strigga

i'm interested in the Vibrant 12810 intercooler. Does someone have pictures of it mounted?
What's your experience with it. Good quality?

mayfly

i use it, it works fine. good product for off the shelf. it comes with those brackets to mount it, so you do not have to buy them separate. the only pic i have is when i got it new in the mail.

but my question is, what are your goals in terms of horse power?

mayfly

found this, looks like the best deal if your looking to buy new. direct from vibrant

2kdrift

I say there definitely a good step better then and ebay intercooler, Some may argue and say there not the best IE garrett. but for the price the quality cannot be beat. (seem to have a higher fin density and maybe even better quality alluminum?)

treadstone would be the closest camparison I can think of and I have not seen a direct comparison between the two

drmix

Im running it on my build. Great quality and value for the price.

If you look on the next page I have pics showing how I mounted it.
Drmix's 96 CGP GSR Turbo Drag Build Thread - Page 108 - Team Integra Forums - Team Integra

LightningTeg

I've had 2 of them. No complaints. Not the BEST but definitely good.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Remember that this Vibrant power rating is at the crankshaft not the wheels, so take into account minus 15%-18% for its power capability.

AZ_CIVIC

iTrader: (1)

I like the Vibrant cores, no complaints on my end.

strigga

Thank you for the information with the brackets. i woud have ordered them.
At the moment i'm running ~430hp at 30psi with a spearco intercooler (3.5" thick, 7.9" tall and 20" wide).
My next goal are 470-500hp so i think the size of the vibrant 12810 would be perfect.

any recommendations for a intercooler sized like the 12810 ?
I want to modify the inlet to backdoor.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Actually, Your Spearco was much better than this Vibrant for what you're trying to do. As I said, that's the 550hp core, which is actually about 460whp or so, depending upon the rest of the setup and how much the core actually pressure drops. 430whp at 30psi (over 2.04BAR), means that the turbocharger may be close to being maxed out. Time to step your game up to a Garrett or even a CSF or ETS core. But that Vibrant you picked up won't be enough.

AZ_Civic isn't having a problem because he got the 1000hp core for his 850whp-900whp setup. He's at close to the limit, but he also strictly drag races with it. that's different with this scenario.

Just to confirm, what turbocharger are you using for this?

Go beyond just the personal experience and look at how the different core designs are created and from which companies. There is a "sticky" highlighted in Grey as to what's the more current efficient designs are.
See page 3 and go from there..

https://honda-tech.com/forums/forced...3074553/page3/

strigga

hm, thats what i thought. the spearco is too small for my current setup and the next step. my turbocharger is a borg warner EFR 6758. 0.64ar. yes nearly at the top end but i think i can get a little bit more out of it. So then i think the best choice should be a precision 600hp or are there any other ones you can recommend? but i hope it does not get a big pressure drop. the engine is just 1.3L

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Read that sticky on the intercoolers. You're outside of the Precision, Mishimoto, Vibrant smaller intercoolers. Remember, those all are rated to the crankshaft. you'd still be at the limits of efficiency with those. Your minimum is a Treadstone TR10, But your better choices are Garrett 600hp (20 x 11 x 3) (Which actually can do more than their rating by over 30%), or ETS.
Precisions can't exchange air that well due to their fin design without getting really big.

Yes, they are a little more expensive than you'd like but on that 6758, you're pretty close to being done. About 2-3 more psi out of it, and now you're starting to blow hot air.

If you must stay with Precision or Vibrant, go up to the 700hp and 850hp cores. Those lower-level cores need lots of surface area to be efficient.

strigga

yes, maybe 2-3psi or little bit more. btw my next step is to get power from the head (at the moment it's a stock z6 head) and a new cam to reach the 470-500. not only with more boost.
i thought precision uses the Garrett cores? the 600hp precision should nearly have the same volume as the 600hp Garrett, or not?

what about a spearco 24x8x3.5 compared to the Garrett 20x11x3 core ?

AZ_CIVIC

iTrader: (1)

Actually I have the 1300 horsepower core on my car and put down 1052whp yesterday. I will finish the final details at the track but should be around 1100whp and the intercooler is just fine but again it is a drag car LOL.

mayfly

honestly i believe the 12810 intercooler will be fine for you, if your on a budget it works great. little side note i also use water/meth with my set up(which is why I'm above the rated hp). the garrett cores are honestly great! but this intercooler will put you where you need to be. and its decently heavy(weight in the front is good for traction).

theshodan has superior knowledge in this field, and he wouldn't steer you wrong, just trying to give you my opinions

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Noted. But is still within the 16% differential to where you are not "under intercooled" for your wheel HP goal. You planned properly..

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Precision hadn't used a Garrett core since 2003- 2004 in their line up. Even then they stopped using them after 2004.

a 20x11x3 Garrett will cool over 35% more over a Spearco of that size. I've had 20 x11x3 Garretts make over 700whp on that core alone. It's apples to grapes comparison. Read the intercooler sticky..

strigga

i have read many threads now - and there are a lot of opinions. i know now that everyone says that you cant go wrong with garrett/pte/bell. but my budget is limited and shipping/tax costs a lot to europe...
The treadstone tr10 is very thick. i have read some posts here that they have airflow problems. and i think the intercooler does not fit very well behind the bumper. does someone has pictures fitted on a civic eg?

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

It depends upon which one you get. there are many combinations that can fit in other EG bumpers of chassis.

I have noticed that Those that do take the plunge and have the better ones shipped to Europe, get ALL of their money back when/if they resell to someone else. So, they take the plunge, enjoy the efficiency, and never look back.

Save yourself a few extra paychecks, re-evaluate the budget. Show patience. Get the right equipment the 1st time. That's all we can recommend and show. We're doing this from experience. You asked about this intercooler, you got your answers..

Good luck.

2kdrift

Tr10 should fit, my last intercooler was 3.5" just like the tr10 and it fit with minor adjustments to the bumper, the vibrant is a bit thinner and will give for an easier install I think they are both pretty good options.

I do prefer to use an intercooler with centered end tanks makes for more efficency IMO my last intercooler had non centered endtanks and heatsoaked mostly on bottom

strigga

allright, there are two intercoolers in my shortlist:

Treadstone TR10C
22" x 10.5" x 3.5"
+ more space for ic piping
+ maybe better cooling efficiency
- less surface area
TR10C Intercooler 666HP- TREADSTONE PERFORMANCE


FMIC.eu
24" x 12" x 3"
+ more surface area
- maybe "chinese" quality (but the fin density look good)
Intercooler 600x300x76mm - FMIC


Now i'm not sure....

Fitting:
The treadstone would be easier to fit. More space for ic piping. With the fmic i would modify it to backdoor. So the costs of these two intercoolers would be nearly the same.

Cooling Efficiency:
The fmic has a good fin density (compared to other chinese intercoolers) and a bigger surface area. Many users here wrote a bigger surface area is more efficient than a deeper core. So maybe it would do a good job.
The Treadstone is a Treadstone - so i think the quality should be better and maybe the cooling efficiency too.

What do you think?

LightningTeg

Treadstone is a step up from that China IC for sure. There's nothing about the china IC that stands out as better then others.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Exactly. Don't bother with the FMIC.eu stuff. Use the Treadstone or the CSF.

strigga

but the treadstone will not fill the full with of the bumper air inlet. isn't there more efficiency if i can get the full surface of the air inlet?

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

You don't have to fill the full bumper grill in order to be efficient.

Plenty of Efficiency


IF this is the right fin core design. plenty efficient