Question About My R34 Smic Conversion

[TUF250]

Hi all.

No I have an R33 GTS-T manual. So far my mods include a full service (best mod ever ), A turbo back 3inch exhaust with high fow cat, Re-installed the standard airbox with a high flow filter (and a custom scoop to direct air into the snorkle).

I decided to put an R34 SMIC in the car, now before everyone tells me they are no good. My goal with the current setup is to run standard boost and keep the car as streetable adn responsive as possible. Longerterm I would like to put in a bigger turbocharger and a FMIC will be included but thats not where we are up to yet.

The point is I got the R34 SMIC really really cheap so I tought I would give it a go.

Overall Im happy, reasonable easy to install. The car felt a little smoother to throughout the rpm band (not sure why?) and I think it had a little more sting but not much, still worth while mod. The end tanks seemed noticable cooler after a drive than the std ones did.

I also cut every second slat from the exit vanes that are in the front passenger wheel well to let a little more air flow out and away from the cooler

Anyway to my question. The IC came with an air duct which I installed. Great idea, force all the air over the core. My question is would I be better running it or not? Is it more adventageous to have all teh air running over the core? or would it be better to remove it and let the air pass over the end tanks as well at the expense of less core flow?

any thoughts would be appeciated

Jason

[R31Nismoid]

The core is what cools the air.

Not the end tanks.

[Basti]

what he said. you are better off with the ducting

[TUF250]

ok thats fine and I did know that I was just curious if there was a benifit to having air flow over the tanks but thanks for the responses.

Must admit for my near stock application it was a worth while upgrade, appears to get through the RPM band quicker, definately has more punch, probably due to better flow rather than cooler air though.

I would highly recommend that people pull out their coolers and pipes and give them a good clean, couldnt believe the amount of crap that came out of them.

On a good note, absolutely no shaft play in my turbo which I was excited about

[jjskyline79]

Guys in the UK do it all the time its seen as a cheap easy worth while upgrade for stage one applications

Edited June 21, 2010 by jjskyline79

[gotRICE?]

If you got it for next to nothing with the ducting its def worth while doing it if you dont have bigger turbo plans in the near future.

I did it in mine, but there just isnt sufficient airflow (or not on my particular OEM bar) and even cruising, the thing would get savagely heat soaked. It doesnt take long on spirited runs either for it to be red hot. Seems to have worked well for you though!

On a side note, those vents you cut out, they actually are shaped to draw air through the core as the wheel spins, it sortof "sucks" air through So dont cut too many out haha.

[Basti]

Agreed that it does heat soak but its only really performance sapping on 30+degree days when you are thrashing it. one of the better mods i've done imo and piss easy to do

[TUF250]

yeah it seems to work well, for my application anyways, dont think I got as much out of it as the dump pipe and cat but still a solid gain. I can see it being a limitation if boost was to be increased. Being a series 2 bumper it has a pretty open area that the ducting fits nicely around which is probably why it is effective

[adis]

Bit off the topic, but if anyone is looking for R34 cooler, i have one i dont need =) cheers (pm me if interested)

[Victory]

I have a R34 cooler on one of my Series II R33 GTS-T's. The Series II front bar has a nice big opening for the ducting to capture the air and send it through the cooler.

With a standard turbo and air box and just an exhaust, cam gears and a Power FC I am making a very driveable 200kw at the wheels with this set up.

[TUF250]

nice, I have all of that but the cam gears and tune, what sort of boost was required to get tht figure with your setup?

[Victory]

nice, I have all of that but the cam gears and tune, what sort of boost was required to get tht figure with your setup?

I am running about 12 psi boost to achieve these figures and the best part is that it is making 100 kw at only 3k compared to my GTR that makes 80kw at 3k. This give the car a strong bottom end and mid range which makes it very driveable and is a credit to the guys at Unigroup Engineering.

[TUF250]

very nice mate

[Rekin]

shroud should definitely be put on any heat exchanger. Be it radiator, oil cooler or intercooler. Air takes the least resistive path and will scatter around instead of going through the core. Dont think this only applies to people running SMIC's. People should look into ducting/shrouds for their FMIC's too. http://autospeed.com.au/cms/A_2470/article.html