[pumalex]

My tuner says Mishimoto is better but looking at the pictures i feel ZZP has a better design (and hald price). Anyone has experience or seen both?

Also, there are some cheap kit on ebay which seems ot be knock off of Mishimoto but they are half the price. Anyone tried one of these?

edit, just found some threads about this, this is for a serious race car so i really need the best. Seems like ZZP might be a good solution for my needs.

[Evil-Bee-NH]

This topic will spark plenty of debate. So i'll start with what I've seen, heard and noticed. I'm not endorsing or flaming either option both have their places aswell as pro's and cons.

Mishimoto made a direct-fit replacement with massive improvements over the OEM Intercooler in design and cooling effectiveness. Having seen both the Mishimoto and OEM in person I can say GM dropped the ball on a potentially huge advantage overall had they invested in something not so flimsy and shitty as the final OEM intercooler. But cost cutting was clearly well at work there. The proof is in the results the Mishimoto is an amazing Intercooler and it does it's job but I feel it would fall behind on long track days simply because of the poor location sandwiched between the radiator and condenser.

Your tuner is both wrong and right in saying the mishimoto is better and I don't know your tuner and If I do I apologize ahead of time. The Mishimoto is better in his opinion because it requires less work to tune for the increased cool airflow effectiveness over the ZZP FMIC this doesn't make it better just easier to work with overall.

As far as the ZZP FMIC goes it's a great intercooler and does a great job at what it's suppose to do the issue is figuring out how to properly tune it on this platform. It will take anyone who's not tuned these cars some time and effort to figure out the best method given how the ECU reads and pre-calculates boost. The ZZP being a FMIC I think has the advantage in longer hot track days over the Mishimoto because of placement.

Pro's:

Both do their job far better then the OEM intercooler.

Mishimoto is easier to install and tune.

ZZP argueably better on long hot track days because of placement.

Con's:

Mishimoto is way overpriced that cheaper version I haven't gotten to see side by side the mishimoto but Jason@JacFab has it and I've not heard anything negative and it still looks miles ahead of the cheap OEM intercooler.

ZZP is a PITA to tune until you figure it out then it's slap hand to forehead.

All in all it's a buyers choice the lifetime warranty on the Mishimoto cannot be beat although I've had great experiences with ZZP's willingness to warranty their offerings without issue.

[RedonBlackRS]

Has anyone found out for sure if the ZZP intercooler is compatible with the HD cooling package? That might be something to consider.

[BlueShadow]

Originally Posted by Evil-Bee-NH

Mishimoto is easier to install and tune.

ZZP is a PITA to tune until you figure it out then it's slap hand to forehead.

Why is there a difference? Does the ZZP have more pressure drop or something? due to its different location (mishi is stock location iirc) and/or maybe because of difference in piping diameter?

[Evil-Bee-NH]

Originally Posted by BlueShadow

Why is there a difference? Does the ZZP have more pressure drop or something? due to its different location (mishi is stock location iirc) and/or maybe because of difference in piping diameter?

Longer distance causes the ECU. To misread boost and think it's there when it's not which can cause your Throttle Blade to close prematurely or unnecessarily is what i was told and that falls in line with what my tuner is trying to explain in annoying engineer terms.

[BlueShadow]

Originally Posted by Evil-Bee-NH

Longer distance causes the ECU. To misread boost and think it's there when it's not which can cause your Throttle Blade to close prematurely or unnecessarily is what i was told and that falls in line with what my tuner is trying to explain in annoying engineer terms.

Ahh i see ty for the explanation, I'm used to old school/MAP turbo setups so havent heard of that one yet.

[Evil-Bee-NH]

Originally Posted by BlueShadow

Ahh i see ty for the explanation, I'm used to old school/MAP turbo setups so havent heard of that one yet.

Much of the traditional turbo4 tuning methods are thrown out the window with our ECUs.

[Start The Machine]

Yes, this car is an unconventional nightmare.