First Production Unit Shots Hi All, Just took some quick mobile phone pics to show what the new IC's will look like before the fins get coated with radiator paint. It's cool to see the copper before it gets its protective coating. Also, as you can see, the production units have flat mating surfaces for the foam seal built into the plastic diverter on the bonnet. -Clint
We make copper countertops and stove hoods. The copper always looks nice when it's being worked (the surface doesn't have time to oxidize). In a very short time (several days), it will start showing fingerprints from handling. If the bare copper is exposed to moisture and road salt it will start to corrode showing a bright green buildup. In areas that don't use road salt, the oxidation will be greatly reduced, but the bare copper will become a brown color (similar to an old penny). I'd say the coating is being applied for very good reasons. Here is one of our copper hoods where we purposely added a patina to give it an aged look. Here is a countertop with no patina applied, freshly finished, but a week later started to turn brown (which my customer completely understood beforehand).
I believe the IC coating promotes heat transfer and it's probably not available in a clear (not sure about clear in a heat transfer coating). A clear powder coat may only become an insulator which kind of defeats the purpose.
The coating applied to the fin and tube sides is a thinner paint than the stuff used on the endtanks and IC front & back This promotes heat transfer and allows the spacing between the cooling fins to stay as open as possible. Most clearcoats are too thick, so they'd be problematic in production. The protective coating is a must-have because we have customers that live in colder climates (salty roads in winter) and coastal locations (salt air). Though copper the copper intercooler will be more robust than its OEM aluminum counterpart, we needed to make choices that would assure long life and good looks. DoS may be be offering a version of the IC later this year with a thermal dispersant. However, the copper transfers heat so much more efficiently than aluminum that it might be an unnecessary change for us. -Clint
Coated Tubes & Fins Pics More mobile phone pics of what the IC looks like after the coating . . . -Clint
Ohhhhh that sure is purty.... At this point, when can we expect ICs to be available for purchase and then shipment ? And i assume finalized testing will be done and then shared shortly ? (Reaaaally looking forward to the results.)
Go with the thermal dispersant. It's good for a 1-1.5% increase in charge density. Works on any kind of heat transfer surface. I put it on my Helix FMIC and my intake air temp is now the same as ambient!
Good thought . . . If DoS had more R&D funds & time available right now, we'd be releasing an R56 version as well. However, if the R53 IC sales go well, an R56 MCS version won't be too far behind. -Clint
A2A-IC Testing Results!!! (finally!!!!) Hi All, The last few days have been a blur. The data is late, but complete. Thanks for your patience. Images of the collected datalogs posted below. The pressure drop logging was a complete PITA, but worth the hard work. Thanks to much to James Irmiger of Urban MINI + TechShop San Francisco & Matt Richter or MC2 and FES fame for their help! The Car: Name: "'Blue", 2002 MINI Cooper S w/ 15%SC pulley, RMW Head, Schrick Cam, DDMWorks CAI, Milltek Header, Supersprint Exhaust, DoS Dimsport Tune Pressure Drop: As you'll see, we're weaving a tight path around the GP's IC's pressure drop curve. but the GP edges by in the upper RPM ranges by a very minor: 0.03 psi @4000 RPM 0.10 psi @6000 RPM equal psi drop @ 7000 RPM It's amazing how close the pressure drop is on all 3 units, despite their differences in design. We needed to get more accurate pressure & vac gauges a few weeks ago just to make the testing worth while and show the tiny differences in psi drop. Datalogs -- Thunderhill Raceway -- Temps in the mid 60's: The track is where an really IC shows its worth. DoS shines through here. The blue line is ambient temperature (sensor in front grille). The red line is the temp before the intercooler (sensor placed in welded bung in the supercharger horn). The green line is the temp drop after the intercooler (sensor placed in welded bung in the intake manifold side horn). The black line is speed (sensor placed on an axle). Stock IC: GP IC: DoS A2A-IC: I posted pricing info up on the DoS website tonight. ( bitly.com/ghOSSd ) Drop questions to this thread, via PM, or via email. I'm happy to answer them. Also, one last thanks to all on M/A and that "other" forum who helped & motivated us get our data posted. -Clint
Thanks for the data, but I do not understand the Pressure drop graph across the 3 ICs. I expect the Stock S to have the least pressure loss, yet it has the most. Please splain it to me! And impressive temp plots, nice dataset. You've got yourself a better mouse trap right there!
You just stated exactly what we expected. . . but then it didn't happen. The problem is turbulence. Either: A) The internal ruffled design of the fins/baffles/turbulators (whatever you personally prefer to call them) in the stock IC tubes is slightly denser than the GP. This generates more pressure drop by causing more restriction. --or-- B) The internal ruffled fin design is the same on the stock & GP tubes. There's less pressure drop on the GP because the air is less restricted due to the 2X additional rows. It's a shocker, I know. Pick whatever theory you like, but the gauges told the tale.
Pressure Drop: Well, well............the data has spoken! I like your theories, the full understanding will come, but it is more important to have reliable data to base those theories on! Obviously, my initial theory/understanding of what is what on the pressure drop was WRONG! Moving on to the temp graphs: Um.... the 3rd graph is not really a fair comparison cause somebody did not keep their foot in it! Grrr! I mean you can pretty much give a good educated guess at what the plot would have looked like, but still. You knew I was gonna say something! Also, does the 3rd graph contain the dispersant coating? I would guess yes, but it is not stated. And what does the 3rd graph look like without the coating? Lastly, and most importantly, you FAILED FAILED FAILED to point out the most important benefit to track going R53s.... with the DOS IC you do NOT get ever increasing IATS lap after lap as with the stock IC, and maybe even the GP IC (though to a much smaller degree). So, with the DOS IC, an R53 will not lose power lap after lap due to ever increasing IATs. This is an important decision point for R53 owners! That being said. Even though I can guess what the 3rd plot should look like, you do not really have the data to prove the above selling point due to the specific run at TH. It could be driver, or traffic, or I dunno, but the 3rd run was not the same as run #1 & 2. I'm just sayin'... Also, do you have pics of Blue with the 3 ICs mounted right before of after the track runs? Do you use the OEM IC cover? Any special consideration under the hood, with foam, etc. Or just use all OEM for everything except the IC itself?