Engine Best Intercooler?

[jeroenvde]

Hi all,

So many words has been written regarding intercoolers for our cars. But which one is the best one? looking for realworld feedback here.

- most efficient cooling
- not too much weight
- plug and play fitment
- not too big to minimise lag

thanks all!

 

[Bu11eT]

I'd say thats the order (not looking at the IFX one as it's a) hard to get and b) not really applicable to most people I'd say)

1st: Forge Motorsport Intercooler
2nd: Wagner Tuning Gen1 Intercooler
3rd: Airtec Intercooler
(4th: Wagner Tuning Gen2 Intercooler)


Why?

- The Forge (without the Forge boost pipe kit) one has the biggest core, the best sidepods and it's quality is also good.
- The Wagner Gen1 is super close to the Forge but it misses it close in terms of cooling performance. Also the hoses provided with the kit are not the best. Hose size is the same to the Forge one tho.
- The Airtec (without the Airtec boost pipe kit) has the same core (afaik) as the Forge, but not as good designed sidepods and also has a different inlet and outlet hose diameter (dunno if that's good or bad, but limits which aftermarket parts fit).
- The Wagner Gen2 has a worse core than the Gen1 to save costs. But I am missing comparative data here to compare this one to the others, so I put it in brackets as it may be better but I have no experience to back this up.

So in general the Forge one offers the biggest potential, especially when you wanna do some remapping of your car. All the listed Intercoolers are way superior to the stock one and are a worthy upgrade. But since the Wagner Gen1 in my car already runs at it's absolute limit with higher ambient temperatures I'd say none of these will suffice if you want to run higher power figures on a track with warmer ambient temperatures.

Just my two cents what I heard so far. Correct me if you have more infos

 

[jeroenvde]

@Bu11eT thank you very much! I was tempted towards the Wagner V2 due to its cast alloy sidepods wich will result in to a superior fittment I think. (one wouldn't go to the trouble of making a casting mold with sloppy dimensions I think)
But I didn't know the V2 had got a new, less better core. So I will give the Forge one a good look now

 

[R Veloster N]

Agreed on the Forge Motorsport FMIC. It comes with a larger cold side pipe with the kit. The rest do not.

 

[Deleted member 2480]

I was going to get the wagner 2nd gen till i spotted this post so looks like gen 1 it is

 

[N-psycho]

Anyone has any experience with fitting facelift i30N intercooler and exhaust to old i30N (MY19)?
My local dealership quote me £1200 for facelift intercooler. They are fitting it next month. It will be under warranty.
They will also look for the possibility for facelift exhaust fittings.
Is it worth fitting the facelift intercooler or go with Forge/Airtec intercooler.
Appreciate your opinions.

 

[Bu11eT]

Anyone has any experience with fitting facelift i30N intercooler and exhaust to old i30N (MY19)?
My local dealership quote me £1200 for facelift intercooler. They are fitting it next month. It will be under warranty.
They will also look for the possibility for facelift exhaust fittings.
Is it worth fitting the facelift intercooler or go with Forge/Airtec intercooler.
Appreciate your opinions.

go with the Forge or Airtec one. The facelift only has a new intercooler as the space constraints for the DCT gearbox required a new design. It's the same reason why Pre-FL tuning intercoolers will not fit the FL.

And why would you go with the FL exhaust system, have not yet heard about any improvements in the FL exhaust tbh.

 

[N-psycho]

go with the Forge or Airtec one. The facelift only has a new intercooler as the space constraints for the DCT gearbox required a new design. It's the same reason why Pre-FL tuning intercoolers will not fit the FL.

And why would you go with the FL exhaust system, have not yet heard about any improvements in the FL exhaust tbh.

I was thinking about warranty. I heard FL has bigger intercooler and better exhaust than old i30N and this is the reason I wanted them. Also dealership telling me that it will increase 10-15HP and better than aftermarket parts. I don't know how much truth in it.

