V mount why only on RXs ?

[Koose]

Hey guys

Was thinking today whilst figuring out my intercooler and rad setup, what is it with RXs and V mounts, is V mount config more efficient ?

Mark

[AtomicRex]

Light touch paper and run for the hills!!
 
I will say no, and there will be plenty of people that disagree
 
I think there are quite a few threads on the pro\'s and con\'s of v-mount rather than front mount.  Personally the latter works best in my eyes.

[m1tch]

Its a matter of preference sometimes and depends on what turbo you want to run, my topmounted intercooler has no lag, v mount would be slightly more laggy, front mount would be way more laggy, but if plumbed into a different turbo the airflow would be cooled better on a v mount and front mount, its best to check around, I don\'t really want an intercooler jammed up against my hot radiator and oil cooler blocking airflow lol

[sadgoth]

The main issue is around ensuring that the water temps are kept low, the FMIC sits in front of the rad and so you are getting hot (well warm) air onto the rad. A V-mount, in theory, ensures that both the rad and the IC get cool air from the front of the car. You could then argue that the angle that the IC sits in some V Mounts means that it doesn\'t get as much cool air as an FMIC so swings and roundabouts. Mine is a bit of an offset V-Mount with the rad laying almost flat on the underside of the engine and the IC at a similar angle to the original rad mounting, I do have two mig electric fans on the underside of the rad drawing air through the rad from the "V"

[AtomicRex]

Hot air rises.....so the warm air from the rad will in theory just rise up and through the intercooler.
 
If you are worried about heat soak with the FMIC then make sure the ducting is done and put fans on the back of the radiator.  When at stand still the fans will draw the air away and not into the intercooler. Having said that when you are stationary...what difference does it make?

[probedb]

I\'ve got a Feed FMIC and I\'ve not noticed any increase in lag over the SMIC. If anything I\'d say it spools the twins faster.

Theoretically you\'d expect more lag (longer and larger piping) but it doesn\'t seem to necessarily be the case in practice.

[sadgoth]

Hot air rises.....so the warm air from the rad will in theory just rise up and through the intercooler.

Again, this is only a factor when stationary, whereas in an FMIC setup (granted, done properly with ducting, fans etc this should be less of an issue) the warmed air through the IC is pushed onto the rad when moving. Again, it is a personal preference really there are pros and cons to either solution (IMHO the V-Mount is a better option from a cooling point of view), but there are probably more tuners out there who favour the V-Mount over the FMIC

[Nik da Greek]

My FMIC doesn\'t seem to have any real lag either, in fact it\'s a bit tricky keeping the damn thing off-boost (I\'m allegedly running it in ). Surely the turbo and porting will have more of an effect on lag than a few extra cms of piperun?

The most important consideration hasn\'t even been discussed here yet....FMICs look double hard and are therefore clearly far superior to V-mounts :p

[AtomicRex]

One of the reasons you only see them in Rx\'s is that they seem to have an abundant amount of space in front of the engine to make one fit.  You certainly don\'t have that sort of space in an Evo or Scooby.

[SiH]

Its a matter of preference sometimes and depends on what turbo you want to run, my topmounted intercooler has no lag, v mount would be slightly more laggy, front mount would be way more laggy,

In the real worl I suspect you\'d notice very litle difference at all. Someone much, much cleverer than I once wrote some calculations based on the extra volume of air needed to fill the pipework, and the effect it would have on lag. The difference between something like an extra metre of pipework was microscopic. It\'s a common fallacy.
Have you tried all 3 setups on your car to be able to say?
Far, far more important is the design and size of the core.

Hot air rises.....so the warm air from the rad will in theory just rise up and through the intercooler.
 

Heat also radiates So a rad close to an IC will heat the IC as well. Both of these facts of thermal movement are sort of irrelevant when the car is moving though.

Loads of diffeernt cars use V mounts - I\'ve seen them on S bodies, R boies, Supras, Corollas etc.

Like a alot of things, if done well they can be used to great effect. Ducting is key. If you don\'t duct it, you may as well not bother.
I had a V mounted generiec cheap eBay core that was SMIC size. When properly ducted, it was brilliantly effective. The only time I got heat soak was when sat queing for a track day. Same would have occured with an FMIC in close proximity to the rad.

Both are great methods (FMIC and V) - main advantage of the V mount is that, with an additional divider, you get the opportunity to tune how much flow goes to each component.

I decided to go V with my engine bay re-jig, but with a larger core, simply because I founf the packaging a little easier.

[AtomicRex]

The most important consideration hasn\'t even been discussed here yet....FMICs look double hard and are therefore clearly far superior to V-mounts :p

Case closed!

[Jono FD3]

LOL.... when it comes to V-mount and hot air rising from the rad up in to the IC... simple solution... hit the AC button & the cooling fans go in to warp drive and pull the air down & under the car away from the IC The other thing you can do (which I am going to be doing with new engine setup) is put a devider plate to split the V in to 2 sections... one designated for the rad & one for the IC.... all problems solved also using polished pipe work helps with heat soak slightly as it reflects the heat slightly, and using something other than alloy helps again as alloy pipe soaks up heat like a sponge does water

Jono

[Koose]

Whats AC ?!:Giggle

[jetpilot]

Never really got my head around the lag thing, im sure there is a difference but would imagine you would have to be a driving god to notice the effects between v, front and top mount set ups.

I am afraid for me and my limited tech ability a v mount makes more sense as you have cold air flowing to both rad and intercooler in equal quantities or there abouts.

[marco]

but surely the amount of air coming in from the opening in the nose is the same, so with a vmount you get 50% or the air at ambient temp to the intercooler, and then 50% of the air to rad at ambient temp to the rad. With a front mount you get 100% or the air to the intercooler at ambient temp and then 100% of the air at an elevated temp to the rad (assuming good ducting for both setups). whilst you want the intercooler to be as cold as possible at all times to maximise charge temp, the radiator has to ensure that the engine doesnt get too hot, so if the elevated air passing over the rad gives sufficent cooling then the higher temp caused by the front mount isnt really an issue. there will be a presure drop across both the rad and the intercooler affecting the cooling air, and in the case of the front mount this will have a greater effect as all the air has to go through both, (similar to resistors in series (front mount) and parrallel (vmount)). If the pressure drop across the intercooler is too great, then it will negatively affect the airflow through to the rad in an FMIC which may well affect engine temps. if this is the case then re-arranging to a vmount will help loads, as it will give more airflow to the rad- bt surely it isnt really a case of \'vmic being better than fmic\' as the root cause is a rubbish IC design?