Choice Of Intercoolers

[R33_Series2Lover]

Ive searched in regards to this and I cant get a decent answer. After reading some other posts it has come to my attention that choice of intercooler is a inportant thing because if you get a bad one then it will mess up your car correct?? I have read that getting a massive cooler is a bad thing because it can block the radiator and cause overheating, then ive heard some intercooler that are big have a special design that help the air through the cooler so the radiator can get some relief. Im confused personally i want to get a FMIC because they look good im not going to raise boost or anything. But I want a good one and im not willing to save money and put a cheapie in I want a decent FMIC which will do the job right. at the mo i have a stocky series II R33 but my expected list of mods are as follows.

- 3 inch turbo back exhaust with twin dump pipe

- GFB Stealth FX adjustable BOV (FYI for anyone lookin to get a BOV this is a good BOV for skylines ive been told so my car doesnt have stalling probs or idle probs as you can adjust how much air goes to the atmosphere and make sure enough goes back into the car)

- Power FC

- Front Mount intercooler once I figure out which are the best ones.

Ive been told you can also get FMIC that use the factory intercooler piping in order to avoid cutting the chassis and fan. anyone know whick intercooler these are or which intercooler will be the best for my application. Thanks

Edited September 25, 2005 by R33_Series2Lover

[Cubes]

The VLT boys swear by garrett cores. They are pricey though.

My 100mm thick bar and plate is too dense, it doesn't flow air through it at all.

Squirt a hose hard up against it and you only get a slight dribble out the back of the core.

Sitting on 80-100km/h I often hear the fan roar up as I lug up a long hill.

Im confused personally i want to get a FMIC because they look good im not going to raise boost or anything.

Maybe you should grab some photo paper, throw the printer in to poster mode and print out a fmic. Laminate it and shove it in your front bumper.

Edited September 25, 2005 by Cubes

[siddr20]

get the Hybrid Tube and fin design.. Flyn is selling it for about 650 i think.. Its a whole kit and is the best bang for buck!!

Heaps of ppl use them and theres nothing wrong wit them.. in terms of over size and makin the radiator overheat etc etc..

I say go for Hybrid!!

hehe you got a power fc already???

Edited September 25, 2005 by siddr20

[R33_Series2Lover]

Noooo im going overseas in a month so all my money is going to go there. when i get back im going the 3 inch turbo back straightaway then get the front mount and power fc done together. so hybrid ay hmm i heard your need to trim the fan down to clear the piping and you need to cut a whole in the chassis. Not real fond of these ideas especially cutting the hole dont want it to get rusty and stuff later on.

[R33_Series2Lover]

So hybrid cant be the only good option. im sure people have more knowledge on the correct size and type of intercooler i should be going for my application

[WazR32GTSt]

from what i understand:

bar and plate = good for boosted air flow, not as good for ambient flwo to radiator

tube and fin = not as good for boosted air flow, better for ambient air flow to radiator

i am running a tube and fin FMIC and never have and heating problems with my R32 and that's in the hot climate of brisbane

Personally, i don't think that spending 2000 on an intercooler will necessarily but you a better performing product than an equivalent $700 hybrid design. After all, if it cools the compressed air, then it works...

but some people only buy brand name stuff as they have more money than sense sometimes

my 2c

Warren.

[Cubes]

Why not just look at a 33 GTR FMIC, they are cheap and work very well.

[Tangles]

Go on ebay, do some homework in regards to quality and pricing (ie contact sellers), and buy a 400 x 280 x 76mm intercooler, and then get an exhaust shop to supply piping via the standard holes in the engine bay......

No more than $350 delivered for the 'cooler and around $300 for mandrel bent pipework?

Thats what I'll be doing one day to my Stagea - put in a standard R34 GTT intercooler as they are around 20% bigger than the R33 intercooler, but wouldnt mind the FMIC look in the future (when I hiflow the turbo...)

Thats my 2c worth

Brendan

[R33_Series2Lover]

Cool so that was a way better response. So as im not intending to boost im looking at a tube and fin design or go the R33 GTR FMIC. cool. 400 x 280 x 76mm intercooler is this a decent size or does it leave gaps in the front bar.

[lows_13]

What are the 32, 33 GTR coolers like compared to say hybrid, etc?

[siddr20]

I think hybrid are effective enough in terms of all applications..

[paulr33]

GTR > Hybrid

[Merli]

I would take a stock GTR intercooler over a Hybrid any day of the week.

Although I haven't tested the flow or pressure drop of either, and I'm sure no-one else posting in this thread has either.

Since you're buying one for looks anyway, and aren't really going to be pushing the limits of it, ANY core will be better than your crappy stock one and will do the job.

[Cubes]

I'm considering ditching my bar plate 580hp 100mm thick core for a GTR item as I'm only wanting 270 odd rwkw.

GTR coolers are good for 300rwkw from what i've been 'told'.

[lordsnipe]

if you don't want to cut the chassis or fan, the hybrid cooler is not the way to go. the hybrid kits require cutting a hole on the drivers side, along with possibly trimming the fan blades for clearance.

[Cubes]

You can always have the pipe do a 180degree bend and run behind or level with the bottom of the IC.

My current IC has in/out positioned in the center of the core.

[SimonR32]

I just swaped my GTR cooler for a 100mm hybrid design copy with aluminium piping

the cooling capacity is better and the turbo is actually now more responsive (300rpm). somehow the GTR cooler was causing a restriction, i dont know how or why but it was...

[Amaru]

Of course a 100mm cooler is going to cool better than a standard GTR item, which is only 75mm from memory?

If you want it for just bling bling and arnt pushing much power, go the Hybrid. I have heard stories of they are useless over 15psi or so though, but didnt see the car first hand.

And as for the $2000 jap name coolers, you get lots of r&d time to provide the best possible cooler for the application. Its like people who compare a Garrett 25/30 to a HKS GT2530 and assume they are the same turbo because Garrett make HKS turbos...

[Munna]

go the Hybrid. I have heard stories of they are useless over 15psi or so though, but didnt see the car first hand.

Can anyone else confirm this Id highly doubt this statement.

[Amaru]

Can anyone else confirm this Id highly doubt this statement.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The car in questions intake temperature rose dramatically (bigish single turbo which was only just starting to get into its efficiency range, so that wasnt the problem) above 15psi, it just didnt seem to have the capability to scrub the heat from the air passing through. Wether this was poor internals on the runners, or a poor front end surface meaning the air didnt pass through it very well not sure.

Car is an R32 GTR which ended up making 390kw on ~23psi boost with a HKS Type R cooler and kept inlet temps nice and cool.

Edited September 27, 2005 by Amaru