Page 2 - top-mount

Interested in picking up our 2015 WRX FMIC kit? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Front-Mount Intercooler Kit

15' WRX testing

Already outgrowing the efficiency of your 15' WRX top-mount intercooler setup? Planning for some big power in the near future? Sounds like your Subie needs an efficient front-mount intercooler (FMIC)! Luckily, our team has been working to develop this product for months. Check out the process below!

Intercooler Design

Our team decided to start this product with the design of the actual heat exchanger. We would need to address the core, end tanks and how we would mount this cooler to the vehicle. In addition, this cooler would need to slip behind the front bumper with very minimal trimming needed.

Our first interest was in the mounting of the crash beam. As with our previous-generation kit, we would need to replace the stock front crash beam with a new unit to allow space for the intercooler. So we started by removing the

Interested in purchasing our 2015 WRX top-mount intercooler kit? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Performance Top-Mount Intercooler and Charge-Pipe System

Size Comparison

Before installing our prototype cooler on one of our 2015 WRXs, we decided to take a few shots showing the huge size difference of our cooler compared to the stock unit.

Mishimoto prototype intercooler (left) and stock intercooler (right)

Mishimoto prototype intercooler (front) and stock intercooler (rear)

And a couple shots that better show the massive increase in core thickness.

Mishimoto prototype intercooler (left) and stock intercooler (right)

Mishimoto prototype intercooler (left) and stock intercooler (right)

Now it was time to install this cooler into a vehicle and ensure that fitment was spot-on. Check out a few shots.

Mishimoto prototype intercooler installed

Mishimoto prototype intercooler installed

Mishimoto prototype intercooler installed

Mishimoto prototype intercooler

Interested in purchasing our 2015 WRX top-mount intercooler kit? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Performance Top-Mount Intercooler and Charge-Pipe System

3D Modeling

Now that the stock intercooler has been evaluated and modeled, we began designing our own cooler. Check out some of the initial models we put together for this prototype!

Stock (left) and Mishimoto prototype (right) intercooler model

Stock (top) and Mishimoto prototype (bottom) intercooler model

After testing this unit with CFD software to evaluate flow, we then worked up a few prototypes to check fitment.

Prototype Design Test Fit

To speed up our processes, we utilize a 3D printer to provide our engineers with actual components they can install on a vehicle to verify fitment. This means we can make changes before working up a real prototype, thus cutting down on the time needed to bring our cooler to market. So, we printed our end tanks in plastic, and then we attached them to

Interested in purchasing our 2015 WRX top-mount intercooler kit? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Mishimoto Subaru WRX Performance Top-Mount Intercooler and Charge-Pipe System

Many of you checked out our recent thread about our progress on the 2015 WRX top-mount intercooler. We are finishing some testing to ensure that our product will provide the improvements our customers expect. Our prototypes look awesome, and so far they are proving to be quite efficient. So, we've decided to back-track a bit and highlight the process our team went through to create such an awesome product. We will also be including our final test results, as well as information about how you can get your hands on one of the first units to hit the shelves. Keep an eye on our threads and blog; we have some exciting stuff in the pipeline!

How It All Started

In late March our team ventured nearly 250 miles to pick up our new 2015 CVT WRX. Shortly after, we launched a video review series, and our