DIY: Over the radiator intercooler install
 

Well I have a supercharger but you get the idea. I spent the weekend on this and I must say, the IAT readings have gone from 160-190 to 90-111! Here's the original thread:

DIY: Over the radiator supercharger intercooler install - MX5 Miata Atlanta Owners Club

For many supercharger owners who want more boost we're left with two main intercooler options: a turbo one, or the 30 thousand dollar Track Dog Racing one.

This is the third option, full on DIY. I bought the IC core from Tommy on here for $100 but also found something similar on ebay here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...%3AMEWAX%3AVRI

Attachment 204670

And I then went and bought this piping:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=370226563594

Attachment 204671

And accompanied it all with some bolts and brackets from Lowe's.

So in total I've spent about $220 for absolutely everything, that's including brackets, bolts and other shit I've needed.

So first step is to remove that plastic thing in the mouth of the car. That's pretty self-explanatory as to where all the bolts are. The next step is to mount the IC.

... more to come

Remove this from the hood mounting thing:

Attachment 204672

Drill holes in the brackets after you've done some lining up and trying to figure out where to drill. This is all diy, depends on what brackets you have. It's where I wish I had a vice.

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Here's how I had it held in place, made things a shit ton easier.

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Pic of one of the brackets

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Pipe being lined up

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How the pipes are laid out

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Rough cuts in the hood made to accommodate the new piping.

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Hot side pipe cuts

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Picture of the cold side cuts, was a bit of a bitch to do.

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Hood closes great, just make sure the hood assembly thing is back in the original position. I had mine in the wrong place after I used one of the bolts to hold on the cold side mounting bracket.

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Check out that sick JDM tilt installed intercooler! Job Done!

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well none of the pictues are showing up in the first place

Well then I guess I'll up them to photobucket and get them up in here asap!

Can only see the pictures if you are a member of that forum.

Sorted! It's not going to be good for 300whp but for cheap and cheerful fun it certainly gets the job done. I've had massive drops in the IAT readings since the install!

I like!! good job mate!!!

Admirable fitting mate now file the bonnet cutting and repaint and it will be uber.

Looks like a decent solution to me!

I'm so very proud you typed decent and not descent. :2cents:

lookin good

looks good, try to come up on a bigg radiator now.

Yep! I have some paint for it already just not the patience to let it dry and be immobile for a couple hours.

All these "mate" comments, how many other brits are on here? I'm a Stokie.

admirable in my eyes!

phil

This is awesome! I made some rough cuts in the radiator cross bracing to get my piping to fit over the radiator. I didn´t realize the hood could be modified like that to get the piping to fit. I´ll try this once I get home. I want to fit a 55mm radiator, therefore I don´t think tilting the radiator is a viable option...over the top is the best bet to go just like you did it seems.

some minds think alike...

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where are you lifting your car from?

He's just keeping the intercooler raised.

Sometime when I'm not lazy I'll post a picture or two of my setup and hood cut reliefs, this would be a good thread to show people who have been interested in my over-the-rad setup. There's been at least 3 in the past month who have PM'ed me.

Oops, forgot I was on the interwebz. You get the jist:
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Curly, could you post a pic of the relief cuts? I'm looking into IC's at this point and would like to see how your hood looks. Thanks!

I have that exact intercooler just sitting in the garage. It needs a good home just let me know if you want it.

this is my car now. thanks for chopping my hood up asshole. so weird seeing this thread.

Wait.. so you bought the clean ass white S/C car from the first post and you're bitching about a simple effective IC setup because he cut out some of the under structure in the hood... if that is the case... shut up and untwist your panties... or did I miss the sarcasm font?

that car wasnt supercharged when he bought it! that IC set up is on my friends car. so he has a hacked up hood with no boost.....

Ah.. now that makes more sense (and sucks more)... but at least he has a nice DIY so he knows exactly how the pipes were run to fit the holes in the hood.

so he bought a car that WASNT s/c anymore, knowing that it was at one time and has a chopped up hood but is bitching about it?

this sounds more correct...??

or unless that is sarcasm indeed?

beautiful work on the intercooler and oil cooler jobs - thanks for sharing!

what would the advantage be of putting the oil cooler up front as oppose to the rear bumper like on the flyin' miata track dog?

Lines that aren't 10ft long.

Honestly, They did that because it was a good location that didn't block there intercooler and radiator setup what so ever. For 99% of the cars on here, blocking those two heat exchangers partially with a small oil cooler isn't a big deal.

I thought I remembered hearing that their rear bumper location didn't end up working correctly.

