wow, never thought i can fit that much acronym in one sentence!

anyways, anybody has any info on rdr's long awaited tmic? ive been waiting anxiously for it's release and it's subsequent data... anybody?

 

sorry im a little lost, but what is this tmic thing?

thanks

 

Long ago and far far away I heard about a story of a great MINI mod.
It was supposed to be as good or better than the Alta air to air Intercooler and at about half the price. RDR was the company and Helix13 was fixin to sell it soon. That was last year.

Since then I've talked to Eric at Helix13 and he is also still waiting. I'm sure as it arrives he'll let us know by announcement that all is well in MINIland.
I'm not sure what might be causing the delays.

If there really were a great intercooler that produced more power in the $500 range that installed easily and worked reliably -that would be something.

 

tmic: top mount intercooler.. the big thing sitting on top of the supercharger that takes in cold air to cool the supercharger,

ive been checking rdr's site a few times a month, everytime it keeps saying its on their test car but still no word...

 

I called RDR a few months ago and the only thing holding it up was that they were finalizing their pricing. Must be something more going on.

 

I think I need a TLA to English translation...

Seriously, I've seen nothing on it in months.

 

It would only help if it included ETLAs.

 

RDR is still evaluating cores and designs. The question out there is still whether a larger TMIC is actually a benefit to these cars. Their tests have confirmed what we have seen: Bigger cores on top don't show better efficiency/temps, at least not yet. I like that RDR hasn't just released one to sell it. They are about real performance gains.

 

I spoke with Charlie about 2 months ago, maybe less, when I ordered the RDR camber plates. He said that they'd been doing considerable r&d but wouldn't sell a product unless it: a) performs and performs well, b) beats the competition by a significant margin, and c) nets them some profit. As of then both a) and c) hadn't been fulfilled.


I think we often overlook the r&d side as costing very little (time AND money) when in reality these guys are busting their butts to get it done, especially considering that the TMIC market is relatively small (versus things like pulleys, swaybars, control arms, yada yada yada) and that decent alternatives are already available (GRS Motorsport, and now even the ALTA is about $770). Charlie, from what I know of him and have gleaned from talking to him, is an honest guy trying to get us a good product at a good price. He's not interested in making something that nets a 2hp gain max for $550. He can't produce these things cheaply enough to justify it anyway.

Call him and talk to him directly, he won't duck and run one-on-one.

Marty

 

This is really weird. When I called two months ago I talked to his wife (or at least it sounded like her), and they said that they were just about ready to release, and that they were just finalizing the price.

 

It's good to hear about any companies that not only stand behind their products but actually are careful to release products that have to meet certain standards as described above.

I'm glad to purchase any RDR product given the chance. So far my RDR camber plates work fine as advertised and I didn't mind paying full price either (I was too early for the group buy!).

That's a good point about whether any Top mounted Intercooler would offer much improvement at a reasonable price.

 

Maybe they, like so many mom-and-pop joints, hired a high-school-age girl to take care of their PR.

I'll call Charlie this week to get the scoop.

Maybe we can ask Megan Racing to make one.

Marty

 

After reading some posts here, and talking to others, I was under the impression that a limiting factor for our top mount situation is getting adequate air (ambient, outside) into it. The design and efficiency of the stock unit is quite good, at least from the testing that I've seen...

I sort of came to the conclusion that when I change-out the stocker, it will be for something of a different design - where getting more air will not be as challenging.

 

You just have to drive really fast........all the time. There will be plenty of air then...

 

you mean a fmic... which would elimate the problem somewhat... however, the price is far out of the reach of most people

 

An FMIC is one way to do it different for sure, but like yourself, too expensive, at least for me...

All systems, wheter air-to-air, or water-to-air, use air as the "chilling" agent. Finding a better spot to get that air is somewhat important then. Having a radiator or sorts up-front does hold some promise I feel. Here is an example of one:

http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=130

I really prefer the simplicity of an all air unit though... It's just that there seems to be some limits as to how much the hood snoot can feed a top mount in our MCS, and the lack of space beneath it for good flow through...

 

The front mounted intercooler has potential if it can be designed without a huge pressure loss. I'm not sure if that can be done without major surgery to the bumper to fit the intercooler in. The other consideration is that the more radiators you put in front of the main cooling core, the hotter the ECT will be. I have a hunch some of the one-off designs that are out there may be running the motor hot in certain circumstances. BTW you wouldn't neccesarily know you were running hot by looking at your temp needle: that gauge stays pegged in the center for a greater than 35 degree ECT swing. In other words, if you are running a front mounted intercooler, or have a water to air setup with coolers setup in front of the engine coolant radiator, you need a scan tool to see your actual temps. I haven't seen such results from track use. Anyone have data out there?

Also, a major announcement from RDR is on the way...probably Friday.

 

Makes sense Eric regarding the stacking of radiators. If anyone has that data re the front mount, and real-time, actual temps, it would be Randy Webb...

A smaller radiator that covers just the top quarter or so shouldn't be as problematic as a unit that drapes over the entire thing.

RDR announcement looming! Maybe their IC is ready to go...