did it, and so can you! Have fun.

I second Kleinkid's post.
I also did the 06 swap, but I too had some mods I did before I tackled the job.
I changed the AC line so it did not have the "dogbone" ( do a search for that term).
I also moved the ignitor to the right to make room. You will also have to do some modifications to the intercooler to turbo pipe on the 06 as well as what you are going to do to make the BPV ( or Blow off valve to the newbies) work.

A bunch of us have done this mod, but in different ways. You might want to read up in the intercooling section on how we all did it and make it work for you.

yep careful planning is a bitch but its a must.

and step 1: gangster!

You said you were going to use an '06 WRX IC, and you got an STI IC? If that is larger than the WRX IC you are going to have problems getting it to fit. I would think.

The STi models had the logo stenciled on them. So he is likely using a WRX model.

But it for sure doesn't look like an '06.

Agreed. It looks more like the '02/'03 like I'm using.

I have an '02 WRX IC sitting on my lap, and comparing it with the picture, I would have to agree also, that Trace does not have an '06WRX/FXT IC. Take it back and get your money back, if you can. You don't want to try to make it fit, when the '06+ WRX/FXT will fit so much better.

The '06 has plastic end tanks, doesn't it?

That is definitely an '02-'05 style intercooler. I have one of those currently residing in my trunk (already installed it, but removed it for the tranny swap)

oh my god its not??? damn that was noob i gotta take it back!!

thanks for the heads up guys

Sorry to be the barer of bad news to ya...
And yes, the Forester XT & newer WRX I/C have black ends w/ the silver aluminum center.

If you are somewhat mechanically inclined/ hands on kind of guy you wont have a problem with this install. Especially with all the help you can get from this message board.

The '06 wrx/forester xt intercoolers have plastic end caps, so make sure you get one that has black plastic endcaps.

Do you plan on upping the boost or anything as well? It is a very good idea to do so since the intercooler will actually restrict flow a little and decrease the boost pressure around 1psi.

Yep, i'm planning to increase the boost as well. I've just got an used Autometer Boost gauge 30-0-20 psi, first to see where my baseline is at. i'm having some trouble finding out which vaccume hose I could T it off but the guys here are really helpful!

Next after boost gauge is a mechanical boost controller. Leaving the intercooler as the last step.

are there any other thing I should consider adding on before I do the intercooler?

By upping do you mean the exhaust system?

Trace wrote:
By upping do you mean the exhaust system?

By upping...he means turning up...


Don't raise your boost until you have the intercooler in...

555BCTurbo wrote:

Trace wrote:
By upping do you mean the exhaust system?

By upping...he means turning up...


Don't raise your boost until you have the intercooler in...

hmm. good idea

Imprezive wrote:If you are somewhat mechanically inclined/ hands on kind of guy you wont have a problem with this install. Especially with all the help you can get from this message board.

I was thinking oh well just go ahead with it but then dropfocus mentioned about cutting the throttle body and bang the hell out of the firewall to make room in the other forum made me hestitate. I really don't have the tools or the guts to make any permanent change to the car. just want something that could do direct piping

That is why you need an '06 +

The throttle body and firewall mangling was necessary with the old ones because they were too big. Get an '06 and it is only plumbing that you need to worry about.

Well, maybe thats not true. There is pretty much consensus that the coolant tank needs to be moved to make room. Minor stuff.

I haven't done mine yet and the way life is going i will be lucky if i do in the next two weeks. *sad face*

Dynamic Entry wrote:The throttle body and firewall mangling was necessary with the old ones because they were too big.

Thats not true, now is it.........
You saw first hand it can be done without bashing anything, and the modification of the throttlebody is really easy.