2nd gen intercooler install observations *now with pics*

[Hansen01]

No, I installed it the correct way

[cmann250]

No, I installed it the correct way

As did I. Now that I fitted up the pipes, mine almost touch the battery box too

[cmann250]

With a little more fiddling, I know what I have to do to the pipes. The cold pipe needs to be a little longer and the hot pipe needs to be a little shorter, so I may try to be slick and cut and reweld together what I already have. I'm going to order more 45* reducer boots from Frozenboost in a bit. 60*/30* would be an ideal combo, but I know these boots are good and 45*/45* will work.

-For the record, the the outlets/inlets on the IC are 3 3/4", the 2nd gen pipes are 3", and the outlet on the micro H1C is 2".

-I got a IC'd throttle bracket off of Mr. Nixon because the the monsterous non-IC plate interferes with the intake horn. I had to whittle on it to get it to clear my non-IC'd injector lines. I had to lengthen the throttle rod about 3/8", so it may run a little better now. I'll beef up that bracket later.

I'll throw up some pics when I'm done for everyone's viewing pleasure.

[Hansen01]

Those two bolts on the bottom of the head, are a pain to get in...

[cmann250]

Not with a 1/4" drive extension and swivel I kept trying to fit a bolt into the middle hole and it's not the right size

[Hansen01]

My fingers are fat and im not particularly fond of swivels.. you can see my issues with them two bolts

[cmann250]

I have just the opposite problem. I could fit my fingers IN between the radiator core and the C channel sort of thing under it, but it took me a good 15 min to get them OUT. They weren't pinched, just stuck

[cmann250]

I now have an intercooler installed and air's flowing through it. I ended up using the longer straight pipe on the cold side and it looks and fits fine. The hot side is not finalized.

I took a hot lap and the lag is not noticable. It may be my imagination, but smoke may be down too. Overall I'm happy

[Hansen01]

Mine smoked less and had less lag, so your imagination is correct

[cmann250]

I've had several people ask questions about my intercooler swap so I busted out the DeWalt drill and the camera.

First the grille. You are looking at the bottom in these pics. I have an auto, so the center dip that I sanded into it are for the cooler. The ends will need sanded no matter what. I used a flap disc on an angle grinder.

Whole thing



Passenger side



Center



Driver's side



Now for the core support. I did some measuring and went at it. I kind of wish I had set the cooler higher now, but then maybe the pipes wouldn't line up.

Passenger side



Center- I ground the crap out of that center bracket and I could not fit the bolt in center support back in. It doesn't seem any worse for wear.



Driver's side



Now for the pipes. I did not cut the pipes at all. They just happened to line up.

Hot pipe- This is the shorter bent pipe from a 2nd gen. I had to clock the HX35 a bit and I'm really glad I had that cast piece coming out of the turbo.





Cold pipe- This is the longer straight pipe form the 2nd gen. I had to hammer on the battery tray a bit to get it to fit.







Throttle bracket- I've seen the nonintercooled bracket used, but I opted to get one from Mark. Still requires some whittling to fit around the nonintercooled lines.



Intake horn- It fits fine with some grinding. Cutting the whole third point off is an option too.





I did have to hammer on the fenders to get enough room to comfortably fit a boot and clamp over the intercooler inlets and outlets. Some people install them up side down. I know RonA did. I ground all the tabs off for the condensor and transmission cooler. I couldn't find a way to fit the condensor in there and the stock trans cooler won't work either. You can see in the first pic where I bolted in on the top. It's just 2 bolts.

Overall, it's good piece of mind and a good weekend project.