Some different intercoolers

[just a 6]

Some of you remember that i bought a Volvo IC to install on my Sy, well i found a SAAB IC that i think will work better on e-bay for $66 shipped to my house. Here are some pix of Saab and Volvo IC:

VOLVO 740 IC, 2.5" inlet and outlet. 4-sale if anybody interested $65 (my cost, no profit made) shipped to lower 48 states.

Older SAAB 9000 IC, could not find this at the junk yard.

Newer SAAB 9000 IC, notice the difference in inlet and outlet location. Found on e-bay, paid $66.00 shipped to my door. Will have a fan mounted behind IC

Feel free to coment my IC choice, i don't have enough $$.$$ to buy a premade set-up so i'm trying to improve my IC system the cheapest way.

My trans just toke a dump, need to rebuild it ASAP. Already been in touch with BH about parts for it, wish me luck.

 

[Syclone2882]

do you think any of these are going to work. How big are they. What is there thickness. What kind of psi drop do you think they will have. By going to the saab one where are you going to run the piping at? Just let me know. The saab one look really thin and could work very well.

 

[TheObiJuan]

eric, i understand your problem.
i am doing the same. and have done the same with my dsm.
making your own pipes and custom intercoolers is easy. just some basic welding and common sense.
the bends i get from an 18 wheeler store here for cheap.

funny thing is, my friend with a 97 gsx went there the first time and asked if they had exhaust pipes. they told him : "yeah for big trucks"
he said he needed 3 inch. they looked outside and said "on that thing??"

ever since then they have been pretty cool.
if you need any help, i would love to help.
also, when it comes to intercoolers. bigger is not better.
but cheaper is always nice too.
and for $66 that is a steal.

 

[just a 6]

The Volvo core is about 17"17" + end tanks. Saab's are alittle bigger. They are not very thick, i don't know the Saab thickness but the Volvo is about 1-1/2".

I don't know what the pressure drop is, but i know that both Volvo and Saab have there IC mounted between the radiator and A/C condenser. Whitch would create a lot of extra heat, right? Saab is running a maximum of 250HP from factory with these IC'ers and Volvo runs about 225HP max.

I know that a lot of Saab and Volvo people are running up to 20psi of boost with out any problem, and remember that the IC is mounted in between the radiator and condenser.

I'm going to mount the inlet and outlet facing up and run a pipe from turbo outlet to IC inlet on pass side, no need to rotate the compressor housing. Then from IC outlet i'll run a pipe over radiator (in stock air inlet cross over location) to TB with a BOV close to TB.

I already talked to Brian G about this and the main coal right now is to get a better set-up then stock IC system. Brian thinks it's going to be better then stock set-up.

Plus the stock IC set-up is not very efficience in Texas 100+ weather, that's why i'm going to have a fan behind the A2A IC that will be wired to stock IC pump harness so the ECU will turn on the fan at a certain engine temp.

do you think any of these are going to work. How big are they. What is there thickness. What kind of psi drop do you think they will have. By going to the saab one where are you going to run the piping at? Just let me know. The saab one look really thin and could work very well.

 

[just a 6]

I had a 91 Eclipse GSX before my Sy and i did the same thing there, went to junk yard and got a Starion FMIC for my DSM. I can do all the welding at work (as i'm a tech for a Dodge dealer). I got an autopart store next to the dealership that sells mandral bends any shape and size you want, and i got a discount there

I know about "bigger is not better" the reason i'm going this big is because i wanted a thin IC so i could fit a fan behind the IC.

When i get this set-up running i will mount a water sprayer on the IC, boost triggered, yieeha. I have some friends with DSM's that have water sprayed on the outside of there FMIC and it works really well here in Texas heat.

