I see these Intercoolers on eBay all the time. I just wonder if it would be worth giving one a try. I hate to sound cheep but it is a big price deference. Has anyone tried one of them? I would like to know what everyone thanks. [ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIRECT-BOLT-ON-ALUMINUM-BAR-PLATE-SUPERCHARGE-INTERCOOLER-COOLER-MINI-COOPER-S-/180799790020?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ACooper%7CSubmodel%3AS&hash=item2a1881dbc4&vxp=mtr"]Direct Bolt on Aluminum Bar Plate Supercharge Intercooler Cooler Mini Cooper S | eBay[/ame]
I will need someone to confirm this. But I feel like I heard about this coming apart, like the welds breaking, etc. I'm not sure if it were these though. But with a lot of things...you get what you pay for.
I did a ton of reading on intercooler options for the R53, before settling on the GP intercooler. Some of the cheap ones could come apart and cause some serious issues. Many of the other higher quality ones heat soaked way worse than the stock one. Personally I would avoid this or any of the cheap ones for fear of subpar build quality.
I didn't thank about it coming apart and sending a peace down the intake. That would be bad! JMC40 you thank the GP Intercooler is better than this design? I haven't done any research yet. Thanks for the help.
I looked around at most of the options out there and ended up getting a JCW GP i/c from Aaron at Outmotoring. Comes with the factory rear mounts which are around $50.00 from the dealer.
I would steer clear of that eBay item. I mean, they can't even get an accurate description. Either they are being deceptive or it is just plain wrong. Just go get a GP intercooler if you want simple and no maintenance, or better yet a meth kit if you want to force cool.
From my reading the GP intercooler is the best bang for the buck. It adds a couple more rows of cooling fins, fits perfectly and recovers quicker (from heatsoak) than the stock intercooler. Now it isn't cheap $600, but I also purchased mine from Aaron at outmotoring and as stated his ship with the new rear brackets.
Way has them also, $550.00 + $170.00 for the DDM diverter, honestly I like mine but 20/20 hind sight I would have rather put the money toward a W/M system. The way I see it, unless you track the car, where you spend a lot of time in the upper RPM's, the stock one works pretty well, yes the recovery time with the GPIC is considerably faster, but on the street how often is it really a factor, going from a low RPM (hot) situation to immediate high RPM's the I/C doesn't really change things that much, between the GP & Stock you're prob. talking about a 10*-15* difference at cruising or low rpm/normal driving, and little or no difference standing on the throttle forcing air to the motor. Where as W/M you're talking about a Major drop, right when you need it. Once my motor's rebuilt & I add the W/M I'm prob. going back to stock, if for no other reason than to be able to pull my plugs w/o having to pull the I/C everytime.
The biggest issues I've read about after market intercoolers is pressure drop from poorly thought out air flow. It may be bigger but if the air can't get through it, it won't be better.
I was looking at maybe doing W/M instead of a intercooler. I live in the south when it gets hot it really bogs down at red lights. Also at high boost I'm putting out very hot intake numbers. Maybe W/M would be a better way to go. The only experience I have with W/M is a turboprop I use to fly a long time ago. When you hit the switch during takeoff it would sink you in your seat. The bad thing was when it cut off at about 400 feet. the plane would turn back into a brick. If water/meth is like that I know I want it. Does anyone know witch system is the best? Thanks
Except for the GP IC, the OEM one has been shown to perform better than all of the others under real world use. Lots of better ways to get more power, inc. W/M injection.
As far as W/M for cooling purposes you can pick up an AEM, Snow or Devils Own system for less than the GPIC / DDM combo But the best system out there right now is the Howerton Aquamist, you can get the hfs3 for about the same price as the combo + the resevoir, so prob. about $100.00-$125.00 more than the combo overall.
I just took a look at the Howerton Aquamist web page. I think this is the way to go. I remember a thread about W/M. I'll do a search so I can read up on how to do the install and what size jets I will need. Thanks for the help.
Jeff Howerton wrote an article for the M/A Library An Introduction to Water/Alcohol Injection Systems - Library
Discussion thread about above article can be found at http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/experiments-prototypes-ideas/623-discussion-thread-library-article-intro-water-alcohol-injection-systems.html#axzz2TZHgYgX3
I looked at a few options and narrowed it down to forged and GP as with the rest of the lads here went with Gp and a DDW diverter,im Currently rebuilding my engine with a forged bottom and a thumper stage 2 head and happy to keep the Gp cooler