got it sorted. in the end i had to cut about an inch section out of the x-over pipe and weld it back together (CAREFULLY). it was in the 1-inch bend, right after the turbo. fits perfectly. made another mounting bracket and welded that in place, and just pushed down REAL HARD while i tightened everything. clears the bonnet better now as well.

intercooling is the way, for sure.

all up, $150 for the cooler, and about $70 foir piping (including $37 for 15 damn hose clamps), and it goes so much better. nice noises too. happy to get rid of the BOV now- it was a pretty offensive noise, i was sick of it.

anyway, cheers for the help guys, if anyone wants some tips on fitting a piazza intercooler - not many, im sure - give me a yell, im happy to help.
it flows better than an rx7 one, is a similar size, and it cant be seen. stealthy...

mark

umm.. who told u that a piazza cooler flows more then a rx7, don't think they even come in the top 10 best flowing coolers from the factory.

_________________
()...()
(o o)
/ ( ..)
/ ""
"All throttle, no bottle"
AC GSR - Worked 4G62BT (Original 510DIA)-SOLD-
AC GSL - VR4 Turbo (Slowdia NO2) -SOLD-
Honda Civic - H22aT transplant -SOLD
180sx - RB'd -SOLD-
R32 - RB Powered -SOLD-
Honda Civic vtiR, vtec yo!

ok, its not the csiro, but autospeed.com did a comparison, and the piazza flowed as well as a series 5, better than a series 4, but not as good as a series 6. (in their tests)

But its got a thermal mass of almost 1.5 times the mazdas (3.4 kg vs 2). its heavy, so it SHOULD cool better, for longer.

core volume is also up on the mazdas. its only just bigger than the S4 and S5, but almost 1000 cubic cm larger than the S6.

mark
[/img]