Then when Brian G is done testing his propane injection, i'm next

eric, i understand your problem.
i am doing the same. and have done the same with my dsm.
making your own pipes and custom intercoolers is easy. just some basic welding and common sense.
the bends i get from an 18 wheeler store here for cheap.

funny thing is, my friend with a 97 gsx went there the first time and asked if they had exhaust pipes. they told him : "yeah for big trucks"
he said he needed 3 inch. they looked outside and said "on that thing??"

ever since then they have been pretty cool.
if you need any help, i would love to help.
also, when it comes to intercoolers. bigger is not better.
but cheaper is always nice too.
and for $66 that is a steal.

 

[canadian]

check out the following url

http://home.earthlink.net/~turbogus2/intercoolers.html

Here are the results of the test, starting with the best flowing cooler, and descending to the worst flowing:

1. SPEARCO intercooler. 32 short thick wide tubes. 4" H2O
2. TALON intercooler. 42 short thin narrow tubes. 6" H2O
3. Supra intercooler 30 ultra-thin wide tubes 6.75" H2O
3. Isuzu NPR cooler (small version) 16 ultra-thin wide. 8.25" H2O
4. FORD intercooler. 17 short thick wide tubes. 8.5" H2O
5. VOLVO intercooler. 34 long thin narrow tubes. 9" H2O
6. MOPAR intercooler. 10 long thick wide tubes. 9.25" H2O
7. SAAB intercooler. 26 long thin narrow tubes. 10" H2O

The results of the NPR cooler were just added. Because of heavier air (cool with higher barometer) than at the last test, everything was reading ONE psi higher than last test, so the NPR result was adjusted accordingly. It flowed one full psi better than our stocker, but has a MUCH better surface area and cross-flow properties than the stocker.

Might want to stick with the Volvo unit.

 

[TheObiJuan]

great link and info!

 

[just a 6]

Thanks but i know all about that guy Gus. That's where i got my first SAAB IC picture. He was using a leaf blower to do the flow test and i really don't trust his method of testing.

And notice that the Saab IC he tested is the old style, i bought a newer style Saab IC with different endtanks and looks like bigger tubes.

The Volvo have long thin narrow tubes and this new Saab IC have long tubes too but they are almost twice the size of the Volvo tubes, in thickness not any wider.

But i really appriciate your link posting and i'm sorry to say that Gus passed away in a MC accident. He had a bunch of stuff going on with his Mopar Turbo vehicles.

Also, correct me if i'm wrong, flow is not everything. If your IC flow to fast the air don't have enough time to cold down, right or am i wrong here? I would think that if you have a small IC that flow with 0psi pressure drop, woulden't that be almost like a straight pipe? If so how are the air going to have time to cool down? Just some thought i have in my head.

If you push like 550cfm @ 15psi of air thru an smaller high flowing IC, is that IC going to cool the air better then a bigger less flowing IC @ the same cfm and psi. Because that is what the purpus of an IC is, to cool the air. I realize that you don't want to much pressure drop, but the boost is controlled at the intake side so if you have a 2psi pressure drop in the IC the turbo will deliver 17psi to get 15psi at the intake, right. I know that the higher the pressure is the hotter the air is going to be, so you have to compensate by not running to high of boost with a stock turbo, and if you have a very efficient IC that extra heat generated by the turbo due to higher boost is going to eliminated in the IC.

I'm not saying that i'm right here, just explaning what's going on in my head when it comes to IC syetm and set-ups. If i'm wrong please correct me because i'm here to learn new things, i might be stubborn and swedish. But i will admit when i'm wrong, ok?



I need some insite in this matter

7. SAAB intercooler. 26 long thin narrow tubes. 10" H2O


Might want to stick with the Volvo unit.

 

[canadian]

n/p on the info. it does suck that gus was hit as i looked forward to seeing what he'd do next with the minivan.

have you thought of doing back to back tests of the stock i/c vs. the air/air. i think it would be interesting to see if you gain/lose time or mph in the quarter mile.

just a thought and keep us posted on how it fits and turns out.

