Pic of my liquid intercooler setup

[float_6969]

Installed my liquid intercooler today. Went pretty smoothly with the exception that I had built all the bracket to mount the radiator to the crash bar and lower part of the core support, only to realize when I went to put the bumper on that my measurements were off and the bumper wouldn't fit. I had to start from scratch and cut the crash bar to move the radiator up. This week I'm going to take the car to the machine shop I use to have them modify my Injen intake to accept a 1" hose so I can recirculate the BOV. Right now, I have no BOV, so I have to stay out of boost as much as possible and have the boost turned down to stock. I'm hoping this will resolve the detonation issues I'm having after the stock intercooler heat soaks.

Anyway, enough of my babbling, on to the pics...
Radiator with original brackets that didnt' work

Final installation of radiator. There is about an inch of the radiator behind the crash bar

Top view. I had to move the power steering cooler line behind the hood latch support. Please ignore my hairy leg, LOL!

Original routing of the water lines. I realized they were in the way of the bumper when I went to test fit it and had to move them to the filter side of the bracket. I forgot to take pics of the revised location

Lines coming into the engine bay

Pump that came with my kit. I have the same one on my 240sx. It's a cheap Rule baitwell pump, but it works well and is quiet. Also please ignore the stock bypass valve. It's just on there to prevent a vac leak.

Fill point. Didn't make it as easy to bleed the air out of the system as I hoped, but it worked alright.

Overall view of intercooler installed. I forgot to mention, you can see on the left that the 90 bend is very close to the filler for the radiator. It's actually touching the overflow tube more than I'd like. I think I'm going to see if I can trim a little length off of all the couplers so I can shorten the whole thing up a bit.

The new BOV that I got when I ordered the kit. It's a cheapo that came from the company that I got the kit from. I've got another one of their cheap BOV's on the 240, and it's been working great for year (atmospheric). We'll see how well this one works recirculated once I get the intake pipe modified.

 

[CHIQLES]

awsome i got the same one have you drove the car yet..

 

[CHIQLES]

 

[CHIQLES]

with this kit you can really clean the engine bay if you wanted to. Relocate the battery and put. the reservoir in the trunk..

 

[DarkAngel]

Question as I find these type of cooler interesting. How long have you both had the kit ( float for you on your 240 ) and have you had any major problems with it? Anything you would upgrade from it instead of what they provide? When I had my MSP I was planning on something along the lines of a water to air cooler setup but never got around to it. I swore if I ever got around to getting a project car I would totally do it. I just want to hear/read experiences.

 

[StealthWyvern]

Float, please make a how-to on this for me please along with links to where you got everything. Once thats done Ill add it to the how-to section!

 

[float_6969]

awsome i got the same one have you drove the car yet..

Nope, haven't gotten to drive it yet. I'm going to take it to the gym this morning and see what it's like. I've got the boost turned down to stock, so I'm just hoping that it won't heatsoak like the old intercooler and will keep the power up like it does when you first start it in the morning.

 

[float_6969]

Question as I find these type of cooler interesting. How long have you both had the kit ( float for you on your 240 ) and have you had any major problems with it? Anything you would upgrade from it instead of what they provide? When I had my MSP I was planning on something along the lines of a water to air cooler setup but never got around to it. I swore if I ever got around to getting a project car I would totally do it. I just want to hear/read experiences.

I've been a similar kit (I got it from the same company, it's just WAY bigger as the 240 makes almost 400whp) on the 240 for over a year and I love it. I've run lots of air-air intercoolers, and for most situations, a liquid to air is better, minus the weight and complexity. Honestly, the ONLY time an air to air is better is in a road racing situation.

No problems on the 240. I had a minor leak shortly after I first installed it, but once I found it, everything was fine.

On both of my kits, I didn't actually buy the pre-made kits they had. The reason is that you want to use the largest radiator you can fit. Other than that, I've had no issues.

 

[float_6969]

Float, please make a how-to on this for me please along with links to where you got everything. Once thats done Ill add it to the how-to section!

Doing it now. I hope it's OK to link to a company that doesn't advertise here?

 

[destineal]

Quick question: This setup has no cold pipe that the maf can be relocated to? so recirculating the bov is a must?

Edit: I think I understand the cold pipe as being that 90 degree coupler on WtA IC, so no in that case.

 

[float_6969]

Yea, there is no room to relocate the MAFS the way i did it. I was thinking about that yesterday, and the only way you could do it would be to weld the BOV flange to the end cap on the intercooler itself. That would eliminate the "T" that I have and should give you enough room to move the MAFS, but BARELY. I'm going to edit my first post to mention this, but I forgot to mention that the 90 elbow right next to the filler next actually touches there. I also wish that I'd gotten a 135 bend instead of a 90 there as the whole thing is a bit long. Either that, or mount the BOV straight to the intercooler like I was talking about.

 

[destineal]

looking forward to your results.

 

[CHIQLES]

floats right no room for the maf relocate unless you get some custom pipeing. Ive had my setup for over a year and no issues holds up pretty well and the super short piping is great for the throttle and turbo responce.

 

[fuadmsp]

make the recirculation as directed as u can so it dont gobble gobble

mount urs bpv inlet near the stickers to recirculate

 

[float_6969]

Driving impressions:

I'm pleased with the intercooler. Power is up from where it was at with the stock side mount. The engine feels smoother as well, probably from the now reasonable intake temps. I beat on it repeatedly (stock boost) and I never experienced any heat soak. There is a slight, but definitely noticeable, increase in throttle response as well. I think if I were running higher boost levels, or switching from a FMIC, there would have been a HUGE difference. This has TOTALLY eliminated the detonation I was experiencing as well. I don't think the ECU is pulling any timing now. I'll have a "how to" put together soon.

 

[JDMazdaFamilia]

Why do you say you think you'd see a huge difference switching from fmic?

 

[CHIQLES]

maybe throttle responce

 

[JDMazdaFamilia]

Oh okay that makes sense.
Sub for DIY! I really want to do this. I always do the shortest route of piping possible and the fmic just won't let me keep a/c. With air/water intercooler I should be able to

 

[CHIQLES]

its not that hard really. I sourced my parts from a prius and the water pumps from jettas ill post pics so you guys know what to look forif your ever walking through the junk yard..

 

[CHIQLES]

heres a pic of an extra i have i think i got 2 this one maybe a bosch but there either bosch or Denso good brands..