You don't need to cut the hood :)


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Haven't got the car at the moment, It's off for paint, I will post better pics when it is back.

I used the same pipe kit mentioned earlier and a similar intercooler.

Just move the radiator and buy another fan.... :)

The setup from the white car is actually on my car now. I had to cut the hood as well although apparently my 97 is slightly different because I had to adjust my hood to be about 1/16 of an inch higher so there's a small panel gap.

Doesn't bother me though. The only thing I don't like is having to press down on the hood to shut it completely but so far there's no dents.

What did you do - move the radiator back ?

Yes, back and down a bit, then just use a 'push' fan on the other side.
It gets more air too as it isn't as obstructed by the front panel...
leaves a nice space for the air filter too.

Thanks !

Looks Good!!!

thankyou for clearing things up for everyone. and i wasnt bitching. just loling at seeing my car and making a relevant post.

Very nice. I will be putting together a similar set up this weekend! Wish me luck. Quick question! Is there a reason why the inter cooler is sitting tilted or was that just for a funny shot?

Dan

Wowza old thread.

If you look at his brackets they're not exactly high quality, it's probably more that then anything, or it's only being held in partially for that picture. I made similar brackets out of thicker steel from Home Depot and if you take your time, measure for the holes, and bend them at the same time, it holds it straight.

I wouldn't suggest tilting the radiator unless you duct it afterwords and have an aftermarket all metal unit. The extra force on top of the brittle plastic end tanks can't be good.

I noticed the hood latch mechanism has some bracketry that extends toward the front bumper side. Did you just move the intercooler further down or did you modify it?

Hood pins. It's completely gone. That lower bracket you speak of can be removed and the OEM latch system will still work, just with a little more flex I guess.

So this is where I sit with this as of today. This is a quick mock up of the position. Will be taking out all the pipes and sanding the insides for a smooth finish. Then onto cutting the hood.. Definitely not looking forward to it, I'm also concerned even with cutting that I may have a problem with the hood closing.. I won't know until I start cutting.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1328814289

This is why my 2" pipes were smashed. Probably not quite needed, but might be with your 2.5" pipes.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1328827383
hood relief reference:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1328827363

Yea, I noticed that in one of your earlier pictures. I really want to avoid smashing the pipes obviously for aesthetic reasons. I guess I won't know until I start cutting the inner part of the hood and go from there. Bah, the butterflies.

It's not too hard to cut, and if you try to follow some of the lines and holes already in the hood bracing, you can easily copy a cutout from one side to the next. Figure out which side needs more clearance, then make that same cutout on both sides. I wish I had some pictures before the above pic, it wasn't as pretty. You can see the oval I used at the bottom of the cut.

Yea, I'm not as worried about the cutting as the clearance issue I may potentially have for the outer shell of the hood. I hope it doesn't hit after cutting out the inside.

So I cleaned everything up and ran the car today. Looks like that 90 degree elbow isnt up to the job. Buckles under vacuum. So you think a 4 ply 90 degree coupler like the HPS can handle it or should I make the 90 out of aluminum?

I had a 135* elbow that collapsed in vacuum. It's not an issue unless it's collapsing so much as to choke the engine.

Yea it seems it collapses in a big way! Car idles funny.

I'm just going to do this right and make that 90º in aluminum.

A 2" pipe won't need to be smashed, at least on the driver side. Mine is run the same way and it closes fine, all it takes is a small cut at the top of the hood.

I still have AC though, so I had to run the coldside piping underneath. This has the added benefit of allowing you to run larger piping if you so choose.

This RSX intake pipe actually worked perfect, just have to cut a bit off the front of the pipe and close up one hole:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:L:OC:US:1123

I used the larger port on the side to connect the other air tube that normally goes to the crossover tube. works like a charm, and it places the other end in the perfect place for connecting the rest of the system.

I used 2.5" aluminum piping. Moved rad down 1" spaced it back 1/2" cut the hood, rebuilt the core support and added hood pins. its cool!

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1329113275

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1329113275

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1329113275

^^any pics of the hood down with the pins? ps i always liked welded pieces over couplers

Total thread revival, but I think this is my next move.

1. OP using 2.5" or 2" pipes? Link wont work anymore for obvious reasons.
2. How's everyone who's done this rate the benefits to the aggravations of the IC? Non-track car btw, street/autox.

I'm at 8psi on band-aids, eventually MS when I get the money. Just trying to see if it's worth doing. My ideal order would be MS, then IC, but money/wanting a winter project is a driver to doing the IC.