Over The Radiator Intercooler Size?
 

I've searched, but haven't really found what I was after. I'm looking to do a over the radiator intercooler setup on my M45 car. I've been looking into the 18x12x3 and the 16.5x11x3, but they both seem too small. What size intercoolers are you guys using?

I used a OEM starion one with modified end tanks:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322198842

measure the size in between the top radiator supports, as long as its smaller than that your good.

21x8x3. 21 is overall width...core is like 16" wide

Whoa there NB folk, step aside.

You're fairly limited with the intercooler size on an NA. The radiator doesn't tilt back as easily as an NB, and the head lights can get in the way. Widest the pipes can be is approximately 20", so if you're doing 90* off the inlet and outlet, you're looking at around a 10" core, with 5" on either side for an endtank and upturn. That'll place them through the OEM holes.

I'm going to attempt a 24x11x3 this winter, core size is 18x11. It Will definitely be shoe horned in. I'm pretty confident I can get it to fit nicely. I've got my front bumper off at the moment so you anyone would like a measurement or picture request let me know.

Not an na but i'm running the track dog ic.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322271568

I did break 1 of the screws so i had to redo it but this is the only pic i have of the mount. I dont understand why they didnt just redrill the 1 hole and call it done but ok... You take off the mount and toss it on the 2 screws on the antisway bar mount. That will drop your rad enough to give you clearance.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322271568

This is without the cover on top of the rad

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322271568

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322271568

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322271568

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322271568

IC is angled.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322271568

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1322271568

Hope your outlets point up, no way that's fitting with side exits and an over the top setup.

I like the Track Dog setup, I just can't justify putting a $1k IC in a $3k car. I think I'm going to attempt the 16.5x11x3 and tilt the radiator back.

I've got my 24x11x3 ordered, it's back ordered so it won't be in for another 2 weeks.

China sweatshops run out of little kids to make ICs? :vash:

Just a little update. I bought a intercooler last night. I was having a problem with finding an adequately sized one with the proper inlet/outlet for a decent price. It's an eBay special, but it's 23.5x11x2.75 overall with a 18x11x2.75 core and 2.5" inlet/outlets coming out the top. It should be around the same size as the TDR one, but I only paid $112 shipped :D
I'll be installing it over the holiday break along with relocating the TB back to the intake and fitting a TurboXS H-RFL blow-off valve.

Do you like the starion setup? I went to a local junkyard and they wanted $50 for one that I pulled out. Didn't know if the ~23 year old intercooler would be sufficient and worth the modding when I could just buy a brand new one on ebay for about $100.

And link to the intercooler you bought rust?

Starion is a great intercooler. It is a tiny bit small, but it is absolutely perfectly sized for an over the radiator setup on an NA. It fits exactly in the factory holes in front of the radiator. Yes ebay intercoolers are $100, but for one to fit that perfectly it's $200+

so would it be a good investment to get one for the $50? The fins look a bit brittle, and a few are slightly smashed, but it looks alright overall. And what kind of modifying would be needed, other than cutting the piping that crosses over the top of it?

(not trying to hijack your thread here, sorry)

That's it really, cut the pipes. If you have access to a welder, welding something on there longer and with a bead/flare is the only thing that would make it "perfect". The mounts are a little weird, but a piece of bent metal is all you need to make it work.

You may have just re-changed my mind on the starion IC, and talked me into picking one up. Any good write up that you could share on them would be awesome (I couldn't find much info on them myself). But I am also curious on which IC Rustboxbrad went with.

i made 225whp/209wtq with a starion i/c BP+t with bandaids worked pretty well around town but freeway pulls when its more than 70* outside got my iats a bit hot for my liking(125*F-140*F by mid 5th gear) i was running 14psi through a mitsu big 16g and all 1 7/8" charge pipe. not sure if any of that matters. now im running an ebay 19x7.5x3.5 core and 3" charge pipe same turbo and i was seeing 95-105 iats under the same conditions. all numbers were taken off my ms1v3.0 data logs

Got my intercooler in yesterday. It looks like it should work out nicely.

When are you throwing it on? Is it just me or is it really tall looking? Interested in the outcome!

^.. Probably as tall as the radiator.

I'm putting it in after Christmas. It may just be the angle of the pic, the intercooler is only 11" tall

Think this will be fine for up to 200hp? Looking into building my out setup.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CXRacing-Bar...f85088&vxp=mtr

That should be a very close fit, IIRC the stock holes are roughly 13.xx" apart. Measure for yourself. There is some trimming you can do too.

the pic above...that one will fit fine without ac...with and the ac drier canister very well may get in the way. Now that 16 inch one is tiny no issues at all. I ran it before. All my experiemces based off nb1

Great. Thanks for the input.

