HKS intercooler upgrade questions

I have a set of HKS Intercooler/hard pipe upgrade in
my GTO, and I like it.
If they're almost brand new for $1000 I say go for it,
because brand new the hard pipe alone is $700, eventhough
it is very expensive, but the pipes are mandrel bend, compare to some others, which are not mandrel bend pipes. The intercooler
is made with high quality welding and design, it is $1500 for brand
new! Total=$2200 from NOPI vs almost brand new $1000.
Too bad I don't have any data numbers so far, and without
bigger turbo, you really can't feel any difference other than
better boost response, and when doing repeated acceleration
especially on a hot weather it really helps! The intercooler
will help alot if you have a bigger turbo.

hope this helps!

TL

Yeah, I'm really after "hard" evidence or some kind of data:
Anyone have:

1) track results before and after?
2) dyno results before and after? (yeah right hardly anyone even has dyno results!!)
3) datalogger results before and after?
4) charge temperature in and out results vrs stock intercoolers?
5) CFM ratings at xx psi pressure drop vrs stock intercooler ratings?

Anything? Anyone?

Why are we all buying expensive front mounts and other intercooler upgrades if noone has any data including the manufacturers? I am not into spending $3000+ (front mount) or $1000 (used sidemount kit) if i'm only going to gain a tenth or 2!!

By the way, I have 15G's and run 18-20 psi of boost so thats what I'm looking to add them to!

Hi Jim,

You know the answer to your own question. Install temp sensors and see if the ICs are doing an adequate job or not. This is the ONLY way to be scientific about your IC performance and if you need to upgrade. Unfortunately, IC performance data is generally hard to come by. Many of us have Alamo ICs with 2" piping and are very happy - but have no hard data. Same for people with HKS ICs and their dinky pipes.

Measure temps right after turbo or right before IC, right after IC, and in the plenum. Sorry, but I cannot give instructions or recommendations for probes or meters. This is one of my winter projects (I was supposed to do this last winter but got sidetracked). The problem is finding probes that respond quick enough (at least within 1 second). Meters (with datalogging) are no problem, maybe about $200.

you know the stock intercoolers sucks. yeah sure you can run 11's with them but they get heat soaked easily. I wanna see someone run back to back and i will gauranty you will get a slower time the second time around. Me just running the shitty 9bs can heat soak the damn intercoolers. Everytime i race from the street if i start in First gear my third gear is not as strong as if i would of started from a roll in third gear. Personally i dont care what people say adding a front mount intercooler is a very good thing to do even for daily driving specially if you live in a hot ass place like florida. You see any cars in japan running with out a FMIC? Hell even their 13 second cars have one. Something must be working. I'm definitly getting one.

Click to expand...

Just a thought -
Isn't heat soak worse on an FMIC with the radiator right behind the intercooler? Besides being hot, the radiator (and everything else in the engine bay) restricts the flow of air coming across an FMIC.
If you look at the design of the sidemounts, they have a smaller opening in the bumper that gets larger once past the bumper. I think this helps provide cooler and faster moving air (than an FMIC) across the intercoolers - using what's called the Venturi effect (a gas moving from a high pressure zone to a low pressure zone will be cooled). I agree with David on clearing out the air exit path into the wheel wells to ensure better airflow.
It seems to me that the engineers knew what they were doing with having the sidemount intercoolers, as the FMIC cannot provide these effects.

Ian