Intercooler

[carguy84]

Does anyone know of a company that makes intercoolers for our cars that would allow it to bolt up to an ESS supercharger? I know ASA has one, but I have no idea if it is universally adaptable, or if it is built specifically for the ASA supercharger. Or if anyone is aware of a company that will do custom orders.

Oh and air-air, no water cooled or water injection.

Thanks,
Chip-

[BMWDon]

I don't think anybody out there makes one after the fact yet for the E46, only intercoolers I've seen come with the ASA or AA kits. But since it's a component that goes inbetween the s/c or turbo's output and intake manifold, it wouldn't be impossible to do it yourself....note I said not impossible....I didn't say any shmoe could do it....it's tighter that a frogs ****** in there after you stuff it with a blower....good luck trying to find the right sized piping (mandrel bent of course), guessing the right sized intercooler and properly attaching that sucker :) I'm sure with plenty of research and effort, and more money than you initially figure it'll cost you...you could do it :D

[cabrioguy]

I know someone with an rms kit that had the ASA intercooler installed. I beleive he is now selling the intercooler for 500 if you are interested. It can be done it is just plumbing!

[BMWDon]

ha! you can't say ****** on here...c o o t e r :lmao:

[carguy84]

Thanks cabrioguy, I found his post before I posted mine so I bumped it up, but it was a month ago, so I wasn't sure if it was still for sale.

The actual intercooler is the important part, right? How hard is it figuring out what to do for plumbing and where I could go about getting the plumbing done. I"m assuming I couldn't just use whatever piping he gives with the kit?

Thanks!
Chip-

Oh, do you buy any chance have a picture of your guage install?

[cabrioguy]

I think he still has the intercooler. any performance shop should be able to pipe the intercooler for you. You may want to change the pully to increase boost a little since you will be losing a little with the intercooler. I can take a pic of my gauge install tonight and send it to you.

[carguy84]

Cool, thanks for the starting point, hopefully he'll log on here and I can talk to him.

If you get the chance to snap some pics, I'd appreciate it,

Thanks,
Chip-

[RichP]

because the RMS and ESS both use the same blower; you should be pretty set with the setup he is selling; the only issue vortech based kits have is the piping is a tighter fit because of the blowers' harger dimensions than ASA based kits.

[vehement]

Originally posted by carguy84
Thanks cabrioguy, I found his post before I posted mine so I bumped it up, but it was a month ago, so I wasn't sure if it was still for sale.

The actual intercooler is the important part, right? How hard is it figuring out what to do for plumbing and where I could go about getting the plumbing done. I"m assuming I couldn't just use whatever piping he gives with the kit?

Thanks!
Chip-

Oh, do you buy any chance have a picture of your guage install?

the best things to do is to buy an intercooler to match your blower, then get the plumbing done! that's going to be the cheapest way to do it, and the most efficient! when you call around to get the plumbing done, make sure that the pipes are mandrel bent, not crush bent, or it will be worthless! i would really suggest your looking into an air-to-water intercooler because it would be a lot more efficient and easier to fabricate! look into vortech's water-to-air intercoolers!

if you're dead set on getting that air-to-air intercooler for the looks, give spearco a call, they can match up an intercooler for your blower application! i've used 2 of their intercoolers in the past and love them!

[carguy84]

Vehement, thanks for the info, I'll look into the water-to-air intercoolers. Don't those require ice?

What did Spearco's intercoolers run you?

Oh yeah, couldn't care less about it being visible, I just want lower intake temps.

Thanks!
Chip-

[carguy84]

Did you mean Vortech Aftercooler?

[Dirtboy]

i have heard water to air aftercoolers are better than intercooler because they eliminate alot of the piping that the intake air has to travel through....

[vehement]

Originally posted by carguy84
Vehement, thanks for the info, I'll look into the water-to-air intercoolers. Don't those require ice?

What did Spearco's intercoolers run you?

Oh yeah, couldn't care less about it being visible, I just want lower intake temps.