 

[just a 6]

I need a new IC pump for my system and i didn't want to spend that extra money on something that i'm going to remove in a near future. Unless somebody have a good IC pump that i can borrow? The tracks are still open here in Texas so i could do some testing, wont be at the same outside temp due to that it's going to take a while to transfer the IC system. If i did the test it would be on a 1/8 mile track, our 1/4 is to far from my house.

n/p on the info. it does suck that gus was hit as i looked forward to seeing what he'd do next with the minivan.

have you thought of doing back to back tests of the stock i/c vs. the air/air. i think it would be interesting to see if you gain/lose time or mph in the quarter mile.

just a thought and keep us posted on how it fits and turns out.

 

[rockvillespeed]

jumping in with my 2 vents worth, bigger IS better when it comes to surface area of an intercooler - the more area the boost has to touch the cooler, thye more it'll cool - the more external contact area with ambient air, the more the cooler wiill be cooled.
of course, plenty more issues then that - but, size does matter!
sorry, shrinkage!

 

[TheObiJuan]

well bigger is better, but only when the size is matched to the amount of air being flowed.

for example a 2.0 dsm with a turbo outputing around 450cm will do fine with the stock IC.
however some people get huge front mounts and run slower. the pressure drop is to great and to keep the same boost level as they had before would take the turbo way out of the efficiency range.
but get a bigger turbo, and use the same intercooler, and you are set.

also, efficiency of the actual IC also plays a huge role.

 

[4C FED]

I sold all of my W2A in anticipation of going A2A, until I saw these:

The guy said they would support 550hp and I think I could find some place a little more suitable to mount it rather than right above the hot downpipe.

Here's the complete link: http://www.pwr-performance.com/page867169.htm

 

[UNIsackV6]

Sounds like you've thought about this long and hard and have connected with a knowledgeable SYTY'r :wink: It really sounds like a much better set up than the stocker. 1) Minimizes heat soak big time!!! The fan on all the time is a good idea as is the water to keep it cool under spool 8) 2) You'll lose some weight which is always a good thing. IMHO front mount A2A's are hard to beat especially when done right. Try doing some datalogging before and after if you can, that will really help you understand what is goin on down under mate...

 

[just a 6]

Thanks, i really appriciate those kind words And yes i been thru this whole thing before with my previous DSM, i just have to try to find the right set-up for the SyTy application. I'm working on getting some Sky Line IC'ers from Japan, they are huge and i think they will fit behind the grill on our SyTy trucks.

Sounds like you've thought about this long and hard and have connected with a knowledgeable SYTY'r :wink: It really sounds like a much better set up than the stocker. 1) Minimizes heat soak big time!!! The fan on all the time is a good idea as is the water to keep it cool under spool 8) 2) You'll lose some weight which is always a good thing. IMHO front mount A2A's are hard to beat especially when done right. Try doing some datalogging before and after if you can, that will really help you understand what is goin on down under mate...

 

[TheObiJuan]

got any pics of the IC.
and what generation? what year skyline?
anything skyline is :shocked!: ;-)

 

[just a 6]

Stock Skyline IC:

CORE: 600mm X 290mm X 60mm

TOTAL LENGTH INCLUDING THE FLANGE: 1,050mm

FLANGE DIAMETER: 80mm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6768&item=1875225550

Then there are a Blitz aftermarket IC for Skyline but i think it's going to be to thick?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33742&item=1875920810

got any pics of the IC.
and what generation? what year skyline?
anything skyline is :shocked!: ;-)

 

[TheObiJuan]

hehe, yeah i saw that last night when searching.
if it sells for under 500 that will be a damn good price!
now, only if i had a skyline, i would purchase that intercooler kit...

 

[just a 6]

You could always start with the IC and then look for a Sky hehehehe.

hehe, yeah i saw that last night when searching.
if it sells for under 500 that will be a damn good price!
now, only if i had a skyline, i would purchase that intercooler kit...

 

[TheObiJuan]

im doing the same with the Phoon
got lots of parts..