nice project...and it adds a lot to your engine bay

 

do you have any pictures of how the intercooler is mounted to the car at all? very interested in how you did this as i'm looking to follow the same route soon.

Brad.

 

Quick question. On the first page you say that you purchased the intercooler from CXRacing and then on the second you say its a XSPower intercooler. Which one is it? Trying to fab my own project. Thanks.

 

I was wonder how do you convert your tail light to a 99 Spec ? can you show me how

 

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2616329/23

that's the best i can do for you.

ah i'm sorry. i think XSPower is the other "ebay brand"...

yes, in this project i used a CXRacing intercooler, bought directly from their website

 

Well done, looks great

 

ohhh yea where do you get da red and da orange paper ? is there a site for it ? thanks Bro

 

I'm interested in what your seeing for water temps are now, that duct is seriously huge . . .

 

^^I have a similar setup and the duct does not cover the rad at all. So H2O temps remain as they were before. My temps stay at 85C solid.

 

ok so i'm gonna res this thread real quick.

first, to answer staticguitar313's question:

since i installed the duct, intake temps haven't really changed. they sit between 85-87c all day, no matter if i'm in traffic or open road.

anyway...

after using the intercooler setup for awhile i'm very happy with the results, however now that it's summer i've noticed that new york city traffic + warmer weather have taken their toll on my intake temps.

i've narrowed it down to three primary factors, two of which are related to the intercooler.

1) in stop and go traffic, there isn't enough air passing though the intercooler

2) the end tanks tend to heat-soak since they are directly above the fans for the radiator

3) the LIM tends to heat-soak as well, since there is no shielding between it and the turbos

thanks to these three factors, i've seen my intake temps get up to the high 60's (celsius) in stop and go traffic.

as a remedy, i went and ordered some adhesive-backed gold thermal barrier and a 12" low-profile electric fan.

i covered the end tanks with the gold heat shielding and attached the e-fan to the back of the intercooler. here are some photos of the progress.













by the time i finished and reinstalled the duct/ic it was dark out, but i snapped some photos with my camera phone. i'll post better ones later.







i'll post more photos once i get the fan wired up. i'm using the fog light switch since i no longer have my fogs installed.

i'll also update about intake temps when i get some time to drive around and test it out.

 

Looking good
Will be interesting to see how the IC fan affects temps.

Ceylon.

 

Very clean setup

 

hey theorie, that looks like excellent work! this has been my plan all along, i picked up an xs power for cheap and was told that they worked pretty well as long as they were ducted properly. i didn't know you had a write up on the install, now i will have something to use when i install mine. i am interested in learning how the fan and heat tape helps out as well.

 

so, i got a chance to test out the changes.

long story short: yes, the duct extension, fan, and heat shield helps.

long story long:

last night i wired the fan. i used the fog switch like i suggested. instead of running a power connection though the firewall and back (to the switch), i ran the ground. the power for the fan is connected directly to the battery stock-location hookup box thingy, with a 30a fuse.

i drove out to jones' beach (long island) today. half the way there was pretty open road, the other half was stop-and-go/bumper-to-bumper. while cruising, i kept the fan off. it was wicked hot out today (90f?) and on the highway intake temps stayed right between 40-44c (104-111f) - not too bad considering there isn't any heat shielding between the turbo & the lim. in the stop-and-go traffic, i flipped on the fan. even in scorching heat and bumper-to-bumper, intake temps never got about 58c (136f).

i'm sure some heat shielding between the LIM and turbos, and also on the underside of the UIM (where the sensor is) would be a big help as well, but just the little bit of heat shield on the intercooler + the fan + the ducting definitely helped.

cheers.

 

Interesting setup. I'm thinking of something similar. What would you need to have the IC fan come on automatically at a preset intake temperature as opposed to having a manual switch?
Thanks.

 

wouldnt it be better to use a pressure activated switch rather than a temp, also easier...

 

They make temp probes connected to a rotary dial/switch that allow things to be activated at whatever temp you want. The probe would go right between the cooling fins on the intercooler. Seems like they are around 20 or so. Check autoparts stores and places like jeggs or summit. Usually they are used with radiators. Even better would be a speed activated switch. At low speeds you want more airflow, at higher speeds you dont want a restriction.

 

Nice work. I looked into having my endtanks ceramic coated a few years ago but never got around to it. The thermal tape looks like a good alternative.

 

Yeah, that reflect-a-gold is good stuff.

 

Does anyone have any experience doing this crossover delete with the USDM ypipe and a 90* silicone bend? Would a silicone bend get crushed just the same by the strut bar? Would like to see pics or a thread with details! Thanks

 

i have seen it done that way. the pettit kit uses the stock Y pipe with a short straight coupler and a pipe similar to the one i used (without the mounting flange). i think i have seen people use a 90* coupler on the stock Y pipe. don't have any pics but i'm sure you could do it that way.

 

I tried this exact same setup before, someone brought me the IC and I did the fab work. It didn't work too well, especially when pushing the car hard. As HC said, those cheap intercoolers don't work well. I then thought it was location related and tried a cheap FMIC, again results not great. Cheap intercoolers just don't work anywhere near as well as the good stuff...

 

I used to have the 90 degree pipe popping off the straight silicone coupling coming off the y-pipe. Solution was a 90 degree silicone coupling.

 

actually this setup has been working great.

i recently installed on of the "fast reacting" air intake sensors, relocating it to the intercooler piping (right before the greddy elbow).



i think the stock ait sensor is the main reason why i thought my air temps were high - it was getting heat soaked and giving false air temp readings, even though the intercooler was working great.

now, with the new relocated ait sensor, i have been driving around and seeing temps in the low 20's on the pfc. even in traffic, the highest i saw was 30c. yes, it is colder outside now, but i still think the heatsoaked stock ait was to blame for the higher readings.

i'm still happy with this setup, and it's been working great, especially for the price.

 

Do you know the inlet coupler diameter for the ypipe? I would guess 3". I am trying to order this today from my office and don't have access to the car now.