Over the top 18x12x4 (yeah 4) intercooler
 

So after reading up on all of the different home brew IC installations, I finally settled on an over the top (of the radiator) setup. What follows is a brief description of my installation accompanied of course by the requisite photos.

To make space for the IC I relocated the stock lower radiator brackets to move the radiator and A/C condenser about 1.5" lower. I then removed the stock fans and replaced them with two 11" Spals, allowing me to tilt the radiator and condenser about 6" towards the engine. This created a large gap between the front of the condenser and the rear of the bumper assembly. The gap was large enough to easily fit a 18"x12"x4" CXRacing intercooler. I like this particular unit because it is cheap ($75), decent sized, and has a bit more mass and cross sectional area than the 18"x12"x3" that is commonly used.

Here is the IC. I think I get extra megahellastylin points since it is intended for a "Mercedes Audi Saab" :jerkit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CXRac...mZ230259251169

For the piping, I went with the silicone approach. Immediately at the IC I used 3"-2.5" reducing elbows, with 2.5" couplers running to the throttle body, and 2.5" couplers and a 2.5"-2" reducing elbow to the compressor outlet. Most of this stuff came from siliconeintakes.com.

I fabricated the brackets that hold the IC to the chassis. The upper brackets support the weight of the IC and also hold the top of the radiator in place. The lower brackets are just there to keep the bottom of the IC stable, preventing movement front to rear.

I tapped a 3/8" NPT hole in the IC and mounted the AIT right at the outlet of the IC. I like this approach... It keeps the AIT in front of the radiator and condenser so it will not heat soak as bad while sitting at idle. Also the temperature measurement will be very close to the intake temp since the run to the throttle is very short, and is all silicone, so there is little heat transfer from the engine bay.

I will have to check my receipts, but all together I believe it cost less than $300 in parts.

OK so I could go on and on, but let's get to the pictures, shall we?

Here are the relocated lower radiator brackets. Notice I used the existing bolts for the sway bar bushing brackets. I drilled a new hole in the radiator bracket and they bolted right in.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=512
http://lh3.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=512

Here are the upper and lower IC brackets.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=800

Here they are in place with the IC
http://lh3.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=512


You can see in the front shot that the IC does not obscure the radiator-condenser very much at all.

Here is the AIT sensor installed in the IC

http://lh3.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=512
http://lh6.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=576

Hey man, put those link in as IMG tags. View the picture in picasa and right click on it to get the url for the direct picture link. I edited you last post to show an example.

Here is the finished installation with the piping in place. I am going to fabricate a cowl next to fill in the gaps around the radiator. I have a sheet of black ABS ready to go, just need to finish the pattern. I did drive it tonight as it is shown here and did not have any coolant temperature problems. Plus the AIT stayed within 10 degrees F of ambient temp. I think it was actually much better than that, but I need to look at the data logs a bit more to be sure. And, this is a BIG improvement over my non-IC air inlet temps, which were spiking as high as 120 degs F over ambient.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=576

http://lh4.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...jpg?imgmax=640

I hope that exhaust tubing holds up for you. Most people say it leaks. The setup looks great though, good job.

Yeah that is temporary fo sho. I am waiting for a nice stainless steel mandrel bent piece to get here next week, then I am taking it out. It only cost $6 so it is a cheap temporary measure.

Awesome, I changed my lower brackets to be like yours, worked well. Just waiting on slim fans to come in now and my suspension parts.

Done. Good tip, thanks.

I also bent the a/c dryer way over to the right to allow space for the IC. I also had to bend the upper mount tabs for the condenser out of the way. Here is a picture showing the relocated dryer. The a/c tubing was surprisingly malleable; I was able to bend it farther than expected.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=640

I realy like this install!

I think I would try to make a shroud of some sort to seal the area around the radiator opening so all the air coming in there goes through the IC /rad /condenser instead of up the rad into the engine bay. Nice simple solution with the bracket relocation though!

I wish it were so simple for an NA :bang:

I have been told that 99-00 are only so lucky, the 01+ NBs have welded brackets.

sweet install, i may have to try something similar when i get my engine back in...

also where in SA are you at, i'm visiting a friend of mine by west 410 and 90... i'd like to check it out if you got time...

Yep, planning on doing that soon. Reread #6 above. :)

I was not aware of that. Looks like we bought the right year Chad :giggle:

That is possible. How long will you be here?

I found the same thing out while bending my A/C lines.

Also you are going to crack the plastic endtank on the radiator if that is a solid mount...ask me how I know.

My suggestion is to use some kind of bushing to allow the radiator to move a little bit. If (when) the radiator cracks use this stuff called Cold Steel (available at the nearest Wal-Mart) to fix it.

Use some vacuum tubing, i know you have some laying around to make a little bushing. Might help some.

Shit looks good to me! Nice work. Wondering if I could do something similar. Probably not though as I'll have a thicker radiator and need room for an 8 rib pulley and tensioners for the SC's.

