Intercoolers (front mount)

[Blue Mule]

OK, so theres a little company named K-Tec and they sell some silly small FM intercooler for itsy witsy 550 £. Since I live overseas, postage could cost me as much as the intercooler. So, Im asking...on R5, what intercooler could fit, other than mighty K-Tecs or BB? I would prefer front mount. And also...which Renault has a respectible intercooler?

 

[McBunny]

make your own mate

 

[Blue Mule]

How am I supposed to make my own???

 

[McBunny]

there is a thread on scoobynet about it done by a bloke called dave wallis

 

[BenR]

string cheese, pipe cleaners, UHU and some sticky back tape.

 

[Blue Mule]

OK, apart from the DIY stuff...

I read on BB site that front mount isnt a good choice, and on K-Tecs site they say that front mount are providing best cooling possible...so what side is it? K-Tec for me. Is there a stock Renault with respectable intercooler, so I can stripp it from car dump or buy it...

 

[McBunny]

fmic is better as top mount gets all the heat from the engine going through it

 

[Nick Read]

Well surely if youre putting in a non-standard intercooler, it doesnt matter which one you get...ie it doesnt have to be Renault. You could get one from a lorry if you want! Most factory cars have the smallest intercooler you can get away with at standard boost. Very rarely do you find one that has been overengineered!

 

[BenR]

get any intercooler from any car as long as its not teh size of a barn door, youve only got 2 pipes to fit.

 

[Blue Mule]

So bassicly I can strip intercooler from some VW TDI and put it in R5?

 

[McBunny]

but the bigger the cooler the more lag you get

 

[Nick Read]

True to a certain extent, although it depends how its constructed. But more of a worry is the long boost path down to the front and back again.

 

[McBunny]

yes that will cause lag

 

[Blue Mule]

Bigger and cooler = more lag?

Where0s the middle? Man, this tuning stuff is more complicated than I tought...

 

[McBunny]

speak to them on scoobynet mate there is sligtly more knowledge over there about turbos hehe

 

[BenR]

lol.....its always the way.

A larger intercooler has a larger volume and greater efficiency, but lager volume neas increased fill times and more lag.

tradeoff from high power, small capacity turbo.........

 

[Nick Read]

To be honest its better to just resign yourself to walking everywhere than start worrying about intercoolers and stuff...in tuning theres no such thing as a free lunch.

 

[BenR]

so so so true......want a gain without increasing capacity and your going to loose something.