 

[Bu11eT]

I was thinking about warranty. I heard FL has bigger intercooler and better exhaust than old i30N and this is the reason I wanted them. Also dealership telling me that it will increase 10-15HP and better than aftermarket parts. I don't know how much truth in it.

the intercooler of the FL is slightly larger, that much is true.
But the rest is bs imo

1. the intercooler does not increase hp, it just lets the engine run cooler for longer so you can have fun longer. In terms of the exhaust this may be true, however I cannot think of a reason why this would be the case. AFAIK the FL exhaust has the same diameter, catalytic converter and the GPF (in europe) as the Pre-FL. Only the design of the back box and the exhaust tips changed. But I could be wrong here, not sure.

2. the stock fl intercooler is only slightly larger. And when you consider that even the Forge one is at it's maximum capacity when it's warm outside, you won't gain anything worthy out of going with a stock FL intercooler. The next question would be if the stock FL intercooler even fits the Pre-FL as the routing of the pipes to the intercooler has changed as well (again due to the DCT).

3. In terms of warranty you are right. Sticking with stock parts is the safest option. Hyundai cannot argue with you in case you would need to open a warranty claim. However, in terms of logical thinking: The intercooler even helps the car run cooler, so you could even consider an aftermarket intercooler as an investment into your cars longevity.

 

[Deleted member 2480]

Anyone has any experience with fitting facelift i30N intercooler and exhaust to old i30N (MY19)?
My local dealership quote me £1200 for facelift intercooler. They are fitting it next month. It will be under warranty.
They will also look for the possibility for facelift exhaust fittings.
Is it worth fitting the facelift intercooler or go with Forge/Airtec intercooler.
Appreciate your opinions.

Dealer will fit forge as warranty approved so thats the route i would take for cooler. Exhaust wise remus (not sure facelift remus is out yet) also warranty approved



*edit - cant see forge cooler on the warranty approved list so i'd be checking that with them*

 

[N-psycho]

Dealer will fit forge as warranty approved so thats the route i would take for cooler. Exhaust wise remus (not sure facelift remus is out yet) also warranty approved



*edit - cant see forge cooler on the warranty approved list so i'd be checking that with them*

I have spoken to dealership. Forge intercooler is not under warranty. But Remus exhaust can be fitted for £1800 and under warranty. I am not sure about other dealerships in UK.

 

[Deleted member 2480]

I have spoken to dealership. Forge intercooler is not under warranty. But Remus exhaust can be fitted for £1800 and under warranty. I am not sure about other dealerships in UK.

Its a standard dealer thing just thought from your initial post it says cooler is under warranty sorry. Remus gives a little power where the cooler doesnt just helps cooling

 

[Bretto]

Have just ordered a 2021 I30N (manual Premium)
The forge intercooler notes it doesn't fit 2021 PD4, does this mean the piping will need to be modified or will the intercooler itself not fit?

 

[Bu11eT]

Have just ordered a 2021 I30N (manual Premium)
The forge intercooler notes it doesn't fit 2021 PD4, does this mean the piping will need to be modified or will the intercooler itself not fit?

I don't know for sure if the MT FL has the same cooler as the DCT FL. But I would assume so.
If the cooler is the same, then the Pre-FL intercooler itself would need to be modified. As I've heard, the end tanks on the cooler are different to make sure the hoses can attach at a different angle to fit next to the DCT.

 

[Bretto]

I don't know for sure if the MT FL has the same cooler as the DCT FL. But I would assume so.
If the cooler is the same, then the Pre-FL intercooler itself would need to be modified. As I've heard, the end tanks on the cooler are different to make sure the hoses can attach at a different angle to fit next to the DCT.

I wondered if it might be a dct issue. I guess I am better waiting till I have the car to actually worry about this stuff. But we all know it doesn't work that way.
Thanks for the input.

 

[Bu11eT]

I wondered if it might be a dct issue. I guess I am better waiting till I have the car to actually worry about this stuff. But we all know it doesn't work that way.
Thanks for the input.

maybe shoot a message to Forge to ask them? Maybe they already had their hands on a few FL models and can say for sure. You might be right tho, potentially the Pre-FL Forge intercooler might fit the MT FL.
Only way to be sure is to ask Forge directly I guess...

