The intercooler needs "cold" air to be effective. The air off the back of he radiator can top 150 degrees. That isn't going to cool anything down. If your intake temps are below this temperature, the intercoler will actually heat it up. You'd have an interheater. The cooler the air to the intercooler, the more effective it is. I'd rather run no intercooler than one that heats up the air.

 

If I keep the stock front bumper cover, maybe I could mount my intercooler there behind the front grill instead of lower where it seems everyone is mounting theirs. That way the AC condenser and the radiator would still get an unimpeded flow of cool air. Of course, I would need to hollow out all the diamonds in the grill face.

The black grill should hide it a little bit, right?

 

That makes sense. Thanks RG!