Intercoolers: How long do they take to install?

[RedEmblem]

Hey,

I'll probably be looking for a few upgrades in the coming weeks - the major one being an intercooler.

I have a budget of around say 3k. I was wondering, if I bought say some HKS intercooler (Type S any good?) & alum. piping for roughly $1700 (or $1550 through nengun) how much should I add on top for labour charges to install it?

Also, roughly what sort of performance increase do these provide? 5-10kw?

Are there better brands out there than HKS that I should consider?

Thankyou.

[makaveli]

Hi Andrew,

I bought a blitz lm intercooler kit for my r32, fitting was a breeze.

All I had to do was remove the front bar and old intercooler and simply bolt in the new one.

Im not sure what front bar you have as it may need to be modified.

I have a gtr front bar and it was ok.

Take Care

Mark

[HKS34R]

Bolt on systems (I have a HKS Type S on my 34) are so easy to install, you would be better off doing it yourself. Plus, the best thing about doing it yourself, is you learn a little bit more about your car!!.

The only thing you would have to get done professionally is to modify the front bar. Simply just take the front bar off, stick it in the back seat, install the FMIC and drive it all down to the workshop. Very easy.

[nsm034]

took about 5 hours not rushing, stopping for lunch. On my 34 we used a plasma cutter and took a good inch or two out of the support bar corners and also on the corners near where the headlights are (still on the support bar ) I had the standard front bar and it needed all the black part cut off , about 4 inches to fit( used a die grinder and circular sander) . End result was very profesional looking

[shif_tea]

Would you simply be able to file away the front bar or would that look sh1t?? I'm looking at doing the same thing soon, but i think i'll need to cut a hole in the actual frame to run the pipework (i stupidly didn't by a nice kit)

[1598cc]

1700?! what a rip. fek, i make my own cooler pipes + welding and costs about 60$ all up.

Its not hard aye; dont get sucked into all the big name brands

[Nozila]

angle/die grinder is the way to go if you have a plastic front bar. a file would 1) takes ages to do 2) look awful because it leaves impression of the file on the bar 3) possibly ruin it as the die on the other hand would make it smooth.

[sproosy]

1700?! what a rip. fek, i make my own cooler pipes + welding and costs about 60$ all up.

Its not hard aye; dont get sucked into all the big name brands

Dude im not having a go, but not everyone here is handy with a welder or bending pipes. Im in the same boat as you, but i couldnt be fu(ked so id choose to buy the kit or shop around for a cheaper price. ive seen full intercooler kits for $100. Id say thats a decent price for a decent cooler all pipework and fittings.....

[GR33DY]

u can buy ARC cooler kits for ur car for $1400- piping everything.. and ARC are known to be one of the best, if not THE best coolers on the market.. lemme know if ur interested...

[1598cc]

Dude im not having a go, but not everyone here is handy with a welder or bending pipes. Im in the same boat as you, but i couldnt be fu(ked so id choose to buy the kit or shop around for a cheaper price. ive seen full intercooler kits for $100. Id say thats a decent price for a decent cooler all pipework and fittings.....

never said you were havin a go

you can even get away with having no welder , just alot of rubber bends etc .

all good tho

[shif_tea]

Thanks for the advice, i've been wonderin that for a while.

Would it be cheaper and easier to

a) buy pre-made cheap piping kits (like the hybrid style for about 450-500 bux)

or

b)get someone like micks metalcraft or something to make up piping and fit it??

No idea what cost that would be, but if its only a little more even than i'd prefer that

I couldn't be bothered measuring, working out bend angles etc etc to make up my own (plus i know i'd stuff it up!! )

[predator]

angle grinders are the shit.. work well on the plastic too.. just be careful.. because it will literally melt the plastic (which gives nice smooth edges = good), but if you get any of it on your hands it burns it burns.. got a couple of nasty blisters from being stupid. The other option that will work fairly well is a jigsaw. I used that at points too.

You can pretty much get a result that looks like it was meant to be, if you are careful. I only used the file to shave a few bits out a bit further, but the file can tend to burr the edges.

Chopping that support with the angle grinder is pure entertainment in itself.. why pay somebody else for the pleasure??

Install took me about 5-6 hours for cooler itself, but a bit of that was trying to workout how to get the bumper and bumper skin off.. work out what to drill, what to cut, etc, etc.

For the piping, if you purchase the required bends, some straight pipe, and dummy fit everything.. if you mark a line across both pipes to determine which angles they should sit, you can take them to somewhere and just say "weld this here" and you should get a cheaper result. That was what I was going to do, but in the end, I ended up buying a 2ndhand kit off another member for a good price.

[nsm034]

use the die grinder 1st but then use the circular sander last . smooths it out perfecto and you can just take a bit at a time when u r almost fininshed