MyE28.com

tec3 install almost complete, thinking of intercooler next, I know most do air/water but I want air/air anyone on here gone that route and if so pictures would be appreciated.
Thanks Chuck

I know tj and I have been looking to do a huge front mount A/A intercooler setup when we finally get some free time and we were really looking at this type of intercooler design. This is assuming that we dont take off the intake manifold and drill out a new TB hole for the other side. This would require only new piping from what we have now. Its the whole one side in and one side out setup so we can still eliminate the driver side of the engine bay. Click on the link below for the style we would buy.
Right now i run a 745i intercooler setup because of my no ABS in the 533, and I have one for sale wih piping in the for sale section if yo uneed. Mine runs fairly efficient because of a little modification to the air dam to force air at it. If you want some pics of my 745i setup, let me know.

Supra Style Intercooler




[Edit by Yellow on [TIME]1133292714[/TIME]]

Chuck,

I have a customer who recently did it. It involves a sawzall, holesaw and complete disregard for the car. IMHO this is the only way to fit one of adequate size.

Todd

Yeah - Me and Yellow have been thinking up many ways to do a A/A setup.

My most solid idea is this:
Remove the A/C condenser (my a/c lines popped and the a/c unit is seizing, so screw it)
Pipe from the turbo to behind the kidneys, it should fit anything up to 22-23" wide and as much as 18" deep and 3" thick I believe.
Get a junkyard intake manifold and mount the throttle body on the other side, then replace my current intake manifold.
Connect the dots :P

it might work...

Hmmm...
I am considering doing one with my BMP non-front bumper, I should have some room for a biggie. I guess we'll see. I need to sell some parts from the 745i fast! Darn these expensive projects.

I think that supra IC will fit, even with the AC stuff. Now, as Todd said, you have to cut some, but nothing that you would see, and is easier than a end to end A/A IC. Some of my front end has already been trimmed :p a bit to fit the CAIS. So that supra unit is not a bigge, just different. $400 is not bad price for that IC also.

RussC

I'm installing an A/A intercooler from an Isuzu NPR box truck on my 535i. Because of my turbo emplacement, the only way to run ic pipes was to "hack" a little bit of sheetmetal! ] I removed the charcoal canister and made a hole underneath. I can run two 2.5" ic pipes (out/in) through it and have some room to spare. I could have done it with a little bit more finesse but as long as it gets the job done...

What does this IC look like?

RussC

[QUOTE="Monotalonawd"]I'm installing an A/A intercooler from an Isuzu NPR box truck on my 535i. Because of my turbo emplacement, the only way to run ic pipes was to "hack" a little bit of sheetmetal! ] I removed the charcoal canister and made a hole underneath. I can run two 2.5" ic pipes (out/in) through it and have some room to spare. I could have done it with a little bit more finesse but as long as it gets the job done... [/QUOTE]



[Edit by russc on [TIME]1133341912[/TIME]]

[QUOTE="Monotalonawd"]

I'm installing an A/A intercooler from an Isuzu NPR box truck on my 535i. Because of my turbo emplacement, the only way to run ic pipes was to "hack" a little bit of sheetmetal! ] I removed the charcoal canister and made a hole underneath. I can run two 2.5" ic pipes (out/in) through it and have some room to spare. I could have done it with a little bit more finesse but as long as it gets the job done... [/QUOTE]

Good thinking, that's EXACTLY how I was going to do my plumbing if I decided to do the "WRX Hood Scoop" style intercooling. But I'm not going to go that path, too much extra $$$ to be used.

Here is a good list of intercoolers to look at to decide what to use for your next setup.

Intercoolers. CLICK ME !!! CLICK ME !!!

Mmmm,
Most of those I wouldn't want to use, except maybe some of the diesel units. Most guys are trying to dump most of those in favor of an "upgrade" IC, since most of those are small an of little use to the bigger M30 engine.

RussC

[QUOTE="Yellow"]Here is a good list of intercoolers to look at to decide what to use for your next setup.

Intercoolers. CLICK ME !!! CLICK ME !!! [/QUOTE]

Alex I dunno why you keep referring to that webpage, all it has is a bunch of crappy stock intercoolers that either:
Have terrible flow rates (volvo ICs)
Plastic endcaps (volvo, audi, saab...)
Terrible end tank designs
Too small for our engine
Tube and fin design

and a few others....

Im not talking about using THEM. Im talking about looking for an good design for an a/a intercooler and making it with good spearco or equiv. cores. Its the design.

[QUOTE="russc"]What does this IC look like?

RussC

[Edit by russc on [TIME]1133341912[/TIME]][/QUOTE]

It is the same in Yellow's link. The Isuzu NPR Diesel unit (not the large one). The core isn't really thick (about 2" ) but has true 2.5" inlet/outlet to fit my ic piping.

The inlet/outlet configuration isn't really optimal for my setup; should have the in/out's on the same side to use less piping. But it bolted to my 535i (very minor mods to the front valance; I kept it) and it fits just perfect. Almost oem style! I'll post a pic on my site when the piping is completed.

The reason I'm using it is because I originally bought it for my Talon... so why not re-use it. Some dsmers use that same intercooler to push 20-plus psi and achieve high 11-sec 1/4 time; good flow rate. Should be enough for my modest hp goal.

How about this baby.

CLICK ME !!!! TOUCH ME!!!

Nice, its definately cheap enough. But needs a good cleaning, acid bath.

RussC

[QUOTE="Yellow"]How about this baby.

CLICK ME !!!! TOUCH ME!!! [/QUOTE]

That core is way too small. It's smaller than the cores we use in our water/air intercoolers.
Todd

My only comment to that would be "its better than nothing"

RussC

[QUOTE="TCD"]That core is way too small. It's smaller than the cores we use in our water/air intercoolers.
Todd[/QUOTE]