[TitaniumTT]

This is just my OCD acting up, but something about the way you're stating it isn't sitting right with me. If you tune your car and then lower the AIT's, you're now in sections of the map/comp tables that you've never been before, so you can't really say it's 100% safe unless you test and tune for it.

The reason that the pre-turbo is better for performance is becuase the charge air temp isn't climbing nearly as high with the introduction of water. I would like to see a test done on the dyno where you make a few pulls with no AI at all and monitor L, EGT's AIT's and PRE-intercooler charge temps. I have a bunch of logs that show my AIT's rise 10*F after 10-20 dyno runs over the course of 5 hours and they are within 10-15* of ambient unless some sort of heat soak issue has occured. This log in particular is close to a 400rwhp on stock twins run, look at the AIT's pre and post intercooler. As soon as the pedal is matted in 4th, the charge temps go from ~100* to 250* and follow the boost as it rises. This is pysics, there is no way around it, compressing a gas makes it hotter. Adding water pre-turbo will take some of this heat out. Cooler air (relatively) into an intercooler will give you cooler temps out.

Now I'm not knocking the knock resistance charateristics of it but to say that the addition of water without a retune is a little far fetched becuase you'll be in area's of the map that you haven't explored. Aside from the knock resistance charaterics of it, for me, it just seems like a band-aid, sorry.

BUT, and this is a big but, if you're talking about big amounts of boost, then the benefits start to shine becuase lets face it, you can't escape pysics, more boost more heat, but for street cars and 250* charge temps, and near ambient intake temps..... I don't think it's really worth it. A properly ducted and sealed intercooler with good effeicency is more reliable than a WI system. Now if we want to talk about chemical intercooling, that's something totally different and something that I would like to explore on my FD becuase I have 500rwhp plans for that car and more experimenting..... plus it's time to finish the FC.... relatively speaking anyway.