Thanks!
Chip-

the "water" part is not ice, it runs coolant through it! yes, vortch calls it an "aftercooler", but it's basically the same thing! the water-to-air intercoolers are the most efficient types around

my sperco was for my 73 corolla, i think the size was something like 36"X15" and it was $1200, but with all intercooler companies, you can specify the size of the core and the types of endtanks, and if you want it polished or not!

[vehement]

oh yeah, seach on ebay under intercooler and you can alwaus find a deal on some!

[kaell]

This thread should be moved to FI :)

I've now found a capable IC for us ESS Vortech-blown guys.

Check this out

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-Liquid-to-Air-Intercooler-Universal-water-air_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33742QQitemZ8041730096QQrdZ1Q QsspagenameZWDVW


It's simlair to the ESS one, I'll take some measures tomorrow, maybe I'll remove the upper engine-cover to make it fit (if possible to fit, then just cut it after AC is installed, for the looks).

If it'll fit, you need:

A water tank ($40)
High capacity pump ($40)
A cooler ($70)
And some hoses ($20)

That would easily go under $350.

Any ideas? :)

[kaell]

Anyone?

[Mr Paddle.Shift]

I don't really believe in an off-the-shelf bolt on, especially for a hardware like this. My take on this is from a pure technical pov: Do some homework before jumping into something like that.

Get some serious measurements from the seller regarding the cooler, ie internal design and size, volume, material properties etc. Do your own calculations on the flow rate, head loss, etc on closed system, with various pumps, hose sizes. Then get some approximated numbers for cooling efficiency for your FI engine setup. Corky Bell has some books on problems like this. Grab a book and start researching. Trust me, it will be worth the effort.

[EuroBlitZ]

I have my original intercooler from my ASA kit forsale, Its pollished and ready to ship if anyones interested PM or email me..

[LAFENGAS]

I don't really believe in an off-the-shelf bolt on, especially for a hardware like this. My take on this is from a pure technical pov: Do some homework before jumping into something like that.

Get some serious measurements from the seller regarding the cooler, ie internal design and size, volume, material properties etc. Do your own calculations on the flow rate, head loss, etc on closed system, with various pumps, hose sizes. Then get some approximated numbers for cooling efficiency for your FI engine setup. Corky Bell has some books on problems like this. Grab a book and start researching. Trust me, it will be worth the effort.


Werd.


The important part, as with any "SYSTEM", is to have it component matched. Don't just throw it on there because it's an aftercooler and your you're looking to get an aftercooler.

If you want to limit your R&D time a bit, take a look at what ESS sells, and try getting specs and dimensions off what they use. There is no doubt the prices are marked waaayyy up, but most of the BMW owners would rather shell out the extra money to just get it over with then finding an alternate method for cheaper.

This the route I want to go as well with my ESS Vortech charger, so keep posting what you find. I'll start researching soon as well. :thumbup:

also....

Am i the only one that thinks the big hole/pocket in the passanger side engine compartment would house an aftercooler perfectly? ... I'll have to take a look at the plumbing, but that seems like a good place, and it would help prevent heat soak from from the engine. I think ESS puts the aftercooler on top of the engine because it is more universal, because not everybody has that open pocket available. :dunno:

After thinking about it... plumbing would probably suck.

[kaell]

Am i the only one that thinks the big hole/pocket in the passanger side engine compartment would house an aftercooler perfectly? ... I'll have to take a look at the plumbing, but that seems like a good place, and it would help prevent heat soak from from the engine. I think ESS puts the aftercooler on top of the engine because it is more universal, because not everybody has that open pocket available. :dunno:

After thinking about it... plumbing would probably suck.

It would work, like the long-way-piping a FMIC needs, there wouldn't be a problem. 3" piping is possible (75mm) to route over there, but not the 5" thick aftercooler there's shown on Ebay. Also, it'll be easier with piping just because there is just straigt pipes.

I'll have another check on it, and take some measurements. If you could just make the piping then you could change the AC if it suck's, right? :)