Upgraded Intercooler - Advice Needed

[gforce]

Guys I'm looking some advice on upgrading the intercooler on my 2.0TDCi.

Ideally I was after an ST upgrade one, like Airtec or Code Red etc, but don't have the green at the minute and have been offered a JDM one pretty cheap (I think!), so thinking it's worth a try.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if it'll fit interms of dimensions etc. The seller has told me it's approx 700mm x 300mm x 75mm and has 3inch inlet/outlet pipes, so I'm assuming, with pic as well, that it's the one in the link below.

http://www.jdmperformance.com.au/products/JDM_BAR_AND_PLATE_INTERCOOLER_600x300x76-16-16.html

Does anybody have any opinions on it, any advice on the size in terms of fitting (I have an ST front bumper if that makes a difference in terms of clearance), and if it's possible to get adapter tubes/hoses to join the 2inch standard pipes to the 3inch upgrade inlet/outlet?

Pretty green on this so any help would be much appreciated.

[salsheikh]

go for it mate, you should have enough space behind the bumper as lots of ST owners have upgraded to similar sizes. the hoese can be found on eBay mate, you just need to do some measuring first.

both links show the i/c size

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HELLA-intercooler-charger-turbo-FORD-8ML-376-746-471-/370754502726?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5652b0c046#ht_2006wt_1247

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Engine-Turbo-Intercooler-for-Ford-Focus-04-11-/370690111335?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3AFocus&hash=item564eda3767#ht_1594wt_1247

• Width [mm]:: 143/157
• Height [mm]:: 601/657
• Thickness [mm]:: 58/40

wierd that there are 2 different sizes given!

The JDM cooler being 600 x 300 x 76 should be fine mate. just get the right size reducers from 3" to whatever size the oem outlets are and in the correct length.

[gforce]

Cheers for the reply Sal, I was thinkin this may have flagged your attention. Did you ever get round to an upgrade youself?

I think I'll take it ya know, will be next week before I get it though.

In other news, I'm away this weekend so leaving the car with my mechanic to have an exhaust knocked up...got 4 inch slash cut tailpipes myself and he'll do the rest, hopefully!

[gforce]

A couple of these bad boys should see me right then Sal?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Intercooler-2-to-3-Pipe-Silicon-Hose-Coupler-Reducer-/181133489145?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2a2c65b3f9

EDIT: Or these even? Cheaper again and UK stock..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silicone-Hose-REDUCERS-RED-BLUE-BLACK-for-Intercoolers-etc-all-sizes-/111074299992?pt=UK_DIY_Materials_Plumbing_MJ&var=&hash=item19dc8b5058

[FOCA]

I recommend you don't get that particular one because -

Its too big - its a mis-match for your diesel engine and your installation

because it is so big, it has a large internal volume,(larger than your stock intercooler) imagine your turbo was a hosepipe, and your old intercooler a cup, and the big one a bucket - the hose takes longer to fill up the bucket with water than the cup - its the same with the intercooler - the turbo can only supply a specific peak maximum cubic feet per inches of air, the larger intercooler has a larger internal volume (for the turbo to fill up) so the lagger intercooler has a tendency to increase lag and reduce bottom end power, this may be ok for a petrol-turbo car but no use for a low-revving turbo-diesel

A larger intercooler has a larger mass of metal - this means it has a higher thermal inertia - which means it takes longer to heat up - this is good for petrol-turbo cars because they are only on high boost for (surprisingly) short periods of time, so the mass of metal/ high thermal inertia helps to stop the intercooler heating up too quickly (as long as it is well installed - more of that later)

On a diesel-turbo, the system runs much higher boost and the boost is high for longer durations - this means a high - thermal inertia intercooler (ie- a big one) takes longer too cool down,(especially if its badly installed, keep reading) this can be a disadvantage, and can loose power

Installation - on the Mondeo & Focus, there is a large metal crash-bar (the bumper "proper") about 8"/ 200mm above the "deck" the stock intercooler fits in this space, it is low down (heat rises). Any intercooler higher than that is "masked" by the bumper (the cooling airstream does not flow directly onto the part behind the bumper), on top of that, the radiator/ AC is right behind this, and the un-vented diesel engine bay gets pretty hot - all adding up to heat- soak and loss of power

No part of the intercooler should come above the bottom of the bumper, the entire front surface area should be in the cooling airstream

Pipes/ hose diameter - if you have a 50mm (2") pipe going into a 3" (75mm) you can get a sudden loss in velocity, this can cause turbulence, even if turbulence is not caused the lower velocity can reduce pick-up at low revs/ increase lag

Weight - the stock mondeo intercooler weighs 2kgs, the upgraded one i fitted weighs 4.5kgs, this is the only heavier bit on the car - it fits under the front bumper, and i have a vented bonnet and an external waterspray

A large intercooler like that could weigh 10- 15kgs (a lot of wieght on the extreeme front of the car) - this can effect handling adversely

You would be better with an intercooler that matches the installation of the car (fits under the bumper/ fills the available space) and the diameter of the boost hoses, and the charecteristricts of your engine - if you gave me some info i would be happy to help/ recommend a more suitable intercooler

[gforce]

I take your point mate, but any chance you could explain in a bit of detail?! Just kidding, most informative reply. Mentioned it to my mechanic yesterday and he said the same about the possibility of it not fitting, and even if it did, it could have issues with being too big.

I've a Mk2 Focus 2.0 TDCi 136ps, which I think shares the same intercooler as the ST. I'm sure that it shares the same fittings and pipes at least as the ST upgrades fit the 2.0 diesel. I'm not sure of the exact dimensions of either of them though.

To be honest, I wasn't really looking for one as I have a few other mods on the shopping list at the minute, but this one came up for £40 and I thought it might be worth a shot. If you had any recommendations though that would be much appreciated!

[FOCA]

A remap or Bluefin would give you the biggest gain, Superchips claim 176Hp 387Nm -

http://www.mybluefin.co.uk/curves/Focus20tdci136.pdf

If you ditch the baffles in your exhaust and switch them for a straight-through silencer and fit a decat,

That would make a bigger difference than an bigger IC, - and it would be a quick car

I think the ST has 57mm/ (2-1/4") inlet/ outlet on the intercooler - i would expect yours to be the same

[supercmaxer]

A remap or Bluefin would give you the biggest gain, Superchips claim 176Hp 387Nm -

http://www.mybluefin.co.uk/curves/Focus20tdci136.pdf

If you ditch the baffles in your exhaust and switch them for a straight-through silencer and fit a decat,

That would make a bigger difference than an bigger IC, - and it would be a quick car

I think the ST has 57mm/ (2-1/4") inlet/ outlet on the intercooler - i would expect yours to be the same

Old thread sorry, I have a focus c max 2.0tdci and recently fitted a st intercooler. The pipes are the same size the only differance is it's slightly thinner and slightly taller

Just need to see if it runs ok now.