intercooler size calculator :O)

[evo arm's m7960]

hi guys ,

im not saying you should use this but just take a look :O)


i recently fitting a new intercooler to my e4 that worked out to be to big " i didn't think you could go to big , my mistake dou !!


so after some searching i came across this calculation for working out your inter cooler size . taken from a total vauxhall mag ,

the idea is to stay close to this number if you can , go a lot smaller and loose power and thermal efficiency go a lot bigger and loose power and turbo efficiency . so if you car only makes 400bhp dont try and fit a 600bhp cooler dou !!

as a rule of thumb you will need

3-litres of volume per 100 bhp = 3L

a cross section of 50cm squared per 100bhp .. hight x depth = 50cm2


eg
as a rough guide


for 300 bhp you would be looking for a 9 L cooler with a cross section of 150cm2 .......... 3 x 3L and 3 x 50 cm2

for 400 bhp you woulds be looking for a 12 L cooler with a cross section of 200cm......... 4 x 3L and 4 x 50cm2


for 300 bhp , if say you where looking to get a cooler with a 2.5" core " 63.5 mm" to get the 150cm2 cross section you would be looking at a cooler with a height of around 24cm h x 6.35cm or 240mm x 63.5 mm = 152.4 cm2 "close enough" .

you will also be looking at a length of 9L devided by 152.4 to get your volume = 9000/152.4= 59 cm giving us a cooler of

240mm h 590mm w 63.5mm d for our 300bhp i would treat this as a minimum size needed


as a idea my big cooler works out to be


300mm h 600mm w 100mm deep 18 L 300 CM2 cross section good for 600+ bhp dou !!

making it 90% bigger in size and volume than my old cooler


so to finish for my 420 bhp i have chosen a new cooler

300mm h 600mm w 76.2 mm d . 3 inch core

420 bhp x 3L per 100bhp = 420 x 3 = 12.6L needed

cross section of

420 bhp x 50 cm2 per 100bhp = 210 cm2 needed 4.2x50 =

the new cooler works out to have a

228cm2 cross section 300hx76.2w =

13.68L volume = 600w x 228cm2 =

making the new cooler good for around 456 bhp ..

remember this is just the cooler not the pipe work :O)


this is just a guide that i wish i found earlier but i dont really do maths so forgive me if i got somthing wrong , as i stated i took the oe sum from another sorce thanks t vaux mag :O)

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[fq-craigus]

So is my standard cooler on e8 too small if I want to get 360 bhp hmmmm, excuse to get a prettier one I think

 

[evo arm's m7960]

So is my standard cooler on e8 too small if I want to get 360 bhp hmmmm, excuse to get a prettier one I think

i dont no it is probably big enough but any excuse is a good one , imho :O)

i think that the t vaux mag took advise from forge in the artical . issue125

it all depends what the car is used for i gess . road then smaller could be ok full race then bigger could be better .

it all depends on the inlet temp in to the cooler and what comes out the other side . air speed across it ect :O)

its a guide that seems to mirror what i have exsperanced with my own car :O)


also check out this link for some intercooler Q/A

http://www.bellintercoolers.com/pages/techFAQ.html



.





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[EVOIV MJC]

So is my standard cooler on e8 too small if I want to get 360 bhp hmmmm, excuse to get a prettier one I think

Standard i believe are good for at least 400bhp

 

[evo arm's m7960]

Standard i believe are good for at least 400bhp

hi i dont think this means that a standard cooler is not able to support 400bhp . cause they do :O)

but is the standard cooler working to its best efficency when pushed that far ,


and would a larger cooler not work better nearer the middle of its range rather than at the end like the standard one to keep power levels constant and consistant :O)

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[Steve220]

The standard cooler is good for 500bhp. Its been proven. The AMS one on mine is 4" thick which helps when you've got a GT35R feeding it

 

[richiebaby]

hi there everyone i have a evo 4 and i have put a bigger intercooler on my car and a re map ect,
i have been driving my car for a while now and i feel the cars boost it less bang but more smooth, (it feels slower but i have more power)
i have been thinking about putting the standard one back on,
would it be best to take a visit bk to the rolling road to make sure everything is allright or will it be ok
i have 330 bhp, would the new intercooler be alittle over kill for my needs
thanks rich

 

[evo arm's m7960]

hi buddy did you get a befor and after graph from fitting the cooler ? whats size did you go for ??



if you go back to the rr you might want to take the bumper off and try both coolers on to see the differance .

at the end of the day its how it drives on the road that matters . and if you feel it drives better with the standard cooler then go with it :O)

ive gone back to a smaller cooler for the same reason :O)

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[richiebaby]

hi buddy did you get a befor and after graph from fitting the cooler ? whats size did you go for ??



if you go back to the rr you might want to take the bumper off and try both coolers on to see the differance .

at the end of the day its how it drives on the road that matters . and if you feel it drives better with the standard cooler then go with it :O)

ive gone back to a smaller cooler for the same reason :O)

.

the size of the cooler im not sure but when i take it off i will measure it up, it was one of them full kits off e bay,
the two graphs i have are before re map with old on. and after with re map and new on,

im going to try and get in to rr next wednesday as im off just to check it runs ok with the old one on, i will keep u up dated bud,
rich