The Intercooler Thread

[hawks]

Can those in the know please answer the following FAQ's about Intercoolers;

1. What size is the standard intercooler ?

2. What size is the standard piping to the intercooler ?

3. What size aftermarket intercooler will fit with minimal modifications ?

4. How much work is involved in fitting a 600x300x76mm intercooler ?

5. Is there any difference in fitting an intercooler to a Series 1 or 2 VR-4 ?

6. Is it better to get a intercooler with both the inlet/outlet on the bottom, or with one on the top and the other on the bottom ?




Here is a picture of the standard intercooler from taken from clubvr4.com

Feel free to post your pics of aftermarket FMIC's



[BuzzPuppy edit]
OEM FMIC photos both internal and external compared to aftermarket FMIC
Connor's photo showing the OEM FMIC and clearances from above
"Gooseneck" vs "Mandrel" bends for your piping explained
(courtesy of Jungle) Intercooler theory, an excellent read over at http://www.are.com.au. Simon (Jungle) has mentioned this site three times in this thread. Definitely worthwhile!

 

[Guest]

1. What size is the standard intercooler ?

no idea,

2. What size is the standard piping to the intercooler ?

2.5"

3. What size aftermarket intercooler will fit with minimal modifications ?

upto 600x260x76 (600x300 envolves removing or modifing the impact beam)

4. How much work is involved in fitting a 600x300x76mm intercooler ?

custom mounting brackets, and moving the power steering cooler tube,
it can be fitted to standard piping with little effort, also the impact beam will need to be trimed or removed.

5. Is there any difference in fitting an intercooler to a Series 1 or 2 VR-4 ?

no both are the same, tube and finn design.

6. Is it better to get a intercooler with both the inlet/outlet on the bottom, or with one on the top and the other on the bottom ?

it dont matter, just where ever suits you.

 

[Guest]

Nice work Gly!

 

[Guest]

no prob.

i can get the standard cooler measurement if you really want it??

ive got my old one sitting under my parents house with the rest of the stock pipework.

 

[gilly]

how restrictive are the standard coolers?
i guess my question is, if I were to replace the standard with a nice shiny 600x260x76, would there be any performance gains without upgrading the cooler piping?

My other question is, why did they go with these ugly coolers for the 8th gen, when the evos and 6th gen vr4's have the other 'nicer' looking type? Im assuming these ones must work better for the type of engine or something like that.

 

[Guest]

I think cost would be the main reason behind fitting these instead of an evo style on, also these cars aren't expected to be driven as hard as an EVO is so they don't need that little bit "extra" cooling. That's my opinion

 

[Guest]

cost. ugly = cheaper.

its not restrictive, it flows really well. especially being tube/finn
also its very light. its very well suited to the vr4.

the advantage of a larger bar/plate cooler is it cools better,
but weighs more.
you wont see much of a performance gain with a cooler alone.
it will be better than stock.
the main gain that most people see is fuel ecconimy.

to take full advantage performace wise you really need to replace all the intercooler rubber hoses, with hard pipes.

 

[bradc]

yep what he said ^^there have also been a few people with piggy back ecu's such as emanage's or even Apexi AFC's that have had problems with their cars after upgrading the intercooler.The stock one is very good if you aren't upping the boost.

 

[Esoteric]

That thin section of tubing loop in front of the FMIC, is that the transmission cooler?

 

[bradc]

power steering thingee. the trans cooler is in the bottom of the main radiator.

 

[BuzzPuppy]

That's good to know (re: auto transmission cooler). It should be just a basic swap if there's clearance for a bigger unit then with a few tools.

The intercooler on the other hand

 

[zErTeK[2k]]

I can get GReddy cooler kits thru work but I want to find out more info on them 1st as looks like they will be rather pricey. Once I find out what is included with the kits I will let you guys know

 

[Guest]

I can get GReddy cooler kits thru work but I want to find out more info on them 1st as looks like they will be rather pricey. Once I find out what is included with the kits I will let you guys know

its just a cooler, and the lower hard pipes,

around 2-3k depending on the kit you choose.

you can import them thru www.rhdjapan.com

 

[zErTeK[2k]]

i have a RRP on em of way under that as i said tho i wanna ring them and question it.

 

[hawks]

EDIT It doesn't look like this Intercooler will fit on easily, as the end tanks are too long, check page 8 for more info

I have sent an email off to a company in Victoria called GK Technologies http://www.gktech.com.au/ that produces a 600 x 230 x 76 intercooler kit for VL turbo's.

I asked them for a price on the intercooler only out of this kit ------- > http://www.gktech.com.au/products/?ID=116

They sell the Commodore kit (pipes and all) for $599 plus freight, so the intercooler only should be cheaper than that.

I will let you know what happens

They also do a 895 x 230 x76 Intercooler only for $219 + freight, dunno if this will fit ???

 

[Guest]

They also do a 895 x 230 x76 Intercooler only for $219 + freight, dunno if this will fit ???

is that the complete size or core size??

if its the complete size it should fit

mine is....
600mmx300mmx76mm core size
820mm overall


you would just have less space to work with either side for to and from the turbos/intake

this is mine fitted, so should give some idea of how big it is compared to the car..

just mounted, no pipe work or impact beam...

completed with trimed impact beam over the top

 

[hawks]

I have sent an email off to a company in Victoria called GK Technologies http://www.gktech.com.au/ that produces a 600 x 230 x 76 intercooler kit for VL turbo's.

I asked them for a price on the intercooler only out of this kit ------- > http://www.gktech.com.au/products/?ID=116

They sell the Commodore kit (pipes and all) for $599 plus freight, so the intercooler only should be cheaper than that.

I will let you know what happens

They also do a 895 x 230 x76 Intercooler only for $219 + freight, dunno if this will fit ???

is that the complete size or core size??

I will ask them when I get a reply

 

[Guest]

There are intercooler kits made for EC5W/EC5A by Greddy and ARC (right sizes + all required piping), but fitting larger one is not that hard of a task…

That picture was taken a while ago... 600x300x76 mm

 

[hawks]

I believe the GReddy kits are upwards of AUD$1500, bit of a step up comapred to $300.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but looking at Gly's pics, the impact bar is removable ? So you can take it off, get it cut out and put it back on ?

 

[Guest]

yep...

see the 4 holes on the impact beam....
they give access to 4 bolts that hold it in place,

i just took it off, cut out the section behind and had some flatbar welded in to keep it solid box shape