Spent today fitting and testing my new larger intercooler .

here is a size comparison


New intercooler installed


Flow test results :



As you can see the improvement is around 10-15g/s from 5600rpm onwards which roughly translates to 10-15whp . This is way less of an improvement than what I was expecting .
I hooked up my boost guage just after the turbo to see if the pressure drop i was previously experiencing had improved and found it had but by only about 1 psi .
Still seeing about 5psi pressure drop across the system .
My IATs at cruise dropped from about 12degrees above ambient down to about 7-8 degrees above ambient .

So : I am a little dissapointed with the result . There are a couple of possibilities for why these results were not that good :
1/ The cheap intercooler i bought just does not flow that well and is still causing a significant restriction.
2/ The 50mm dia pipeing to the intercooler is causing a restriction .

Will have to hook up the boost guage to just before the intercooler to determine that .

EDIT : swapped back to Greddy - see posts later in thread to see why .....

IC swap mk 2 (july 2011) this one a little smaller and getting similar results for flow and IAT difference (8 degrees above amb. at cruise)

 

Interesting that I just ordered a very similar IC. I was going to go whole-hog and get a custom one, but descided at the last minute to cheap out. Where'd you get yours? Mine is a low priced godspeed specV.

 

good data brettus!

 

it is probably the same one - those cheap intercoolers all look like they come from the same factory .....

 

cheers

 

Put in some results from another run done just the day before the intercooler was put in which shows a little better gain - average gain from 5500 through to 8000 was 13g/s with 15g/s average from 7000-8000 .
Still about 1/2 of what I had hoped for - may do another run today as the run with the new intercooler was a little richer than the one with the Greddy ..

 

So at how many PSI were you at when you data logged this information?

 

logged at 10 psi to about 6500rpm tapering down to approx. 8psi at 8000

 

Alright well I am looking into a new intercooler for my car. The measurements of the core are 24*12*3.5 do you think I would be safe or should I go with something smaller?

 

don't know what you mean by "safe" . I'm sure it would do the job . it will be a very tight fit though - took quite a bit of work to squeeze in my 3" one .

 

Why?

 

Because its an AGP intercooler and its only gonna cost me $25.00

 

Dude, buy it. If it doesnt work, you could basically give it away with barely a loss. No risk there.

 

I try to avoid slapping things onto my car that I don't know if I need; FWIW....

 

Alright although I may just do what Brettus did and install it, collect data, etc. Then decide if it would be worth it to keep it installed. I just researched the intercooler and it seems to be a really good one. So I will see what happens. Speaking of which, Kane I will go ahead and send you some datalogs here in a bit when I get back!

 

The point is; if you see a temperature and pressure issue then you can get a bigger intercooler; but since you don't know you can't really say that.

Remember bigger intake volume slower boost response....

 

Transient boost response delay with a IC that is 50-70% will be minimal. Flow is more important anyway.

Pluses for an upgrade: Somewhat demonstrable increases in flow on a upgraded greddy (thanks to Brettys). Likely definite increases in flow with a bigger snail. Greddy ic is easy to bend and puncture, bar n plate (with quality alloy) is more resistant. Also, I removed the ugly black plastic thingy on the top of the opening on my MS bumper. With the Greddy ic, there is a big ugly gap. New ic is purdy.

Negatives?

 

Looking good! We actually have some intercooler brackets if you guys are interested. Should be available for the community shortly.. and for a very good price too

I have one spare to sell now.

Also Brettus it is the IC piping of the Greddy Kit that is the restriction from what you are experiencing.

 

Cost, Labor, Fitment, blocking larger area of the radiator; slower boost response, larger drop in airflow densities.....

Ideally; running no intercooler is the best - but we are kinda stuck needing one - so the next best thing is to run the smallest intercooler we can.

 

I have one similar in size and my water temps are fine..still on a stock Radiator and stock water pump.

 

I just doctored the greddy brackets .

Would like to run my boost gauge to just before the IC to test the 50mm pipework but don't really want to weld a fitting in there ....

 

Just to continue the discussion:

Cost. This guy is getting one for $25. Most can be gotten for less than $300.

Labor. Seriously? Isnt this part of the fun, putting it on?

Blocking the radiator. Biggest negative, IMO. Very important to consider.

Slower boost response. I cant find it right now, but a quick calculation suggests that this is practically minimal. And again, flow is more imporant anyway.

Larger pressure drop? Most bar and plate ics run around 0.5-1.5 psi. Not going to be much of a difference between that and stock. And again it is likely to flow better, which is more important anyway. Granted you need the compressor to give you the flow...


I am not sure that the statement "running w/o an ic is better" is generally true. In fact, given the greddy set up, running with an ic is demonstrably better. I can imagine if you had a blower that was 100% efficient, then yes, running without an ic would be better, but while running in the 65% eff range, I am going to keep mine on.

 

Keep in mind; I am not saying it WILL; simply that installing parts for the sake of installing parts is stupid; matter of fact I just turned down a Greddy oil pan because other than the second drain valve there is no REAL reason to change.... and $300 is $300.

In this case - get the IC efficiency gauge; http://www.bimmerworld.com/html/spa-...-out-gauge.htm or the like.... and if you are seeing spiking temperatures then you know it is time to change up.

There is a company that makes a temp and a pressure one; I am just too lazy to look for it right now.


If larger intercoolers were always better; why not just get a 4" thick; 3' by 4' one..........answer; because it is inefficient for our application.

 

PS - other than air temperature; there is NO good reason to run an intercooler..... it is an obstruction by definition.

 

Updated the chart in the first post with one more representative of the difference . IE same ambient temps and AFR .