 

[Bretto]

maybe shoot a message to Forge to ask them? Maybe they already had their hands on a few FL models and can say for sure. You might be right tho, potentially the Pre-FL Forge intercooler might fit the MT FL.
Only way to be sure is to ask Forge directly I guess...

Good call, I'll shoot them an email tomorrow.
Thanks

 

[telelaci]

1. the intercooler does not increase hp, it just lets the engine run cooler for longer so you can have fun longer. In terms of the exhaust this may be true, however I cannot think of a reason why this would be the case. AFAIK the FL exhaust has the same diameter, catalytic converter and the GPF (in europe) as the Pre-FL. Only the design of the back box and the exhaust tips changed. But I could be wrong here, not sure.

Not exactly. The better intercoller increases hp definitely.
Better intercoller makes intake air cooler. Colder air is more dense. Higher density air contains more oxygen. The ECU is able to add more fuel to more oxygen (keeping the optimal proportion), and that mixture will have more energy so you can get more hp. So cool intake air is a very good thing.
This is why you will get less hp in a hot summer than winter even with a naturally aspirated engine. With turbo engine the intake air temp is even more important, because the turbocharger makes the air hot, because of compression and nearby exhaust.
I think you can add about 10hp plus about 20lb.ft with a nice intercooler. Not very much but every hp counts.
And you will feel that torque definitely. The manufacturer promises more, but sober man don't believe advertising.
It will not void the warranty, because you can change it back to the original in 15 minutes, when you go to the garage for oil change and regular annual maintenance.
Forge and Wagner both are about $800, 750EUR in Europe. Not so cheap.
Is that worth 10hp + 25Nm ? Hmmm.

 

[Bu11eT]

Not exactly. The better intercoller increases hp definitely.
Better intercoller makes intake air cooler. Colder air is more dense. Higher density air contains more oxygen. The ECU is able to add more fuel to more oxygen (keeping the optimal proportion), and that mixture will have more energy so you can get more hp. So cool intake air is a very good thing.
This is why you will get less hp in a hot summer than winter even with a naturally aspirated engine. With turbo engine the intake air temp is even more important, because the turbocharger makes the air hot, because of compression and nearby exhaust.
I think you can add about 10hp plus about 20lb.ft with a nice intercooler. Not very much but every hp counts.
And you will feel that torque definitely. The manufacturer promises more, but sober man don't believe advertising.
It will not void the warranty, because you can change it back to the original in 15 minutes, when you go to the garage for oil change and regular annual maintenance.
Forge and Wagner both are about $800, 750EUR in Europe. Not so cheap.
Is that worth 10hp + 25Nm ? Hmmm.

You forget that the i30N already has an intercooler that works. Feel free to do some measurements, you will notice that it works okay-ish when running a stock setup. It has its issues with heatsoak when driving slow, simply because it is so small. The bigger ones can cope with it a bit better, because of the larger metal surface. So it just takes longer for the heatsoak to kick in.

I don't wanna say an upgrade intercooler isn't worth it, but it will not add a significant amount of horsepower, it just allows you to keep the hp a bit longer before the heatsoak kicks in.

Have a look at the graph I've posted over here:

i30 N - Bu11eT's Melody

Finally got the replacement for my Mando ECS10 Suspension Tuning box. If some of you followed the proper thread in the Suspension category (Link), you may have noticed the small challenges I had with the box. For those of you not familiar with the topic: The ECS10 is a suspension tuning box...

n-cars.net

You can see that the stock intercooler does a good job and the intake air temp difference is about 5°C. This gap will obv increase when running a tune, etc. (it even increases to such an extend, that you need to have an intercooler to get a proper tune, depending on where you are heading performance-wise) but for stock it's shows there is no hp gain when running a different intercooler.

 

[jeroenvde]

Or have a look at my video. In winter times no need for a bigger intercooler. But when ambient goes above 25°C I would reccomend one when going to track!