I want to get a set of aftermarket IC boots and want some feedback. The only brands I'm aware of are Alta, M7 and GT Tuning. What I do know is that the Alta ones seem to be the most common, the GTT are supposed to be good but 2x the cost, and I can find very little about the M7 ones. Which should I go with? Feedback would be great.

 

I had the Alta one's and for a generic band unlike the formed factory one they worked and looked fine.

 

if you just want bling then go aftermarket but sometime function beats form
stay with the stock boots

 

i like my stock boots quite a bit.

 

i had two boots split while on the track.....no fun....no power! i now run the alta boots. no problems so far. i've only run a couple of events with them, but i believe that they will last longer than OEM. not bling in interested in w/ this part, purely function.

 

I've used mini mania and m7. Most aftermarket boots are pretty similar, their widths may vary a tad.

 

Did you prefer one over the other?

 

Just installed a set of the Alta intercooler couplers. They appear to be doing their job. The smaller one (intercooler to intake manifold) is a pretty tight fit but nothing a small flathead screwdriver couldn't assist with. I've never had a problem with any of the other Alta products I own so I'm confident these will work as advertised.

Also - this is a great time to clean the oil film out of the intercooler - have an extra can of carb cleaner around when you begin this project.

 

I agree with the other posters, why go aftermarket? The stock ones work fine as long as yours aren't cracked or dried out... .

 

The Mini mania were slightly stiffer = real pain in the ***, fought me the whole way. The M7 are slightly more pliable and a little easier to work with. I believe slightly wider (I need to double check this but my son is out for the night so tomorrow I will verify and post.).

regardless of the brand - it helps to have and extra set of helping hands

 

For some aftermarket ICs, you need them especially if the IC floats they need help to be held in place and stockers can't cut it.

Colors is another key reason to go aftermarket

 

unless we posted at the same time.....i have had two OEM boots split. that is why i went w/ the alta boots. my car has a TSW engine dampener installed. stock boots didn't cut it....

 

I used the Altas for awhile but they're infuriatingly difficult to put on and chances are they won't seal as well as the stockers. I'm not into dressing up the engine bay so it was kind of pointless in that regard. Wasn't some tuner complaining about them awhile back.. LDG?

 

I used silicone ones when I still had a top mount. Kinda like the alta ones. They took a little know how to get on, simple really, once you know the trick. They were the only thing that would hold on with 28 lbs of boost :D

 

An engine damper isn't going to make the boot split, but you do have some sort of problem if you're splitting intercooler boots.

 

you missed my point....even w/ an engine dampener, i've split ic boots. i do drive the car very hard on the track. there is nothing wrong w/ my car. i've checked it out multiple times. both times, the boot split along the line of the clamp. no doubt, the failure was due to relative movement between the engine (significant w/out poly mounts) and the rest of the car. i started a thread about this the first time that it happened. not much response. aftermarket boots seemed to be a good solution. so far, so good.

 

The irony is you need to clamp these suckers down yet I have seen the clamps actually work as a knife and cut the boot and my guess is thats what happened to Beaner.

 

The Mini Manias drove me and my son insane - we both lost some skin off of our knuckles . There is a trick I learned from GTT on how to get them to seal up properly. Take the half of the clamp that is not threaded and you remove 1/16th to 1/8th at both tips, this allows the clamps to close even more.

 

I track my car, and drive it on the street pretty close to how I drive it on the track (I actually needed to switch to track pads on the street because I was fading my other pads .) 30k miles, 230 whp for the last 20k miles, never split a boot or had any boost leaks. Jan's GP make's over 260 whp and 230 lb-ft of torque he tracks his car hardtrack their cars, they run he's got stock boots. Something's wrong with one of your mounts if you're splitting boots that often .

 

The Alta couplers were a beotch to put on. I found that heating them in front of our furnace vent did help make them more flexible, and just slightly easier to install. But they were still really tough to get on.

I have no idea if they truly seal better than the stock couplers, but they sure are beefier and thicker. I defer to the track experts and tuners out there to tell me if they truly seal better or not, but I can't tell.

 

Well, I got a set of the M7 ones. I forget how much they said, I think it was $40 with shipping.

The reason why I'm looking at these is 1) cheap bling, and 2) I'm getting a tune from Jan in a couple of weeks and as part of my prep I'm making sure that everything is air tight...no IC leaks and no exhaust leaks. I don't imagine Jan will be coming to Rochester NY too often and don't want anything to screw this up.

 

Smart.

 

It's pretty black and white, you'd know if you had a boost leak. Unless you're stock boots are leaking (In which case replacing then with another set of stock boots is usually enough to fix that) you're not going to notice any differences in boost.

If you had a boost leak you'd be throwing codes and your car would be running like crap .

 

ok....i've replaced (the dealership actually) one of my front mounts. i think, but am not sure, that this was after my boot splitting experiences. can you give me anywhere specific to look? the alta boots didn't cost much and if they solve the problem, i'm ok w/ that. no noticable abnormal engine movement. thanks, greg

 

I can't imagine what could be jostling your IC around enough to split boots like that. Is your hydraulic mount bad?