Lets Talk Intercoolers

[KAMAKAZ performance]

hey guys

i have spent the last few days looking up information about intercoolers as i am ready to purchase one for my build

rb26 s13

t04z .7

motor is forged ect

big cams

and all the rest

aiming for around the 550rwhp mark

so what size intercooler should i buy?

no one so far can give me a solid answer, i didnt want to slap some 120mm drag core on there and make a huge obstruction to the rest of the car nor did i want to cause a restriction

so will the notmal 600x300x76 do the trick?

should i be looking at something a bit thicker?

or any size core that will flow around 950-1000cfm?

even a water to air set up?

any help is much appreciated

thanks

[T-Rex]

I think the 600x300x76 will suffice but a 90mm would be better if available. A guy that raced in the WTAC ran 440hp at the wheels in a WRX with a top mount, much smaller than 600x300..

[GTR_JOEY]

if it helps, ive been told by a reputable tuner that its an intercooler is more effective if it has a larger surface area as apose to deeper thickness

[T-Rex]

To an extent that is correct yes. If you go too thick then the airflow going through the back of the intercooler isn't doing anything (not working well as a heat exchanger). A 90mm thick core seems to be the thickest recommended unless your just chasing dyno figures. APS do a 850x240x82 core for WRX and i know of a high powered car that changed his top mount for that model APS and he made 10kw more power with 600rpm more lag. He then chucked it in the bin and got a blitz FMIC and had much better response without a loss in power. Whether it was because its APS or because there was too much volume I'm not sure, but it obviously didn't work.

[Beer Baron]

yep, 600X300X76 should be fine, providing it's actually a decent core. the quality and usefullness and performance of intercoolers varies wildly. ideally you want an ARC. since they are now out of business that means used. trust ones are not bad, blitz are good, nismo are fantastic (ARC) but cost a lot. probably the best value for your set-up will be a 100mm trust core from a GTR which can be had quite cheap second hand. I'm about to sell mine (replacing it with an ARC) and probably asking around $750 but I've seen them as high as $1200 and as low as $500 for decent ones.