2

Maxfix in Toowoomba have fitted a very, very healthy 13B into a Mazda RX2 & in conjunction with the owner, gave us a plan to work to.

Unfortunately, we were all a little too enthusiastic & the unit was a little tall.

We fabricated a shorter oil cooler, but made it wider so it would still dissipate the oil temperature needed, as can be seen in the second pic.

Note the air deflector channels on the inlet/outlet pipes. These really distribute the intake charge nearly evenly through the core, making a big difference to the efficiency rate of the core. The size, shape & angles are very important, & that's all I'm saying!!

I know I'm harping, but we do try real hard with every job & are really proud of our workmanship.

For it's size, this is the most efficient intercooler we've made, flows gang busters & more importantly, across most of the core.

Note the triangulation of both the intercooler & radiator tanks, helps flow heaps.

Hang on Andrew!!!

Ian Martin drives a real nice KE laser TX3 & now he can up the boost for it's performance to match the looks. We had enough height to build a dual pass intercooler which just fits in the front.

Compared to the Skyline GTS25T oe intercooler (shown on right), our 'cooler will be like a freezer behind the grille.

Neat! Compact, big temperature drop, small pressure drop. Short pipe work. To make this system perfect, the part of the inlet pipe up to the throttle body thats in the engine bay, should be HPC coated, or wrapped, to stop any heat soak from the radiator & turbo air. It will pick up a couple of degrees on a hot day, but considering the intake charge can leave the turbo at 140 deg.C & the intercooler at 45 deg. C, I don't think 2 deg. C is worth loosing sleep over for a street car. The oe intercooler, half covered by the radiator support panel, was probably getting it down to high 60's, low 70's 7 with more pressure drop too.

Real short inlet pipe from turbo to intercooler.

Mick McGregor's Datsun 1600 SR20DET

Absolutely dead standard import engine, boost raised to 15lb - drops to 13lb, standard computer, clutch, gearbox etc. 12.7 sec @ 107 MPH - '99 Fast Fours Jamboree (as seen in top right photo's page 54 & NIS-016 page 65 August/September, Fast Fours Magazine).

Part of Modular - 3 piece assembly.

These tanks were fabricated by hand forming 4 pieces of flat and one piece tube.   There is not one flat part anywhere.  They have been curved every sq. cm. for maximum flow (& it showed on the flow bench) but especially to distribute the chare evenly though the intercooler at all volume and pressure levels.  Think about that!   Note the tank thins as it curves to direct the charge and still maintain velocity.

These babies don't come cheap - but you do get what you pay for.

If it's a street car, in particular,  think what the intake charge does when it enters a big square shaped tank that allot of intercoolers have fitted, particularly at light throttle settings with no or little boost.  Don't think driveability!

  Tony Court.   89 Telstar TX5.  (& it's red too!)

  Tony was unlucky to have a front ender, which necessitated a couple of new panels, radiator & intercooler.  What an ideal time to upgrade the 'cooler he thought.  He reckons the time off the road is worth it now, the upgrade intercooler has made a very noticeable difference to the cars performance.  A mate who used to give him a real hard time in a Pulsar SSS, now has to watch him pull away from mid second gear on.  The further the distance, the bigger the performance gap between them!   Once again, not scientific, but real world, & he's rapt.

  The core is 25mm thicker, 120 mm wider & 30mm taller. That adds up to a whole bunch more dissipated heat! Without going to a cross flow 'cooler, this is as big as you can go.  Very minor panel work was needed as it is.

Note the channels on the inside of the pipes which really help the charge to turn & use the full width of core. The cut out radius in the top tank is to clear the headlight, & in testing, had a small detrimental effect on flow rate, but helped distribution through the core. This intercooler flows 38% more air, but it's heat dissipation is approx. 75% better.

Inside of Steves tanks showing double welding of all joins,charge channel deflectors combining with the tank shape to give maximum even distribution with minimal pressure drop.

Other end of the tanks. Even tough joins are short & strong we still double weld them. Overkill maybe,but we want to give the best possible product.

  Outside of Steves tanks. We haven't finished sanding the top one yet. Note the different shape of the two tanks -- for maximum performance. The outlet has to be very high up to line up with the throttle body, makes the tank more complicated & so, costly, but necessary.

 "THE JUDGE"  twin turbo V8

  Inside the two inlet tanks, one from each turbo.  64mm pipes.

  Inside the outlet tank. That's a 100mm pipe there, & boy does it let some gas through

  The three tanks finished & polished, ready to weld on

  Finished  Product.

   From the outlet end