[Mk2] [Turbo] Anyone ever actually one any back to back testing of I/Cs?

[Jim Galbally]

I stupidly bought an xs-power one when i first bought the car, so just wanted to see if anyone has experience of just how bad they really are and if anyone's ever done any back to back intercooler tests

[Baker]

who says they're bad as an intercooler?

fitment may be a bit of a pig though!

[Jim Galbally]

it costs about 10% of a decent brand and the core looks like it's prbably worse than a standard one, im not expecting greatness from the thing... lol

[Baker]

costs less as its hasn't got the silly markup of 4000% that the same unit will have which has 'Greddy' enscribed on it.

in fact, there's very little difference if any between the greddy and xs cores imo.

anyway, back to your question, would be good to see the differences.

[platmatt8]

Mine ebay IC is fine, no problems with it so far. Noticed a few small changes in performance.

[Mike]

costs less as its hasn't got the silly markup of 4000% that the same unit will have which has 'Greddy' enscribed on it.

in fact, there's very little difference if any between the greddy and xs cores imo.

anyway, back to your question, would be good to see the differences.

There's a big qualitative difference in the standard of workmanship between the XS-Power and the GReddy. My GReddy IC is a better fit than the standard unit and is a huge improvement over it in terms of performance. The single best engine mod I've carried out. You get what you pay for!

[Baker]

I did say the xs power can be a pig to fit compared to the greddy.
I myself had little trouble, maybe i was lucky.

But the core is near identical, so with the greddy you're paying an many many hundreds extra for better hoses and clips and easier fitment.

Not my idea of a bargain!

[Jim Galbally]

you mean it looks identical to the naked eye?

[Driftlimits Performance]

lol Greddy's aren't full of swarf and cut from poor poor material! the joining pieces are a joke, and it gives no flex between the engine and IC, hence why the brackets snap.

The extra pounds for the Greddy is worth it imo.

Neither can touch a CC though.

[Baker]

There's a genuine greddy unit for sale on here with a snapped bracket.

[redmr89]

id like to see back to back rolling road evidence of the xs compared to the more expensive brands.. ie same car same mods etc, r/r with one then the others.. this has never happend to my knowledge.


ive seen this discusion many times over the years from people with xs and poeple with big brands. and it goes on and on. yes id probs agree the main brands may have better welds better clips etc. but do they cool better??

[.jambo.]

has the mr2 mag never done a test?.maybe they should

[jimGTS]

what you need to ask is are there ANY big hp mr2s running an XS ic....??

compared to the MANY running greddy/PP/spearco sidemount ICs....
(mostly in the US)

tho those latter 2 ICs are bigger than the greddy in more ways than one. and also obviously larger than the XS ic.


most people go A2W now or boot mount, so hasnt been talked about for a while as theres better ways to cool the charge.

i for one am just going to stick to my phoenix power IC and run some water/meth injection until i got the time/funds/balls to fit a boot mount.

[.jambo.]

what money is involved in a boot mount set-up.and at what point/power level is it needed???.

[Neil_turbo]

Shish on here did make a intercooler effieciency monitor using a circuit board he designed and fabricated and 3 k-type thermocouples.

Mine is still in fabrication stage but once its up and running there are a few of us (me excluded) with turbos and various intercoolers, so at some point in the future could make for a good testing!

This of course will not monitor flow, only temps.

[Baktasht]

The main problem you'll find with XS intercoolers and other cheap ones like it are everything in the kit other than the intercooler core itself. The piping is junk, the couplers are junk and usually improperly sized. The clamps are as well. No body shroud, no fan shroud, no fan.

Otherwise the intercooler core itself is fine.