Engine Drivetrain 1st Gen Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Forge R53 intercooler (Brief Review)

I did read it and did learn a thing or "tow" (LOL) but I don't have an R56 and the front mount IC and top mount IC are two different animals in the way that they operate. I was hoping he had an apples to apples comparison of the different top mount systems that they tested.
At this point, I'm trying to understand why the Forge IC seems to cool just as effectively as the stock one, even though the mounting is not optimal and doesn't have an air diverter other than the rubber seal around the edge. No matter how you look at it, it seems to go against the norm of what's been stated as the most important part of effective cooling and still does as good of a job as the stock unit with all of the OEM diverters.

 

Because not everyone who tracks their car can afford or even want to spend that type of money on a W2A system, especially if it's a daily driver.
And using a box fan is a good idea, but wouldn't it be more effective if there wasn't a cover holding the heat in?

 

You must be an engineer?

 

Good, then maybe you can explain to me what I'm missing concerning my previous question. Is it ONLY the fact that it has more surface area or is there more at play here? This is an honest question, not an attempt to be a smart a§§.

 

I'm not saying the stock IC is bad, but it's not the best either when compared to the likes of a GP unit. As stated before, not everyone is able or even willing to shell out the money for a GP IC but for those looking for something in-between, this maybe a good choice. And I also don't think dismissing other options without trying them first is doing us any favors either. I called around to a couple shops to see about having the 2 units flow tested, but at this point, I don't think spending the $150 to do it is worth the effort. If no one is willing to be open minded enough to admit that there might be a better option than stock then any results I get will be disputed or dismissed as an anomaly.

I've had this unit on my car for about a month and it's proven to me to be a step up from my stock unit. I drove over 300 miles with it this weekend and it never seemed to lack for power even in 95 degree temps. I was able to easily overtake other cars on the highway and two lane back roads without having to downshift from 6th gear, which I did have to do with the stock IC in hot weather. One of the things Eric mentioned in his thread about the Helix FMIC is how it always pulled hard and didn't show any signs of suffering from heat soak. This intercooler's performance has been the same for me all weekend.

 

Okay, we are looking to get the highest air density possible right? So if you can keep the air temperature the same but increase the amount of air, you still achieve a higher air density which equals to more power. This is where I think the majority of us get caught up. We only seem to focus on if it cools better than the stock IC and not if it flows better.

Honestly, I would love to see this tested on a dyno as well, but it's not something that's going to happen until I get a tune done on the car.

 

And I understand the skepticism, but how many IC out there are the same height as the Forge? This design has been out since 2005 but I think most people are turned away from it because of how it sits in the scoop. I've seen plenty of IC comparison threads, but only one with the Forge IC. I'm sure Clint had the same scepticism when he started the development the DOS A2A IC, but he did in fact make an improvement over stock, even better than the GP.
As far as the IC horns go, you're right, and that was the point I was making earlier. I don't think the factory IC is optimally sized for the amount of air that the SC is pushing with anything other than a stock pulley. All of the other designs stick with the same core height and forces the air to go around the width of the IC. This one is taller so it has a more direct flow of air through the core with less restriction.

 

True, and that's why I wanted to wait till the temperature warmed up so it would be closer to the summer time conditions that I ran my stock IC in all of last year. Still not optimal I know, but better than comparing 95+ degree temps and low humidity against ~70 degree temps and high humidity.