Intercooler Advice

[MR MPH]

I currently have a 2012 yd25crd d22 with EGR blocked, Steinbauer Module, 3inch exhaust and Boost Controller set at 19psi. The next modification I am enquiring about is an upgraded top-mount intercooler as I know the factory I/C is prone to leaks. The two I have in mind are; Forefront Industries for $500 or HPD for $1300

Is upgrading the top mount intercooler with either of these options the obvious next step for the modification process? And can anyone justify the extra $800 for the HPD or is Forefront Industries $500 product sufficient? Do they provide an increase in power?

I'm not necessarily after more power (all-though its always nice) but merely want to increase the longevity of the motor tuned with 19psi/chip, in particular when I'm towing trailers for work. Is an intercooler worth the $$$ ? Any input from Nav owners would be greatly appreciated, cheers.

 

[jonney]

i don,t think any intercooler of the simular size will give any extra power actually i don,t think any different intercooler would give a power boost.
i would go for the Forefront brand , bugger paying $1300 for one of them.

 

[bradm84]

As above, upgrading the intercooler won't give much in the way of extra power. It's just that the stock one may become a restriction in the intake once you start modding everything else. So really you're upgrading the capacity to suit the other mods and let those work unhindered by by the intercooler.

You're right though, the stock ones can become leaky but still work well on stock and lightly modified engines. Depends how much further you want to take it. If mine had the mods yours had (mines stock as at the moment) I would also be inclined to look into the intercooler as well just for a bit better flow and capacity. The forefront one looks much better than stock and not much to be gained by the HPD so for me it would be forefront. The extra $800 would be better off going towards a turbo upgrade which would benefit from the intercooler anyway.

 

[Big Nick]

Agree with above. The intercooler is a support mod for the other engine upgrades you do. ARE also offer a highly regarded product. I will do similar once the other mods are done. Good luck.

 

[loco12]

Look at the ARE Cooling intercooler, priced between the two your looking at and with the modifed version much better flow rates, all the info etc on their website.
Also excellent people to deal with.

 

[happy john]

I looked into this 3 years ago, on the dyno it started to lose power after 4 runs. The tuner explained the i/c could not cope and was getting hot. He said what we all know on top of a hot motor is not a good idea, he had the same D22 on the dyno then did a run with a larger aftermarket cooler. The results were very close basicly bugger all increase. His suggestion was a good front mount but with the standard turbo even more laggy and a larger turbo required.

I decided I would stick with the Nissan setup and when it finaly starts to leak replace it with a f/f model. Any performance gains would be a bonus and I guess it would be more reliable.

 

[jonney]

what the problem with dynoing a turbo vehicle is; the car is stationary as we know and there is no cool air blowing on the intercooler as if it was driving at speed, if a fan was directed into the scoop or grill area i am sure better results would occur.
so at what mileage should the intercooler be cleaned out and how is a good way to clean it out yourself ??

 

[gazza414]

I looked into this 3 years ago, on the dyno it started to lose power after 4 runs. The tuner explained the i/c could not cope and was getting hot. He said what we all know on top of a hot motor is not a good idea, he had the same D22 on the dyno then did a run with a larger aftermarket cooler. The results were very close basicly bugger all increase. His suggestion was a good front mount but with the standard turbo even more laggy and a larger turbo required.

I decided I would stick with the Nissan setup and when it finaly starts to leak replace it with a f/f model. Any performance gains would be a bonus and I guess it would be more reliable.

All very good info HJ and very factual

guys --read the ARE site..very informative so you can make informed decisions rather than "here say" and bigger isnt always better

 

[happy john]

what the problem with dynoing a turbo vehicle is; the car is stationary as we know and there is no cool air blowing on the intercooler as if it was driving at speed, if a fan was directed into the scoop or grill area i am sure better results would occur.
so at what mileage should the intercooler be cleaned out and how is a good way to clean it out yourself ??

Hey Jonney, they used a fan and misting water spray, You would probably need 70kph and over for the cooler to be effective anyway. As far as cleaning the cooler use petrol with a final rinse of diesel, there is no set intervals Nissan probably would not know how to clean it anyway mate.

 

[Old.Tony]

As above. TMIC suffers heat soak. Consider a misting system to wet the surface lightly to assist it but getting large performance gains over the standard unit in the same dimensions is really asking for dreams to come true. Biggest advantage in TMIC is reduced turbo lag because of shorter air path and solid piping. FMIC is far more effective but lag is greatly increased. Even with a FMIC, the actual performance gain is measureable on a dyno and only perceivable on the road. You would have to measure how fast the Hilux is shrinking in your mirror before and after and then make sure that the Lux owner hasn't used E10 in his tank because his wife's (more powerful) Fiat 500 runs so well on it.

 

[fzrr]

I went for the forefront intercooler. Didn't notice any difference after fitting it but it's built like a tank so shouldn't ever leak hopefully.

According to the intake temp sensor in the Torque app the the Forefront intercooler seems to sit a couple degrees hotter then the stock one ever did. But it doesn't seem to fluctuate as high as the stock one did in traffic.