I went with one of those ebay specials, 18x12x3 core like Paul's but with a tube and fin layout instead of the bar and plate. The quality of the intercooler isn't nearly as nice as the bar and plates. But the size "tubes" seem to be the same as the bar and plates, so I think it'd be better for engine cooling but still flow as much. Think of a bar and plate but with rounded bars.

I wanted to keep my A/C system so it had to be offset. It looks "silly" according to my wife but whatever. I keep the A/C for her...she may want me to yank it out now. haha. Pics will be posted as it's being built.

Old step was a starion I/C, with 2" tubes. Turbo to intercooler pipe went thru the fender, intercooler to throttle body pipe went where most others go, between the engine and the radiator. I think the air heats up a lot by having that pipe routed there. So with this setup I'm routing both pipes, now 2.5", thru the fender.

 

But where is the new turbo manifold?

 

Intercooler install must come first.

 

lookin good. is it done yet or are you still waiting for the 2.5 90s or 45s?

 

Hopefully finishing up the driver's side tonight. I still need to put the IAC tube in and figure out where to put the BOV, so I'm gonna need mine back. I should have your BOV flange by the end of the week so we can swap yours out. Then the turbos this sunday or next week.

 

so is the rad totally blocked off top to bottom except for the pax side? Is the IC almost touching the bottom of the mouth shroud? Looking forward to summer traffic? :gay:

 

see, i told you that one would fit!

 

Anyone wanna enlighten me what the difference between bar&plate and tube&fin is?

 

The IC cannot go all the way up to the top of the radiator due to the hood latch being in the way. The bottom of the IC is about an inch or two below the bottom of the mouth shroud.

No I'm not looking forward to summer traffic.

Paul has the same size I/C and it is totally covering his radiator, no A/C condensor though. He doesn't have problems I don't think, and this I/C will flow more air thru it to the radiator.


Yes you did, thanks!

 

the design is a bit different.



The plate style generally offers less flow resistance, whereas the extruded-lube style tends to be more efficient and a hell of a lot lighter.

 

I was actually considering the tube N fin for the greater ability of passing air to the other exchangers. I really don't think that the new cooler is going that much more of an impact on your coolant sys given the old one was a tube N fin too. If there is, I think a fan upgrade would handle the traffic. My big spal pulls temps down no prob in the summer - that's w/o shroud and no holes in the hood. It just runs more frequently with higher ambient temps.

 

Hmm...I'm pretty sure the tubes don't protrude thru the tank like in that sketch on this chinese tube/fin IC. They do on the starion though.

 

Thats a Freudian slip if I ever seen one.

So which is one do people usually use here? Will it even make a difference at relatively low hp ranges?

 

bar and plate are more common, but they weigh more.

tube and fin have more pressure loss, but are more efficient.


90% here use bar&plate.

 

Right. I was going to go with a bar/plate (my first try was a vertical outlet 24x12x3 core bar/plate intercooler) until I saw on another thread about intercoolers here that there was a large 18x12x3 core (same size as others made fit with A/C) tube/fin that seemed to have the same number of "tubes" as the "bars" in the bar/plate versions so it should have similar flow thru it. I wanted to try it cause i'm mostly concerned with getting adequate air to the radiator. Compared to Paul's bar/plate IC, this one is not as nice quality wise but the seems like it'll do the job nicely.

I have pics of the inside of the intercooler, i'll post them later.

 

i assume it looks like the pic, without the extrusions....i just snagged that from Max Boost, so it's old.

 

Almost all the tube and fin cores I have seen have the extrusions. I, am by no means the expert - but I see lots of samples and pieces that we repair for BIC. All of them have the extrusions. I think it is standard for that type of core.
Stephanie

 

Pics of the intercooler when it arrived. See junk packaging. Also, the extrusions do protrude, but not very far. And you can see the bad casting flash on the inside of the end tank in the 5th picture.

 

I was using a tube fin srt intercooler but I might go with a bar plate this summer because of the goofy end tanks it mounts way far away from the rad

 

Wow- I expected to see a little more metal protruding into (inside) the tubes. How does that compare with the starion?