Stock WRX intercooler and hot climates

[Crochese]

Does living in a hotter climate significantly effect the cooling capability of the stock WRX intercooler. I've seen a number of posts where people say the stock unit is good up to 300 whp, but does that number decrease in a hotter climate?

I live in Texas and we spend a large part of the year above 90F and even a few months in the 100's. Will this have an effect? Will I hit a wall lower than 300whp on the stock TMIC?

Along the same lines, will a turbo heat shield help? Or is that completely unrelated?

I've done a number of searches on this and can't find a definitive answer.

[EJ257]

Stock TMIC will limit you, regardless of situation, in how well it cools the intake charge. The hotter the ambient temp, the more inefficient the stock TMIC is. The big problem is that the IAT sensor is in the MAF on a stock car, so it doesn't accurately represent how the stock unit works. An aftermarket unit will have a lower pressure drop and cool the charge better. It's absolutely worth the money invested, if you adjust the tune accordingly.

[4WDFrenzy]

EJ257 is on the money. I currently live in the High Desert area in California, where temps in the summer reach 115 and up for the better part of the summer. I have the stock TMIC and was running an Cobb OTS Stage 1 tune and I will tell you what, when the temps are up, you can tell that the car isn't as happy as it could be. If/when you go with an aftermarket IC, make sure to check the internal fin density, as it affects the intercooler's ability to efficiently cool the compressed air passing through it. I have two that aren't the greatest, but were cheap(I like to tinker and test parts just to see how well they perform). I think the best TMIC for the money is the Process West unit. I have heard no bad remarks about them whatsoever, other than up-front price. But it is well worth the money spent.

[UEDan]

Stock TMIC will limit you, regardless of situation, in how well it cools the intake charge. The hotter the ambient temp, the more inefficient the stock TMIC is. The big problem is that the IAT sensor is in the MAF on a stock car, so it doesn't accurately represent how the stock unit works. An aftermarket unit will have a lower pressure drop and cool the charge better. It's absolutely worth the money invested, if you adjust the tune accordingly.

Hey Matt, kinda off topic but you wouldn't happen to know how much the throttle body coolant affects intake temp would you?

Edit: fixed for bad grammer.

Posted from a fone.

[EJ257]

Hey Matt, kinda off topic but you wouldn't happen to know how much the throttle body coolant on actual intake temp would you?

Not following, bud.

[Donkey]

Hey Matt, kinda off topic but you wouldn't happen to know how much the throttle body coolant on actual intake temp would you?

Posted from a fone.

Impossible to tell unless you mount a IAT sensor in the intake manifold. Not many do in the name of just gathering data for the TB coolant mod.

[Heide264]

Impossible to tell unless you mount a IAT sensor in the intake manifold. Not many do in the name of just gathering data for the TB coolant mod.

OT.. But I have thought about running the coolant to my ewg as opposed to the throttle body. Gotta dig into it a bit more.

[Mikie13]

OT.. But I have thought about running the coolant to my ewg as opposed to the throttle body. Gotta dig into it a bit more.

Another WTF project it sounds like...

[Donkey]

OT.. But I have thought about running the coolant to my ewg as opposed to the throttle body. Gotta dig into it a bit more.

Those are two completely different reasons. It is done to the throttlebody to heat it so in sub-zero weather the throttlebody does not freeze shut. For the EWG it is done to help remove heat from it to prolong valve/componant life.