Cheap intercooler setup - Anti turbo go bang damage????

[mooxie]

Hi All,

After spending some considerable time finding a turbo whistle in my D22 (and sh**ting my pants every time I drove it) I've decided that an intercooler needs to go to the top of my list for mods!
Primary reason is to prevent debris entering the engine if the turbo goes bang. However as it is a project car and I will be adding exhaust, chip etc. I don't want it to have a negative effect on performance.
Catch can and turbo timer are going in this weekend, but I can't decide what to do with the intercooler.
I've read through all the posts on the pro's and con's of top vs front mount coolers... and also a bunch of custom cooler builds.
I'm tempted to grab one of these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/JDM-Perf...=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2329624c27 and just bang it in the engine bay for pure protection, but the heat soak would have to give negative performance! I'm also on a tight budget for the next 6 months till I get married....
So here's my options:
- Cross country top mount. Pros: Small performance gain, no issues when I upgrade my alloy bar and add a winch. Cons: Don't like the heat soak or having to fit a bonnet scoop. COST = trouble with missus!
- HPD front mount. Pros performance gain, no heat soak. Cons: Turbo lag, issues when I fit new bull bar and winch. COST = trouble with missus!
- Micro intercooler or similar, with universal intercooler mounting kit. Pros: anti hand grenade, cheap under $500. Cons: Will it give positive or negative performance?
- Option X... screw the intercooler and fit a new turbo with a billet comp wheel. Pros: Shouldn't go bang! Cons: Not likely to give any performance gains. COST = trouble with missus!

 

[Old.Tony]

I think the micro unit would be the best choice, especially if you can mount it in the front. Don't worry about the lag, turbo lag is caused more by a turbo that doesn't spool up fast (large, heavy turbines take time to get moving) and by expanding air hoses.

ANY intercooler is going to give you some gain, even one mounted in the engine bay. In the engine bay, air drawn through the radiator is going to heat up to about 80-90C. The turbocharger is heating the air to 200-250C - so you're still going to get some benefit from it. Yes the gain is higher if it's front mounted, and if you use metal tubes with minimal (but essential) flexible hosing (the engine moves while it's running) you won't be unhappy with the result.

If you want to talk intercooler efficiency, it's fairly closely related to the internal surface area that allows the intercooler to draw heat energy from the passing airstream. Smaller units obviously can't remove as much heat as a large unit so don't expect the micro to provide huge benefits - to get really noticeable performance improvements you need to look at water/air units, because the water draws the heat away faster than external air.

 

[180degrees]

mines stock and whistles above 2300rpm, I drove a few before I bought it and they were all the same sound, you sure its not just the normal sound?

 

[d22dave]

I have the cross country top mount, I,m happy with my perceived gains, I say perceived as it was not dynoed I,m going by my perceptions. I put 265/75/16 on before the cooler and I put a 2.5" red back exhaust at he same time as the cooler, IMO between them they make up for the bigger wheels and you can hear a little bit more turbo whistle

 

[bods]

Obviously budget is a big consideration, but even the "cheap" ones from eBay end up getting exxy by the time you get silicon hoses and piping to do it as a front mount. The other option may be www.frozenboost.com theyhave water to air kits for around the $300usd mark, plus shipping, so I'd say around $500 total. You will still need a few silicon joiners, but they do have a few different core options.

In saying that, if you get one of those micro coolers and top mount it, cutting a hole in the bonnet isn't as scary as it seems. Scoops a pretty cheap too so its probably not going to be as expensive as you first think

 

[mr1jz]

Forget air to air. Go water to air.
Barrel cooler in the engine bay with heat exchanger and fan in the front.
Won't have to worry when you fit bullbar.
Frozenboost.com for all you parts.
If you run the fan then the intercooler still works at slow speeds and creates cooler intake temps.
Air to air are inefficient at low speeds regardless of placement and size.

 

[mr1jz]

Ahh crap. Just saw the above post

 

[jaymac90210]

I was/am seriously considering a water to air intercooler system from frozenboost.com except someone kinda scared me off by saying if the intercooler cracks my engine would suffer from hydraulic lock... Someone convince me otherwise that it's not true or it will be fine! Lol

 

[d22dave]

I was/am seriously considering a water to air intercooler system from frozenboost.com except someone kinda scared me off by saying if the intercooler cracks my engine would suffer from hydraulic lock... Someone convince me otherwise that it's not true or it will be fine! Lol

That was my worry, so I went air to air, plus we had a tractor suffer from stray current and it ended up with a hole in the radiator= fluid leak, never heard of it before but the alloy radiator ended leaking

 

[bods]

^^that was my thoughts too, not so much cracking, but if the turbo let go and punched a hole in it.

I guess they can't be too bad, Subaru factory fitted w2a systems to a few models for quite a long time so I guess they must be ok. A quick Google and it seems like they are OK, there are a few people on the patrol forum with them, so maybe have a look there too

 

[180degrees]

in regards to water to air and air to air is it really going to make that much difference? like whats a couple of horsepower? you won't even feel it, just go the safest option.

 

[Maldog8]

Hey mate if you go on eBay.com there are a heap of water to air cooler kits for under $500 that's what I'm planning to use

 

[4x4 ST-R]

Can someone explain this hydraulic lock in the engine from using w2a I/C, please.

 

[mooxie]

Thanks for the responses! Now you've got me interested in the water air intercoolers from Frozenboost!
Any posts on here with photo's of them installed? I had a trawl around and couldn't seem to find any!
I'm curious where I'd fit one! I also planned to add an 80 series air box, don't know if that'll be a positive of negative for ease of installation??

 

[180degrees]

Can someone explain this hydraulic lock in the engine from using w2a I/C, please.

if you get a leak since its cooled by water it will kill your engine, hydraulic lock is just when the engine seizes due to water ingress afaik

 

[chule]

Thanks for the responses! Now you've got me interested in the water air intercoolers from Frozenboost!
Any posts on here with photo's of them installed? I had a trawl around and couldn't seem to find any!
I'm curious where I'd fit one! I also planned to add an 80 series air box, don't know if that'll be a positive of negative for ease of installation??

I'm pretty sure Joshman has one of these kits. Check out his build thread "Clarky". There's also a few other D22's here with w2a setups. Have a troll through some of the members garages.

 

[mr1jz]

If you are really worried about water entering the intake then take a look at plazmaman barrel coolers.
Very expensive but extremely well built.

On the flipside though. A supplier I use gets all his stuff from frozenboost including fitting for racecars and has never had an issue.

 

[4x4 ST-R]

if you get a leak since its cooled by water it will kill your engine, hydraulic lock is just when the engine seizes due to water ingress afaik

Oh right. I didn't even think of that. Hmm, so I guess it would actually pay to make sure people get good quality w2a intercoolers then, as you usually get what you pay for.

 

[mooxie]

I'm pretty sure Joshman has one of these kits. Check out his build thread "Clarky". There's also a few other D22's here with w2a setups. Have a troll through some of the members garages.

Cheers mate, already checked out Joshman's build... he's upgrading his turbo and put off installing the intercooler till that's complete. Know of anyone else?

 

[4x4 ST-R]

Depending how your w2a I/C was set up, could u instal it so there was an elbow down low after the I/C to catch the water it did ever crack or leak?