big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Gokou · Feb 22, 2007

big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Well, lookie what Mr. UPS left on my doorstep today, courtesy of Bell Intercoolers. I've been wanting to intercool my car since 2003 but I kept telling myself "I'll get to it this year" but other improvements always took priority.

Having no real "winter projects" on the car this year I decided this is the year, and thanks to Uncle Sam and my tax refund for covering the tab on this one

The core is 27 x 12 x 3. End tank design & packaging was done by yours truly courtesy of SolidWorks. Many thanks to Gerhard Schruf at Bell Intercoolers for core sizing help and some assistance with efficient end tank configurations. What a great guy to deal with!

I just hope it works as good as it looks. I was going to paint it black to be more stealthy but it's just too nice to hide!

I'm going to start hacking the nose of the car up this week to get this sucker in there, hoping to have the install done in ~3 weeks. I need to move my receiver/dryer and install a new larger AC condensor, move the radiator back about 2", refab my hood latch & center grille support, rebuild the radiator support between the headlights, and cut and weld all the IC piping then send it out for high temp ceramic coating.

Hoping for a very noticeable power gain, I'm fairly confident the car will run as well on a 90 degree day as it does now on 60 degree days-- right now the difference between driving the car in 90 degree weather and 60 degree weather is a HUGE difference in power. Can't wait to see how it'll run on cold days with this thing plumbed in.

Derek69SS · Feb 22, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

While you're modding the heck out of the radiator mounting, you might as well just go ahead and tip them forward to duct the air out the hood.

stealth71 · Feb 22, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Looks nice. I agree w/ Derek might as well. We need someone to be the 1st.

novaderrik · Feb 22, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

not to nitpick, but isn't an intercooler something that enhances the performance of a force-fed engine? wouldn't it be a better "fit" to go in either the "engine" or "performance" section?
or, is an intercooler such an integral part of the "Pro Touring" look, that it goes here?
don't get me wrong- i think it's an awesome thing. but what if someone that isn't into the whole "pro touring" thing is putting together a similar engine combo for a drag car or something, and he just never comes to this section?

Gokou · Feb 22, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

novaderrik said:
not to nitpick, but isn't an intercooler something that enhances the performance of a force-fed engine? wouldn't it be a better "fit" to go in either the "engine" or "performance" section?
or, is an intercooler such an integral part of the "Pro Touring" look, that it goes here?
don't get me wrong- i think it's an awesome thing. but what if someone that isn't into the whole "pro touring" thing is putting together a similar engine combo for a drag car or something, and he just never comes to this section?

Last night I accidentally posted here instead of the performance section as I meant to (I couldn't delete this post.) After posting this I went and posted the same thing in performance for the exact reasons you stated-- it doesn't really belong here.

That being said, I've actually received more replies here than in the performance section-- which I agree is a far more appropriate area!

cody · Feb 22, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Looks good. I hear you one having no IC, my daily driver doesnt' have an IC and it feels SO much faster when its cold out. You really gonna finish all that in 3 weeks!!? Make sure to take pics along the way so we can see how you did it :thumbsup:

Gokou · Feb 23, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

I'm going to try and have the install finished and the tubing sent out for high temp coating in 3 weeks-- during which time I can continue driving the car without the intercooler hooked up.

I'm also going to be leaving enough space between the condenser & radiator for an oil cooler down the road.

My plans are probably a bit optimistic as I don't think the mandrel bends and the other tubing will be here until the end of next week. I also need to make a partial metal upper radiator tube as the stock radiator hose is right in the path of the new blower discharge tube. I also need to make new AC hoses and all that good stuff when I move the receiver/dryer.

If everything goes well I don't think it will take very long-- especially down at my friend's fab shop which is where I plan on doing the work with his help.

My Procharger is also starting to leak a bit at the impeller seal, I'm currently deciding if I want to try and rebuild it myself. All you really need is a press and a couple of $4 CR seals...

Joe Y · Feb 23, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Looks nice. I used to run a spearco a2w setup on my rx7. Almost nil pressure drop as well as the added bonus of much lower temps. But the front mounts look so much cooler.

ss396boy · Feb 23, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Please be sure to update your site while you are at it, i like checking out all your stuff.... next thing you should do is paint it. heheheheh

Alan · Feb 23, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

novaderrik said:
not to nitpick, but isn't an intercooler something that enhances the performance of a force-fed engine? wouldn't it be a better "fit" to go in either the "engine" or "performance" section?
or, is an intercooler such an integral part of the "Pro Touring" look, that it goes here?
don't get me wrong- i think it's an awesome thing. but what if someone that isn't into the whole "pro touring" thing is putting together a similar engine combo for a drag car or something, and he just never comes to this section?

Troy's post on this in the Performance section is on page 3 already. I think the people in this PT section are more into this type of topic than the Performance crowd. Don't know why, but that's just what I've noticed.

Looks real nice Troy. Are you just too lazy to sand the paint on your car, so you buy parts to go faster which blows more paint off the body?

Gokou · Feb 24, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Alan said:
Looks real nice Troy. Are you just too lazy to sand the paint on your car, so you buy parts to go faster which blows more paint off the body?

I'm too busy making the car go faster rather than look nicer-- which is how it's been for the 12 years I have had it. I've watched the rust holes in the bottom of the front fenders grow over that time.

