D40 Intercooler kit - DIY

Hey guys,

Decided this week that now the Nav is running as it should it has motivated me to do something exciting with it.

I work in sales in the mining industry in the Goldfields, WA. I have access to some of the best steel prices in the country so made sense to do this DIY. So far I have spent $150 and have a massive box full of polished S/S 2 1/2" and 3" elbows. Love the perks of my job.

Have decided to make a custom intercooler/intake kit for the D40.

What I have chosen to go with:

Am using 304 grade S/S for all the piping and the intake. Will be keeping this system as stock looking as possible. Will be following the exact same routes the factory piping takes. Could have all this powder coated black for the 100% factory look but I honestly love the look of polished S/S so will be keeping it like that.

Welds will not be done by myself as I want them to be perfect. One of the guys who is a coded welder at work will be doing all the welds by TIG for the super clean look.

For the intercooler core itself I will be going a generic 450x300x76mm core with 2 1/2" outlets. There is no need to blow loads of cash on this as what's good enough for my mates 1000hp maloo is good enough for my <200hp nav

For the hose tails I will be going with brass at this stage until I go and suss out a few of the hydraulic suppliers in town and see if there is a better alternative...IE a weld on h/tail etc. It's been a while since I've had to supply them so unsure of what's available.

I have a few more things to chase up before I can get underway on this.

- Intercooler core - 450x300x76mm
- Silicone joiners/reducer - Ordering now
- Clamps - Ordering now
- Fittings for misc. hoses
- 1m of 2 1/2" S/S 304 thin walled pipe
- 1m of 3" S/S 304 thin walled pipe

Now, I will have excess material for sure. Who knows, maybe enough to make another kit. But will add pics/details as progress is made. Should have everything done by next Friday 25/10/2013.

Put pics up as you build it

Yeah definitely will mate. Once we get stuck into it I will do a full write up of everything needed and how to do it step by step.

Im doing a water to air setup early next year so I will be watching your build thread with keen interest

Can I get a job where at your work??

Hey Shaun your mate has 1000hp in his maloo and you 200 in your nav as well as wanting to work where you do i want the same mechanic he must be god.

happy john said:

Hey Shaun your mate has 1000hp in his maloo and you 200 in your nav as well as wanting to work where you do i want the same mechanic he must be god.

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1000HP Maloo... Day-um!!!

That must have a mighty big engine and some bigger Hair Dryers hanging off it..

Or he is running methanol and a massive blower

Yeah its twin turboed. Runs on E85. Spent some serious coin on it! Too much IMO.

My D40 does not have 200hp.... I typed <200hp. Meaning less than.

Just ordered some more items for the FMIC

shaunus88 said:

Yeah its twin turboed. Runs on E85. Spent some serious coin on it! Too much IMO.

My D40 does not have 200hp.... I typed <200hp. Meaning less than.

Just ordered some more items for the FMIC

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Serious coin.. Would be in excess of $30K...

I see you're in WA.. Who did the work on the Maloo?

Got it done in Perth. All I know is a place NOR as he's from up that way. Took ages to get done. Works away will try get a hold of him if you like and let you know the shop? Remember him saying they had heaps of killer cars in there though. I don't follow V8's or take much of an interest in them so I never asked much about it haha.

Yeah cost him more than that hahaha. His first round of mods like custom cam, some head work, tune, otr, big exhaust etc. cost him like 10K+. It made something like 500rwhp in NA form which made it pretty quick, nothing amazing though...It just made a ton of noise and rocked side to side haha.

500rwhp NA in a 6.2 is a fair effort.. That size cam would make it rock and roll for sure

Love to hear more info on it.. Dwarfs my Supercharged 600hp thats for sure!

On this is for sure, after driving the Navara for a few days, hopping back into the VE makes it feel like a supercar

600hp pretty much is!!

Actives just released a dyno sheet from a week or two ago. Stock VF GTS, mid 400 rwhp. With a tune ONLY, cracked 500hp.

Yep. Tune, exhaust and pulley change. Ran 10.95 last night at the 'plex. On street rubber and all.

Hauls ass!!

Think I need to look at a catch can while I'm at it

Few pics as promised. Will be making this in sections as we get some free time. Unfortunately, cant do it all at once. Urgent job came in today so that halted that idea... Still needs pickling but looks good so far.

Will be doing the intercooler > motor section at the end when we mount the intercooler. Will then be finishing off the feed pipe to the intercooler once mounted.

Intercooler will arrive next week.

Good job mate

Ya mate. You're inspired me. Dpf and new dump are next as I already got 3" dpf back exhaust. Can you pm me how you went about it?

Completed and installed first hard pipe and intake utilising factory air box. Made a pretty noticeable difference. No more low rpm lag and it really pulls through the midrange now with little to no hesitation. Didn't think it would make such a substantial difference!