Monthly Archives: June 2014

Interested in purchasing our STI intercooler? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishmoto Subaru WRX STi Performance Top-Mount Intercooler Kit

The wait is over! Time to reveal the full details of our prototype top-mount intercooler (TMIC). This unit is unpainted, and one of the more obvious features is its massive size! First, a few overview images of this cooler.

Mishimoto raw aluminum TMIC prototype

Mishimoto raw aluminum TMIC prototype

Mishimoto raw aluminum TMIC prototype

As you can see we designed two fully casted end tanks for this cooler. Both the BPV flange and Y-pipe flanges are CNC-machined. The thickness and construction of our casting will provide the durability needed to run much higher pressures than your STI will ever see. Each tank is then TIG-welded to our core. As with other projects, we are using a bar-and-plate core for improved heat transfer and resistance to heat soak. Let's take a closer look at the core itself.

Mishimoto TMIC prototype, external core

Interested in purchasing our 2008-2014 Subaru WRX Top-Mount Intercooler? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Top-Mount Intercooler

Thanks for returning to the final portion of this build. Now that we have finished testing, it is time to review our data and see the improvements our cooler provided. To start things off, here is a shot of the cooler fully installed!

Mishimoto 2008-2014 WRX Intercooler installed

Let's dive into the data. First, we'll compare the basic specs of our cooler versus the OEM unit.

Internal flow area for Mishimoto vs stock intercooler

The Mishimoto intercooler features a 37.9% increase in internal flow area compared to the stock intercooler!

Core volume for Mishimoto vs stock intercooler

The Mishimoto intercooler features an 80% increase in internal core volume compared to the stock intercooler!

Total intercooler volume for Mishimoto vs stock intercooler

The Mishimoto intercooler features a 79.5% increase in overall intercooler

Interested in purchasing our STI intercooler? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishmoto Subaru WRX STi Performance Top-Mount Intercooler Kit

Did you think we would just develop a top-mount intercooler (TMIC) for the GD WRX and leave out the STI? No way! At around the same time we began development on the WRX, we picked up a new shop vehicle, a 2010 STI. When a new vehicle makes its way into shop service, we need to be sure it accelerates and handles properly. The STI passed our checkup. We then set out to determine what products we wanted to develop first. We already had a few items on the market, including a performance aluminum radiator and a silicone radiator hose kit. Our first target had been a direct-fit oil cooler that proved to be extremely successful, providing a 20°F drop in oil temperatures during our testing. Next we created a plug-n-play fan shroud with dual 12" electric fans. The key component of this shroud was the use of stock-style fan connectors and a very

Interested in purchasing our WRX oil cooler? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Oil Cooler Kit

The most obvious thing to do with your brand new WRX is to take it to the track immediately after leaving the dealership. Fortunately, the WRX is a rather competitive package right out of the box. Our initial driving impressions were very positive, and we have no doubt that this vehicle is going to make a big impact on the enthusiast world. We monitored fluid temperatures at stock power levels during normal driving conditions and found that everything seems to be in spec. We are assuming a majority of these vehicles will not remain at stock power levels for very long. Soon enough, many enthusiasts will be bolting on intakes and exhaust systems and supporting everything with a solid tune. As we have seen with our initial intake testing, the FA20DIT responds very well to modifications. We expect the 2015 WRX should be able to attain 300 whp with a few simple modifications.

Interested in purchasing our 2008-2014 Subaru WRX Top-Mount Intercooler? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Top-Mount Intercooler

Testing time! Well " almost. We had a few quick testing details to sort out and some preparations before we actually began. First, we needed to drill and tap the stock intercooler as well as the Mishimoto prototypes so we could install our pressure/temperature sensors. Additionally, we decided to create a shroud for our TMIC fan to ensure that all cores would receive appropriate airflow on the dynamometer.

Tapping the intercoolers for sensors is a relatively straightforward process. We drilled into both end tanks and then tapped them to 1/8" NPT for our sensors. The stock intercooler tanks are thick enough so we could adequately tap them for testing. Check out a few images of our coolers getting this treatment.

Mishimoto prototype intercooler pressure sensor

Mishimoto prototype intercooler pressure sensor

Mishimoto prototype

Interested in purchasing our 2015 WRX downpipe? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Downpipe

As I am sure you are aware, we have been working diligently to develop innovative components for the new 2015 Subaru WRX. To continue our video series regarding the new model, we have captured some of the new products in various stages.

Check out these videos featuring our in-house Subaru expert, Jason, as he provides an inside look at products we already have on the market, as well as two unique products we are currently working on.

Direct-Fit Oil Cooler

Downpipe

Thanks for watching!

Interested in purchasing our 2015 WRX downpipe? Check out our product page for more information!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Downpipe

Interested in purchasing our 2008-2014 Subaru WRX Top-Mount Intercooler? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Top-Mount Intercooler

Last time, we left you with a teaser of the rendering for our prototype of the top-mount intercooler (TMIC). Since then Dan has been hard at work refining his design. Our team worked up some CFD analyses of both the stock intercooler and the Mishimoto prototype. And, we also worked up a few functioning prototypes so we could begin real-world product testing. This project is moving quickly and our team is rather excited to see the outcome. Take a look at the finalized rendering of our cooler below!

Rendering of Mishimoto prototype intercooler

The core we designed is rather dense and features an offset fin style for greater heat transfer contact points. Despite the density, we saw very similar if not better flow results compared to the stock cooler. Take a good look at the comparisons below.

CFD analysis of stock (top)