^^^ But there again you are turning the blower harder than it needs to be turned. Some people are willing to sacrifice that to safe a dollar, I am not. I just can't see how saving $200 now is worth shortening the life of a $2000 blower. Plus, by the time you bye the cheap intercooler and purchase a new pulley to make up for the pressure loss you are only saving $100 or so. I will pay the $100 now just for the efficiency alone. Also, with a decent cooler now, you have plenty of room to grow in the future if you decide to go bigger without having to purchase the same parts twice and end up spending more money in the end than you needed to.
But in the end OP, it all comes down to what you think is best for you. There isn't really a right or wrong way to do this, just what makes the most sense to you. Obviously there is a bunch of different opinions when it comes to these things.
Listen I totally agree with your statement, however alot of people are missing a very good point that needs to be made with this brand of intercooler. Regardless of its construction in comparison to some of the other styles of intercoolers out there, these things have a great track record of making power and more importantly keeping the air very cool. I have not heard one story of poor quality, these blowing out, or not working as they should. Kurgan just tuned a 3" core CX racing unit on a SBF 363 motor that made just over 800hp with a YSI. Did the boost get robbed in the cooler yes, however the IAT temps were what was important.
I can drive my car anywhere anytime and the IATs are usually less then 7 to 10 degrees hotter then the ambient air temp. Not bad at all for a cooler that cost me less then 300bucks. Alot of people swear by how good these things cool, maybe its in the design and thats part of why they rob more pressure. Id rather have cooler air, I can always turn up the boost.
JTR