Also, just as a ballpark, are there any power gains by adding an intercooler to a M45 setup without tuning? I know there are going to be advantages to keeping the motor from detonating but I wanted to know if there are power gains to be had as well. Thanks.

yeah. I've seen M45 compressor plots...its not all that efficient. the cooler air alone should help, and you could tune it a bit more aggressive if you really wanted to get more out of it. cool/near ambient intake temps is ALWAYS a good thing

How much worse will the throttle response be if I do a clean installation of the piping? Currently it's not immediate but not terrible.

^^^ the IC you linked to is either the same or similar to the one I considered. There is one that CX does for an RX7 that the pipes were almost a perfect line up for the 2 big holes there...

You'll probably want to remove the hood latch and go hood pins to get the room to mount it right.

Everyone here is talking about running the pipes through the two holes. It's actually not that hard at all the tilt the rad and a/c back. I'd argue it's no more work than on a NB (and I've done both). The issue with IC size is limited by A/C. I'm going to temporarily run that 16.5x11x3 intercooler until I decide to pony up for a custom width one.

See here for NA instructions by TDR: http://www.trackdogracing.com/inst/9...R_intercooler/

Probably going to gut the hood while I'm at it yes.

Do you have a link for the RX-7 intercooler you speak of?

it was something like this...I'd have to measure again...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CXRacing-INT...ab091f&vxp=mtr

The track dog setup is nice...definitely much cleaner than cutting up the hood. On a no ac/ps car, it would be a piece of cake. Now its not hard to do on a loaded model but the ac core and the PS lines do get in the way here and there. Would i do it again? Yes, in a heart beat.

Great, thanks for the link.

I have a couple thoughts on the 2 intercoolers. Optimally I would want as small of an intercooler as I need for my HP goals to block as little of the radiator as possible and have the smallest throttled volume possible. If I gut the hood when putting in the intercooler, I shouldn't have to put that much more piping/elbows in to make a smaller one work.

Or I could have 1 inlet on the top and 1 outlet on the side. This way I line up the inlet as a straight shot and have the outlet with 1 90 degree bend before heading up to the intake manifold. Now just need to search Ebay til I find one!

Finally got my intercooler piping installed. Ended up with the 16.5x11x3 Ebay intercooler with 2.5" piping. Had to smash the piping down a bit to clear the hood even with the hood bracing cut out. Also had to go to hood pins, no room for latch mechanism. Happy with the results to this point. Will see how it holds up once on track.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341944960

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341944960

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341944960

Looks like a nice setup, I'm impressed you got the 2.5" to work, I had issues with bashed 2" pipes.

Mine held up great at the track, although it made sealing the top of the radiator difficult to say the least. I used a hacked up panel and lots of foil tape.

The biggest down side is when you decide to switch to around the radiator you've hacked up your front support.

So there is a hole on the drivers side, I wonder what the diameter is... I was envisioning a setup with the turbo side of the charge piping coming from the bottom and the tb side coming over the radiator. Where I want to put my turbo this would give me the shortest routing without running a half width radiator. Or at least that I can think of.

Nice 787b valve cover

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Mazda-787B.JPG

Indeed +1 on creativity.

Will have to get a picture of what is left of the hood after cutting, basically just the outer skin and even that is dinged up.

Definitely looked at the top panel I need to make and you're right, not easy. Probably will make a couple smaller pieces and tape together as you mentioned.

Also, not looking to change the pipe routing any time soon. Setup is maxed out for now so if I'm changing it, the car is getting ripped apart.

Thanks! Good friend paints RC cars for Tamiya so he hooked it up!

My inlet side w/ 2" piping:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1342043681

I haven't cut the hood yet, but I've got about 1/8" - 1/4" clearance between a straight edge laid across the head lights and the bend in the pipe. I had to trim out the cutout on the support some to give me a little extra room.

This looks like a good spot to bite the bullet and pay Burns lots of money for that oval tubing and oval mandrel bends. Just checked and they only have it in stainless.

I did the whole setup with a $90 piping kit from Ebay. The fit was about what you would expect from paying that much. Would have loved to do perfect bends with nice curves and routing but that just wasn't in the cards. Need to keep it cheap so it would still be a viable option versus being a pre-made kit. Also my power levels are not going to push the setup to the limits so I'm not worried about loosing a couple tenths in pressure throw the system.

Oh also, I didn't have to touch the mounting of the radiator, which was a key for me. With the supercharger overlay on the crank, I don't have a lot of wiggle room anyways and I like to keep things where the factory intended if possible. I'm happy with it for now.

Not to revive an old topic... But I a couple questions pertaining the the topic. I am planning on running an over the rad set-up, and I just got this Evo8 intercooler for free... my buddy swapped to a much bigger one for his 600hp evo.. Anyway, here is the intercooler I will be trying to fit.

Should I be able to squeeze this thing in there? It seem's a bit big but maybe it's not as big as I'm thinking.

It measures 24 1/2" x 11" x 3"

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1357335692

Found a car with this identical intercooler... therefore, sorry for being a noob! haha

Must say though, I only found it by luck... not searching