Intercooler setup

[colin5524]

Ok, what setup is everybody using, what difference did you notice and what make plz

[m1tch]

I have an uprated top mount, no lag, will have issues with heat soak when sitting in traffic, Front mounts are good if you have a larger turbo, if the piping isn\'t done correctly there is more lag with a front mount. V mount is the best compromise as it allows good cooling, not as much heat soak and not much lag, the down side is that they need the radiator modified and the viscous fan to be taken out.

My top mount allows for a much cooler intake temp and it stays cold for longer, the stock top mount isn\'t actually that bad.

[richrx]

where did you get the top mount? i cant find them anywhere for less than £1200 that ARC want!!


richard

[L18M]

i got front mount and it lags more than stock lol
but with larger downpipe its bit better.. will fit bigger tubby on so should reduce lag also to about stock or so.
rad temp wise.. it\'s not making rad hotter than before fmic.
i just have issues with my whole engine!!! needs a good slap!

dont ask me about fitting as i had it done for me so was quite simple. but if u do it yourself then its a bit of a hassle.
can sent u pics if u need details of where to put pipes etc.

[dthebuk]

i got front mount and it lags more than stock lol
but with larger downpipe its bit better.. will fit bigger tubby on so should reduce lag also to about stock or so.
rad temp wise.. it\'s not making rad hotter than before fmic.
i just have issues with my whole engine!!! needs a good slap!

dont ask me about fitting as i had it done for me so was quite simple. but if u do it yourself then its a bit of a hassle.
can sent u pics if u need details of where to put pipes etc.

you may have more lag, but don\'t you have lower intake temps?

and also doesn\'t a bigger turbo mean more lag, not less?

[L18M]

you may have more lag, but don\'t you have lower intake temps?

and also doesn\'t a bigger turbo mean more lag, not less?

not properly measured the intake temp, ambient temp but guessing should reduce the temp. depends how effective the ic is lol
ben (who i got the ic from) waqs running about 300+ bhp on this ic n he took it round the ring also.. so should be doing its job ok. just he dinged his fc b4 could get any long term results from it.

bigger turbo dont always mean more lag. depends on size, hot side, cold side, hybrids etc..
m1tch is prpb better at explaining this to you than me. lol

[grinder]

where did you get the top mount? i cant find them anywhere for less than £1200 that ARC want!!

richard

it was a project that i started and handed over to Prof - they are ARC top mount copies - not sure of price - but im sure it wasnt more than £400

[Prof]

I got the same intercooler as Mitch - well similar - as his is a manufactured copy of the ARC, and mine is a \'recored\' ARC intercooler.
 
The cost of the copy was just under £400, but they had my original to make the copy from.
 
Not sure if they kept the measurements to do more - originally a few folk were interested - but as with many of these things - unless you secure money up front from people, people drop out - I didn\'t want to be left with a load of intercoolers and a big debt, so I just got one copy made.
 
The ARC unit is supposed to be good for 350+ BHP, and certainly flows better than stock.
 
Stock intercooler is useless after 12psi, as it just doesn\'t flow well enough and can\'t really cool the air. The ARC unit\'s core is nearly double the active area and twice as thick, so flow is much better and cooling area is increased. The advantage of the ARC unit is the very short air path - With a setup like BBCFC\'s, you have about 2.5M of pipe to fill with compressed air before it gets to the engine - it\'s like a giant \'air capacitor\' - plus you can see pressure reduction at each of the 90 degree bends as well as the intercooler itself.
 
With the stock turbo, it isn\'t big, so adding a bigger intercooler and a lot of pipe (such as a front mount setup) will make the car less responsive and introduce a lag. With a bigger turbo, you get the issue of turbo spool - it can take the engine some time before it can get the turbine spinning enough to make boost. Ball bearing turbo\'s help, as does a free flowing exhaust and intake. It does mean you can drive the car off boost more easily when you keep the revs down
 
The best power figures I\'ve seen seem to come from V Mount setup with a large ball bearing turbo, open exhaust and intake.

[Prof]

Forgot to add:
 
Intake temps are on average 10 degrees C lower with the ARC unit under boost (ambient temps were around 30 degrees C during testing) , and heat soak is reduced - it takes the car a lot less time to recover from elevated temps after the car has been standing - typically dropping from high 50\'s to less than 40 in 2 mins of driving at 40 mph, compared to over 70 and dropping to mid 50\'s only after 5 minutes with the stock unit.
 
Another good mod to do is larger radiator, and if you do fit a front mount / v mount intercooler, relocating oil cooler to another area - as it\'s probably more important to keep oil/water temps well regulated as much as intake charge temps.

[richrx]

im going to fit a larger rad to mine in the next week, my cars stock at the minute, how will a v mount jobbie go on for space?
and is an uprated intercooler really needed? i\'ll be putting her upto 250-280ish bhp tops :Giggle


richard

[grinder]

once you get to 280 - it might be

i was tempted to do what a few people have and put a IC mounted where the undertray is .. should involved no cutting of car and less piping ??

[Prof]

For road use the stock intercooler should be ok for that power output, and if you do get stuck there is always water injection.
 
I ran my car upto 318 BHP with the stock intecooler, god only knows what the intake temps were - but I wouldn\'t be driving it on the edge for any length of time
 
I did notice the heatsoak with the stock intercooler on the drag strip - I will let you know this year if that problem is greatly reduced (which I suspect it is), as I have both a bigger rad and intercooler and will be running WI on it as well.

[richrx]

is it possible to have an intercooler re-cored, similar to a radiator with more fins for extra cooling? probably not, but would be a cool thing to do as i like the tmic

water injection, i think i\'ll gofor nitrous injection thanks :burnout


richard

[m1tch]

is it possible to have an intercooler re-cored, similar to a radiator with more fins for extra cooling? probably not, but would be a cool thing to do as i like the tmic

water injection, i think i\'ll gofor nitrous injection thanks :burnout


richard

You can\'t really run nitrous in a rotary, you don\'t need to though, just need to put more fuel and more boost into the engine for more power, put bigger ports and larger turbo (with all the supporting mods of course) don\'t forget someone on here has a drag racing FD running at 888bhp

[richrx]

the nos wasnt really serious, i know you\'d be better of with a foook of turbo etc anyhow :yes

but any idea on the re-coring of the intercooler?


richard