I actually have a small rubber bushing pressed into the radiator mounting bracket. The screw that holds the radiator to the bracket goes through this bushing. Here is a zoomed image...

I have some room left over so if I have to upgrade to a Godspeed radiator for example I think it will fit. Not sure about room for supercharger pulleys and belts though :)

I'm not sure you will be able to fit the Godspeed. I truthfully think a 1" radiator would be a much better option for you. Possibly the coolradiator.com rad if its available or maybe a stock NB automatic radiator. They're slightly larger and all metal. Or possibly a koyo 33mm. Judging by how much you have already cut your radiator hose you have minimal room. I'll take better pictures showing how much room i have with the godspeed in stock location tomorrow if I can.

Should I get the cheap ebay fans or should i get some of the 11" SPALs you picked up?

Go to an O'Riley's ond pick up some of their slimline fans. I am currently running 2 12" fans, and have no issues with overheating with the stock radiator at idle.

Yeah I think you might be right. Cutting down the stock hose more would not work as it is pretty close to minimum right now. I would have to come up with one that had more of an s-shape to make it work. I agree the 1" radiator from coolradiator is a good idea. I have looked at that one before. I think someone else here runs one. Brain maybe?

The Spals are nice but they are not cheap as you know. The ones that siliconeintakes sell look very similar to the Spals, though the current draws (power consumption) IIRC are not as high. This could indicate they do not flow as much air all else being equal.

I do need to fabricate and install the shroud though as the car is definitely running warmer while cruising. I'll update the thread when I get it in place.

Nice install- good job taking advantage of the available vertical space up front.

Ben- I think it's almost as simple to drop the rad on the NA, IF you build some new rad brackets to hang on the OE hooks. For my rad, it's just a simple cradle that hangs on the OE rad hooks. I keep saying there's lots of vertical space available up there. My rad is way taller than the stock unit and the bottom is still above the bottom edge of the nose skin.

I had thought about that, but unfortunately, I have no welder :mad:

I don't remember what they cost. And my car was a NA. But when I heard the price of a new OEM fan. I bought the universal from Oriley's. Sold the car to my cousin. 3 yrs later it's still working great.

You can get the same fan oreilly sells on ebay for 1/2 the price. Or from siliconeintakes.com if you don't like ebay. You can also use discount code link987 at SI and get like 10% off.

Yeah, I found that out a little too late.

I needed the fans NOW so I just payed the price...guess thats what I get for waiting till the last minute to get them, but in my defense I didn't even mean to turbo my car the weekend I did, it just happened.

OK I just finished the first prototype of the cowl. This is the first time I have worked with sheet ABS but it turned out to be a good fabrication material and I am pleased with the results. It will function for sure, and looks decent.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=512

http://lh6.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=800

Looks like it bends nicely as well. Did you have to heat it at all to bend it or just bend and let it spring into the static position after bending?

very nice :bigtu:

How thick is the ABS?

Looks like 1/8" from here.

Yep 1/8" ABS. I think that is about the right thickness to use here. 1/16" would probably not be stiff enough, and 1/4" would be overkill and harder to bend.

Basically I made a template out of cardboard by measuring, cutting, and fitting it in place. I then used that to make the pattern on the ABS. I cut it using a small battery powered circular saw with a fine tooth saw blade. It cuts easily. After that I heated it up with a heat gun and bent it using some boards as straight edges to bend against. It has to get pretty warm before it bends. Once it cools, the bends are sturdy. I drilled the holes for the IC hoses with a hole saw. I used a palm sander with 80 grit paper to clean up the edges. All together it took about 3 hours to fabricate which is not too bad.

that looked great. is there a reason you didn't go with something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CXRac...mZ250256112067

to save a bend or 2. thanks.

I looked at that one as well. That IC will also cover up more of the radiator. It could fit but will be tough with the a/c dryer. I think others here have made something like that work by mounting it off-center over to the left side of the car.

The two 90 deg reducing couplers at the IC were only $20 a piece so it was not a big deal. The additional pressure drop is negligible.

I'd try to force as much air through that IC as possible. When I had my Suby with the top mount IC, the temps post IC dropped considerably when the area between the hood scoop and front (top actually) of the IC were sealed, forcing air through the IC and not around. Same concept as sealing the mouth to the radiator to avoid the air going into the mouth and around the radiator.

Frank

OK this should do it for the pictures for this thread. Here is the turbo to IC inlet plumbing with the new stainless steel mandrel bent pipe in place.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/john.malcolm.ro...JPG?imgmax=640

Anyone got a picture of the front of a 99-00 without the bumper on? I'm curious what is all in the way and how it looks.

Nice install! I want to see how big of an Intercooler I can install :)

Nester was installing a huge radiator in NBs, 1badmx5 has a pretty huge one as well. After seeing all the room in front of an NB it makes me want to go Splittime and do full vmount.

I'm still thinking about doing the half rad (Civic) with a cooler next to it once I do the coolant reroute from ETD.

Hmm... Then again a big cooler is nice also :)