Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!?
 

I was planning on using this intercooler for my setup but a couple friends say that having a intercooler that big will kill performance and efficiency .. etc.. i am new to this whole turbo thing so i dont know much about it.. i myself was an all motor guy for a while and feel like doing something different... so i wanna hear why having a oversized intercooler is bad... if anyone has some real facts or dyno charts that would be great.. any input would be awesome..

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

what do you think .. too big.. i plan on boosting 14psi with a t3/4 .60 turbo shooting for 400whp 300 torque.. any input is cool... thanks https://honda-tech.com/forums/images/smilies/emthup.gif

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (Red D Dragon)
 

the only real thing its going to affect is spool time... it will be laggier. but you arent gonna make 400whp with 14psi on that turbo... stock block?

well i have a friend with a almost identical setup running 12psi and making almost 370whp and 270 torque.. and no its not going to be a stock block... how noticeable is the lag... and will the extra cooling make up for the lag with extra hp?

Re: (Red D Dragon)
 

i assumed stock block

the type of core (bar & plate v.s. tube & fin)
the design of the end tanks
the thickness of the core
the size of the charge piping

all of those are contributing factors to how much pressure drop you will actually see on the cold side. you may see more on the hot side though.

is the core Bar & Plate or Tube & Fin?
(i can't tell from the pics, this monitor sucks)


realistically, the core doesn't look overly thick, 2.5"? the end tank design looks good, you might see 1psi drop at most.

do you plan on cutting your bumper to feed the entire core? if not than you may lose some performance from the larger core as it may increase the chance of the core itself heatsoaking (your radiator/air conditioning/turbo are all right behind the core and if there is no air flowing into the section it will attract radiant heat.)

report back with dimensions and specs on the core and you'll get better answers for sure.

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (Red D Dragon)
 

it doesn't really matter on size, what hurts performance more is how efficent that intercooler is. From judging by the pictures its one of those china ebay intercoolers.

I would sell it and get a garret, Greddy, Apexi, ARC, or even precesion intercooler ASAP.

Put the largest core you can fit in the available space. Works for us.

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (integlspwr2k)
 

It looks like the very identical 'ebay' intercooler I have on my SE-R. If that is the case, the core dimensions are 24"x12"x3"--- bar & plate w/ 3" in/out.

IMHO, those name brand IC are overly priced. Those ebay intercoolers are just as efficient. I made 433whp & 323wtq on my SE-R with that intercooler. After a dyno pull, the coldside, it was nice and cool.

ya its a bar and plate 24"x12"x3"---
would it be more efficient to run a smaller intercooler.. i will post some pics up of the smaller intercooler later today

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (integlspwr2k)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by integlspwr2k &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it doesn't really matter on size, what hurts performance more is how efficent that intercooler is. From judging by the pictures its one of those china ebay intercoolers.

I would sell it and get a garret, Greddy, Apexi, ARC, or even precesion intercooler ASAP.</TD></TR></TABLE>
ignorant

the ebay intercoolers are just as good as the "name brand" crap. have a LOT of local setups running htem...and they work just as good as anything else ppl have.

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (rhd)
 

You are gonna see a decent amount of lag with a large/oversized core....especially on a street car....running low/mid boost on a relatively small turbo.....

Why dont you just run that gigantic i/c then when lag becomes to much of a pita (if it does) "upgrade" to a smaller more efficient core...

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (Maveric)
 

ive made over 600hp with that intercooler. and ive seen people make over 700 with them. they only thing i would change is the end tanks...but it performs well for me

i think youre fine with using that one... not overkill.

if theres lag its probably like .0001 of a sec. youll be pushing air so fast it doesnt make a difference if that IC was like 3" shorter

i have on elike that off ebay also. paid 200 for it.

made 492whp and like 390tq at 17psi... good stuff

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (Red D Dragon)
 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1424673 some pretty good info in there toward the middle and end.

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (rhd)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rhd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
ignorant

the ebay intercoolers are just as good as the "name brand" crap. have a LOT of local setups running htem...and they work just as good as anything else ppl have.</TD></TR></TABLE>

whatever bud, please show me that these ebay intercooler are just as good as the brand name stuff.

