Intercooler Mounting Options

[shaeff]

So picked up one of those huge 24x12 intercoolers from 935motorsports. (thanks rob! <- great service!) i've got the entire front end off the car due to bodywork, so i have access to pretty much every tight spot up there.

i'm about to mount my intercooler. i've moved the coolant resivour, and there's plenty of room for it to fit. here's my question:

if i place the intercooler perpendicular to the ground (straight up and down), it seems as if it would get more airflow at first glance. however, i noticed that the stock intercooler is angled slightly forward. with the undercover in place, the air is forced through the front air dam, then up toward the top of the engine bay. this makes sense now that the stocker is angled forward, right?

i've got all the hardware that i'll be making the brackets out of already. but i want some opinions before i start cutting things and drilling holes in my aluminum bracketry.

how much of an angle forward is TOO much? i'm not talking a 45* angle here, but moreso than stock. i want as much surface area as possible, but i'd imagine that too much angle would cause the air to not flow THROUGH the intercooler properly, thus reducing cooling. am i on track here?

there's always the turbo-a duct, but i'm not sure i want to cut through the bumper support, and the fact that i don't have an A-duct to put in there even if i did. (nor do i have the cash to buy one now)

so, i'd like to hear some well though out opinions and whatnot about how i should go about this mounting. angled? not angled? (remember that not angled has less surface area, but the air might not flow through it as well)

a decent portion of the IC is covered by the bumper support. thanks,

-shaeff

 

[buckshotglass]

I didn't totally locate the bottom of mine yet, but it will be angled back a little to get it away from the back of the bumper. Pics of the brackets are on the first page of my build. Hope this helps.:icon_bigg

 

[shaeff]

i'm not so concerned about MAKING the brackets. i just want to know what angle on the intercooler is best for maximum efficiency. (and as it's angled more, it has more surface area because it's pulled away from the bumper support)

thanks for the reply.

-shaeff

 

[shaeff]

c'mon! everyone with this intercooler mounted it straight up and down, and let the bumper support block airflow? let's see some creative ideas! i've been thinking of modifying the bumper support, but keeping it well braced. i'm not sure how i'd do it yet, but i really want full airflow to this IC.

-shaeff

 

[s383mmber1]

Is the intercooler 3 inch's wide or 4..............?

 

[SLO-MK3]

c'mon! everyone with this intercooler mounted it straight up and down, and let the bumper support block airflow? let's see some creative ideas! i've been thinking of modifying the bumper support, but keeping it well braced. i'm not sure how i'd do it yet, but i really want full airflow to this IC.

-shaeff

Ok, calm down..........j/k. Anyways, I mounted mine right to the bumper itself by cuting a section out and welding up some brackets. so instead of the bumper blocking airflow, it's the bumper cover/body piece, w/e you want to call it. but that stuff is easy to cut, I just haven't done it yet cuz I'm lazy like that. here's some pics to give you some ideas.

mounted

with bumper cover on

btw I have 24"(31 end to end)x12"x4" ic

 

[GrimJack]

I suspect that you'll get the best flow when the IC is perpendicular to the road. But if you're really thinking about max airflow, just chop up some sheetmetal to force all the air into the IC, like a giant funnel.

 

[suprahero]

But if you're really thinking about max airflow, just chop up some sheetmetal to force all the air into the IC, like a giant funnel.

Brilliant!!!!!!!!

Good luck Shaeff..............lol

 

[buckshotglass]

Mine is 28x12x3, and leaned back there is a lot of room in the front...

 

[drjonez]

while i think there may be some gains from an angle, i opted for a perp mount:

http://mkiiitech.com/drj/blackcar/090206/P9020006.JPG

given my turbo A duct, i'm not that worried about airflow....

 

[shaeff]

sweet. i knew there would be some good information posted. thanks everyone.

man, every time i look at a turbo A duct, i want to cry. perhaps i'll try to figure out if i can reinforce the bumper in other ways, should i decide to cut through it for a turbo A duct. i've always wanted one, and after all, i don't plan on crashing the car.

I suspect that you'll get the best flow when the IC is perpendicular to the road. But if you're really thinking about max airflow, just chop up some sheetmetal to force all the air into the IC, like a giant funnel.

heh, ya know what's really weird, is i was thinking of bending a piece of 1/8" steel from straight upward on an angle to maximize flow to the top of the IC, but i wasn't sure how well it would work. haha. maybe i'll mess with that after all...

thanks again!

-shaeff

 

[catback]

i just installed mine a few weeks ago and i thought the same way as you.
i put it at a slight angle.

a little bonus about it is it kinda hides the IC a little more:naughty:

 

[935motorsports]

On a stock bumper, I would think angle mount would get more random airflow to the IC.

However, if the backside of the bumper support were removed then there is just enough chance for random air and it looks better.

On my old setup I had an aluminum tray to shoot air up to the IC core instead of letting air flow under the IC. I had it at a slight tilt (maybe 10 degrees) to help catch the air.

My large IC was on 1j stock twins though. I could never get it hot enough at stock boost to matter. In fact at night the intake manifold was always freezing cold even after a long freeway run.

 

[Back2Basics]

Shaeff post picks of whatever you end up doing, I'm trying to figure this out as well, but I'm leaving town and my car for a couple months so I cant do anymore right now.

 

[shaeff]

i'll surely post pics when i'm done. for now, i think i'm going to weld tabs onto the bumper support, and hang it at a slight angle. in the future when money allows, i'll pick up a turbo A duct and put that in, or another bumper support that i can modify for a turbo A duct, and reinforce at the same time.

-shaeff

 

[jason7mgte]

silly big intercoolers, silly

 

[shaeff]

if by silly, you mean efficient, then yes, very silly.

-shaeff

 

[jason7mgte]

Yeah Thats a monster.

 

[futeki_supra]

Ok, calm down..........j/k. Anyways, I mounted mine right to the bumper itself by cuting a section out and welding up some brackets. so instead of the bumper blocking airflow, it's the bumper cover/body piece, w/e you want to call it. but that stuff is easy to cut, I just haven't done it yet cuz I'm lazy like that. here's some pics to give you some ideas.

mounted

with bumper cover on

btw I have 24"(31 end to end)x12"x4" ic

that fits pretty good,
I think it would look alot better with a front lip there, and cut out the bottom of that opening,
b/c imo it looks kinda skimpy like it is,

on my last rx7, I did like how I said, I chopped the bottom middle of the bumper out, and added a lip...

like this:
(isnt my car)

 

[bo3232000]

I cut my bumper support out but left a small strip at the top to at least try and keep its integrity....I have a 32 x 14 x 4 intercooler with a oilcooler reloc attached to it...I used little self tappers to attach it with no core damage.... The small piece just comes up to the top of the intercooler and is the full width of it as well.....Just realized the damn support isnt in this pic.......:dunno: anyway i will try to post one with it on in the morn...sorry