Intercooler efficiency - whats the best?
 

An efficient piping setup for the intercooler is key to have quick spool up and a good power increase, so I've been looking at the different IC options out there - money is always an issue so I was considering making my own piping.... but what is the most efficient design??
The JimB pipes I seem to hear are cheap but not all that efficient - is that because they dip down under the radiator both on entry to the IC and exiting it?
Trackdog's kit seems like it would be super efficient - they more the radiator back and go straight from the turbo to the front of the car and then just angle straight down in front of the radiator... would that be the best setup or is there something more efficient?
An what about piping diameter? Larger diameter allows more flow but requires more time to fill it up - thus a bit more lag before boost... what is an otimal setup for a Greddy kit? Most of the JimB setups use 2" but would 2.5" be better all the way around??

-Ryan

Well b/c I wanted the least amount of lag on my set-up I went with an srt4 i/c and a smaller rad, thus the i/c pipes run right beside the rad and are basiclly straight with no bends. And for size I'm using 2.5 on a t28 turbo.

interesting idea - anyone else have different setups than these?
-Ryan

I have an MX-6/Probe intercooler with 2.0" piping until about a foot before the throttle body wher it moves to 2.5". I can report very good throttle response and spool.

As I recall, Porsche's 917 Can-am car used 2.0" charge piping: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1109163873.jpg

Seems like the 2" piping allows for a faster spool up... could be a great choice. I wonder how much the 2" piping restricts power vs. 2.5" once you are in boost though... what whp are you attaining at what psi?
-Ryan

I think that the smaller piping and IC would improve throttle response as there is less volume to fill before the intake manifold, but smaller pipes and possibly a smaller IC (depending upon the design and intake/outlet sizes) would decrease spool as it would add more post-turbo restriction vs. 2.5" pipes. How much "difference" on each end and will you really notice, I can't say, but maybe someone has dyno info. Or I guess more important than pipe sizing or IC size is the pressure/flow drop across the setup.

Just wanted to add a link to a site that has some pretty good info and some dyno runs (near the bottom) of other cars showing changes in spool with different setups.

http://www.are.com.au/techtalk/intecoolersMR.htm

I had roughly a 1psi pressure drop after adding the intercooler. I think that's pretty standard. Of course, I'm running a custom electronic boost controller to make up for that pressure drop.

As a side note, anyone interested in being a beta tester for a new EBC that'll hopefully be hitting the market soon? I can't promise too much this exact second, but I think we'll be in need of a couple more testers soon. PM me.

Track Dog's intercoolers are very efficient. Gary can probaly peace together a kit with everything needed except the intake side of the intercooler. He also has a kit for the FM2 if I'm not mistaken.

Chris

I dont honestly think spool is too much different with a smaller IC. Mostly youll just get better throttle response but spool in my experience is not affected for the most part.

You know andy... your web page doesnt work...
-Ryan

That was some kind of picture, not a webpage. See how it ends in .jpg .