I told him once I get my bonus here in December that I'm putting the intake, downpipe, midpipe, and exhaust on. Seeing as it has the top mounted intercooler would the 2010 get added performance from a front mounted one as well? I saw it was part of the stage 3 package for the 09's not sure if it still applies for the 10's.
I might be late for this answer, but here's how it goes:
Moving the intercooler to the front is usually done to swap a smaller IC for a larger one -almost certainly- locating it in a cooler area and exposing it to a more important cooling airflow.
Sounds great, right? Well as usual, there are draw backs.
The line from the turbo to your throttle body is much longer. This coupled with the larger IC causes a larger pressure drop and also a longer lag. If you like to drive the car on winding roads, you won't be happy with that at all.
Also, depending on specific car models, there might be cooling issues you might face. The IC usually goes in front of the rad. This means the air coming into the rad will be much warmer than it is now.
It is a common belief in the RX7 world that front mount is good for drag racing, while a stock mount or "V" mount is more appropriate for street/track applications. I would assume that the same principles would apply to any car. Given the fact that RX7 engine bays are high temperature steel melting ovens, the heat issue might not be so prominent in other cars, but the factual situation would not change.
As far as your race goes, I think it'll be close. You have a much newer car, probably a bit of advantage in the power/weight ratio, but you are a front wheel driver, while he's a rear wheel driver, which means off the line he'll have an advantage. I would assume that the second half of the race would be more likely to be your win.
Personally (since I can't use "hate" words in the forum), I extremely highly dislike drag racing, which I don't even consider racing. Perhaps you should challenge your friend to lapping at a track to see who can turn faster laps. That would be a real race. Finding out whether or not you can beat him in a very specific and limited (and pretty meaningless I might add) circumstance like taking off from a stand still in a straight line and for a specific distance doesn't account for anything important in my book.
A car's acceleration is one of the many elements that contribute to make a car a joy to drive. It is not the only one and that one only can't possibly be of any interest to anybody who truly appreciates cars.
Sorry for the rant, that's my 2 cents.