I want to see intake air temps for a brand name intercooler and a ebay intercooler, and i dont want tests like "i felt it with my hand and its hot on one side and cold on another"

I always wondered how a 200 dollar intercooler can perform as good as a simliar sized greddy for around 600 bucks. thats a 400 dollar difference, SOME custs had to be made and i'm sure one of them were the internal tubulars...

yeah i dont think youll even notice any lag due to an oversized intercooler. If there is maybe a hundred rpm. Ill take the larger core any day!

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (integlspwr2k)
 

alot of the ebay intercoolers have the turbulators... even the ssac intercoolers have them, and they have more per square inch than most cores so they actually cool better.

the reason they cost more is you are paying for a brand name.... greddy, full-race, skunk2, etc. all there parts are actually pretty cheap to make, they just mark it because of the name

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (wantboost)
 

i think the biggest factor in buying an fmic is the fin design INSIDE the tubes.. the more there is the harder it is to make and more money it will cost you..

usually the case.

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (integlspwr2k)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by S_J_H &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well I decided I could not wait to try out the new OBX intercooler. So being the poor broke family man I am, I rigged up some PVC piping as a temporary measure until I can afford a big bucket of mandrel bends.
All I can say is WOW! Air temp is about 72' right now. I was seeing a steady 77' cruising IAT at the throttle body.

A quick run to about 90mph showed a peak IAT of 89'. Saw 10psi at 6000rpm Which is normal since I am still running an old oil soaked belt.
For comparison-
My DIY water/air showed 135' peak IAT.
No intercooler but with 15GPH methanol spray showed 170' peak IAT.
No intercooler showed 190' peak IAT.

Looks like a good 100' drop in charge temp and about the same boost reading even through 16 feet of big 3" pvc piping and the OBX unit.The little G-trim has very little flow capacity but even with all that large piping and the big OBX unit boost was about the same.</TD></TR></TABLE>

From This Thread

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PurEvl &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">installed mine yesterday on a gt70 and 10psi so far. My intake temps were 140 with the procharger after one 4th gear blast. Yesterday they never went above 78 after 5-or 6 3rd and 4th gear blasts. If there cheap shit then Im santa clause ho ho ho.</TD></TR></TABLE>

He is comparing his OBX core to twin spearco intercoolers shipped with an ATI Procharger kit.

From This Thread

There was a post on there before with results from an OBX core on a car that made 650 RWHP on pump gas, and he was seeing very, VERY low charge temps. That post got deleted in a forum cleanup. You're right though, OBX intercoolers don't work, and neither do 4" downpipes, right?

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (cubish)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cubish &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ive made over 600hp with that intercooler. and ive seen people make over 700 with them. they only thing i would change is the end tanks...but it performs well for me</TD></TR></TABLE>
i agree 100% it looks like the street imports intercooler i heard alot of shiz talk bout the intercooler but ive seen time and time again numbers that are posted in the post above id stick with it for the price and if ya want bolt a pull styl e fan to the back of it https://honda-tech.com/forums/images/smilies/emwink.gif

Re: Does an oversized intercooler really hurt performance?!? (h22 civic)
 

I work 24hr shifts and have lots of time to read so I've been doing a lot of research on turbo setups and I am very budget minded so I have been looking into ebay components. It seems that there is a lot of trash talked but also there are many people making good power using these ebay parts. HT is full of people with high dollar setups and a lot of people will say ebay parts are crap but I keep coming across people with ebay setups that are making good power and good reliabilty, although the general consensus is stay away from ssauto. I say use it, the info seems to support this intercooler.

I decided to use a different intercooler for now.. a little smaller since i only plan on boosting about 14psi

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

Re: (Red D Dragon)
 

went from a big ass intercooler to a really small one. what are the dimensions of the one you have now??

not sure on the exact dimensions.. but it should work fine...for my setup..

Re: (Red D Dragon)
 

Where did you get it? It looks very similar to mine. Mine is 27x6.5x3.5 size and from SSAC. Do you have any more pics?