I do need to do the paint and bodywork... someday. It's always "maybe this year" and then I never do it.

Fortunately it's getting to the point where I'm not buying too much "go faster" stuff (because I already have most of it) and that means paint & bodywork is getting closer. After the intercooler installation I'm planning to yank the vinyl roof and do some rust repairs around the back window and flat black the roof and drive it like that for a while-- hopefully not for another 12 years.

BB_Mike · Feb 24, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Looking forward to some Dyno numbers.

Your website has been in my favorites for some time. If you paint the car, I might think your site had been hacked.

I couldn't visualize how big the cooler is. I'm sure it's huge, but they can't be tooo hugh, or else. Snap a shot with a CD or Pen or something on it. And no, a bra doesn't count, because it could be your little sister's bra.

You don't have to do that, I just wanted to tell a joke...

Gokou · Feb 24, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

BB_Mike said:
Looking forward to some Dyno numbers.
Your website has been in my favorites for some time. If you paint the car, I might think your site had been hacked.

I couldn't visualize how big the cooler is. I'm sure it's huge, but they can't be tooo hugh, or else. Snap a shot with a CD or Pen or something on it. And no, a bra doesn't count, because it could be your little sister's bra.

You don't have to do that, I just wanted to tell a joke...

LOL! The day I paint the car will be a shocker for me too, and all the guys at local carshows. I've heard paint jokes on a weekly basis at the local shows for over 10 years now. They're never surprised when I add something to the car that makes it go faster or handle better... but it might actually cause heart attacks in some of the older guys when the car shows up with shiny paint on it. I might have one too.

An intercooler can be too huge actually-- once you get to the point where you've shed most of the added heat from compressing the air, going bigger just results in more weight/pressure drop/boost lag-- boost lag in the sense that there is a larger volume that has to be pressurized and then boost response suffers. You want to have plenty of charge-air cross sectional area to provide enough flow channels to minimize pressure drop at the given pressure ratio & volume, and then overall efficiency (that being inlet air temp vs. outlet air temp) is controlled by the length of the charge air flowpath. However, the longer the charge air flowpath the greater the pressure drop so then you need to add more cross sectional area in the charge air direction to keep the pressure drop down. There is a point of diminishing returns though once you pass the "ideal" size; say you have an air inlet temp of 300F and an ambient temp of 90F. With a 6" tall core the outlet temp is 150F. An 8" tall core might drop that to 120F, and a 10" core might drop you to 100F, but a 20" tall might only get you down to 95F. As the outlet temp gets closer to the ambient temp it gets harder and harder to get that last little bit of heat out, so there is no point in going any larger than necessary to get *most* of the heat out.

This thing is a little bit bigger than really necessary for my car but I went with the 12" tall core for packaging/tubing reasons. Gerhard suggested that 8" tall would be adequate, 10" tall would add a bit more efficiency, and 12" tall would be a bit more efficient but also be right on the threshold of starting to be overkill. However, for most efficient tubing routing & packaging in the car 12" tall was the best; any shorter and I'd have to add another tubing bend or make the top end tank taller-- and a taller end tank would block more of the radiator's airflow path. Going 2" taller than needed on the core was the best option as it will eliminate one tubing bend and the extra core height means not only a little more intercooler efficiency but air can flow through the core to get to the radiator, whereas if I went with a shorter core/taller end tank I'd block more of the radiator.

Also, it flows just under 1400cfm with 1 psi of pressure drop @ 15psi inlet pressure.

Here's a pic with a CD on it for some reference... and it's not one of those "half size" CD's that gets handed out at trade shows. :yes:

BB_Mike · Feb 24, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Damn, that is huge.

Thanks for the rundown on what happens if the tank is too large. I illuded to that by adding italics to what I had said. My way was a little lazier than your illustration above.

Something to do with PV = NRT? Either way it'll certainly gain you some P=MV !

Dave · Mar 1, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Not that it really qualifies here, but..... I took my Chevelle out the other week when it was clear and about 30 degrees outside. What a noticable difference, wonder what yours would be like in that climate.

dirtlips408 · Mar 5, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Gokou, Are you planning on running the car this year at Kingdon??

Gokou · Mar 5, 2007

Re: big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

dirtlips408 said:
Gokou, Are you planning on running the car this year at Kingdon??

If I'm not working, yes. They better have clocks this year though, and I hope they work on the surface a bit...

A friend and I got all the hard fab work done this weekend, the radiator support is almost all-new between the headlights, the radiator was moved rear 2" and up about 1.5", the IC is in and mounted, the new larger AC condenser is in, the power steering cooler is in. I was able to retain the factory hoodlatch, didn't have to cut the bumper valance or bumper, the grille did not need modification, and there is still plenty of room for everything. :hurray:

I still need to fab the new AC hoses & PS cooler hoses and do the piping to and from the IC this week. Might have it finished this weekend. I'm in a rush to get the IC piping done because I can't send the supercharger out for rebuilding/resealing until I get the piping from the supercharger to the intercooler inlet made and I want to get the thing back to Procharger before they get busy during the "spring rush."

big shiny thing that goes behind the grille (i.e. my intercooler is here)

Gokou

Derek69SS

stealth71

novaderrik

Gokou

cody

Gokou

Joe Y

ss396boy

Alan

Gokou

BB_Mike

Gokou

BB_Mike

Dave

dirtlips408

Gokou

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities