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Experience with bigger intercooler

You will not need a lift a good set of jack stands or ramps will suffice. Good luck with the inter-cooler and let us know how you like it. I just couldn't give Airtec the business after that big eff up. lol... Good luck with it though.

Best regards,

-Mike
 
Even on the new updated version of the forge intercooler the temp sensor will still need to be removed? Or is that still not known due to it still being in production?
I am almost positive it will still need to be removed. Red would know better than I.

Br,

-Mike
Temp sensor bracket will need to be removed on either. The width of the both FMIC's won't allow it to be retain. It's will too close to the face of the FMIC. Even if you remove the collapsible bumper with the bracket intact, install the either FMIC it's the width won't allow for its use.
It can be seen here;
 
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Here are a few photos. Enjoy!
 

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I ordered mine on Thursday and it's here on Saturday. Gotta love being close. lol...

Br,

-Mike
 
Here you go....


Best regards,

-Mike
 
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Finally got mine installed today, the worst part was that i had no way to jack up the car because it's quite steep here.

Front was disassembled rather quickly, main problems were the temp sensor bracket (hammer took care of that, had no angle grinder) and actually getting off the original hoses and then getting on the new ones.
Used a tad of (fresh) engine oil to get them to slip on more easily.

All in all I'd say it works great, turbo flutter is now way more pronounced and car sounds more aggressive all the time. Pops, bangs and gurgles are now also more prominent and the car feels way more consistent in its performance.

Pretty much a great buy I'd say.

EDIT: Oil temps also seem to stay cooler, hovering around the 100C-107C mark at max.
 
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We installed 3 Wagner Tuning Intercoolers on three different Ns today. Oil temps didn't change at all.
Regarding the other temps, I've logged a bit of data to compare it, you can find it here:
 
I think the idea of a larger intercooler for our cars is essential. But I won't be doing it until I find an aftermarket one that isn't black.
This has probably been mentioned already, but all you people who have installed a BLACK painted intercooler have just REDUCED the performance of your cars.
The only potential benefit with these aftermarket black intercoolers is that they have a larger volume than the standard fitment.
With reference to these few videos, you will see.
You don't have to watch all of the third one with the Aussie guy which goes a bit in depth.



 
I think the idea of a larger intercooler for our cars is essential. But I won't be doing it until I find an aftermarket one that isn't black.
This has probably been mentioned already, but all you people who have installed a BLACK painted intercooler have just REDUCED the performance of your cars.
The only potential benefit with these aftermarket black intercoolers is that they have a larger volume than the standard fitment.
With reference to these few videos, you will see.
You don't have to watch all of the third one with the Aussie guy which goes a bit in depth.




you can't just generalize this topic that much.
Aftermarket intercoolers offer more than just being black. They offer other advantages such as improved flow, reduced back pressure and, like you mentioned, a bigger core.

If you just paint a stock intercooler black then yes, you may get a worse result than with the intercooler not being painted. But the construction of the aftermarket intercooler widely differs from the stock one in our cars, so please don't just output this info without any real-world information to back it up.

It also depends on how you paint the intercooler. If you just use a spray-can to paint it, it will not impact the intercoolers performance - if you do it with a primer and you put thick layers on it, it may impact it.

I myself did a few tests with the stock intercooler compared to the Wagner Tuning aftermarket intercooler, and you can clearly see a difference in the intake air temperature:
oGDGlpp.png



This matches up with the information published on their site:
200001129-Temp.jpg
 
One additional thought; The test videos as provided controlled producer static tests and not vary well conducted. They do not take in consideration the given air flow at a particular speed, over the entire intercooler. Utilizing a house fan and a hair dryer will not adequately demonstrate the necessary air flow from the compressor into the intercooler. It is not equal to or surpassing the incoming CFM from the compressor or airflow and thru and over intercooler as a whole. Otherwise, the testing is flawed.

Intercooler size and mandrel bends matter here.

The in intake temperatures, will vary drastically with the incoming air stream and CFM of the compress during road use. To say, painting the intercooler black hinders, its ability to exchange heat is a bit far fetched considering the methodology used to prove the video producers point.

Additionally, the third video has no technical results backing the of an actual comments, just an author's point of view. No direct test was utilized, only a mention of one test conducted by an independent qualified tester.

I can do the same tests loading the results in my favor to prove my point, just as the first two videos have demonstrated. Nothing is conclusive with these videos, other than the static testing under their controlled test procedures. The intercooler in question needs to be tested, as it's was designed to be utilized.

A hair dryer does not provide the same amount of CFM as the compressor, nor will it demonstrate the variations in heating and cooling experienced by nominal operating conditions of the engine and car.
 
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One additional thought; The test videos as provided controlled producer static tests and not vary well conducted. They do not take in consideration the given air flow at a particular speed, over the entire intercooler. Utilizing a house fan and a hair dryer will not adequately demonstrate the necessary air flow from the compressor into the intercooler. It is not equal to or surpassing the incoming CFM from the compressor or airflow and thru and over intercooler as a whole. Otherwise, the testing is flawed.

Intercooler size and mandrel bends matter here.

The in intake temperatures, will vary drastically with the incoming air stream and CFM of the compress during road use. To say, painting the intercooler black hinders, its ability to exchange heat is a bit far fetched considering the methodology used to prove the video producers point.

Additionally, the third video has no technical results backing the of an actual comments, just an author's point of view. No direct test was utilized, only a mention of one test conducted by an independent qualified tester.

I can do the same tests loading the results in my favor to prove my point, just as the first two videos have demonstrated. Nothing is conclusive with these videos, other than the static testing under their controlled test procedures. The intercooler in question needs to be tested, as it's was designed to be utilized.

A hair dryer does not provide the same amount of CFM as the compressor, nor will it demonstrate the variations in heating and cooling experienced by nominal operating conditions of the engine and car.

All very good points
However, when all is said and done. An unpainted aluminium (aluminum) intercooler (heat exchanger) will always perform its duty better than that of a black one regardless of size and flow rate through it when the vehicle is in motion.
If anyone in top level motor sport, or in the motor industry in general, thought that a black coated intercooler was better than raw aluminium, the intercoolers would be black. And as far as we can tell from just these three videos, they're not.
 
I mean obviously if you paint an intercooler you're putting an extra layer on top of the bare metal, therefore insulating it a bit. But the performance difference should only be in the low, single-digit percents. So instead of let's say 45C IAT it'd be 47C.

Then again, don't forget that in motorsport only performance and not looks count. Painting an intercooler is also more expensive than not painting it. Even if they are the same performance, why would a race team spend more money on a part that doesn't offer any performance benefit over the other when they could invest the money elsewhere to make the car go faster?

Either way, unless you want to go all-out with your N as a race car you shouldn't worry too much about it.
 
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All very good points
However, when all is said and done. An unpainted aluminium (aluminum) intercooler (heat exchanger) will always perform its duty better than that of a black one regardless of size and flow rate through it when the vehicle is in motion.
If anyone in top level motor sport, or in the motor industry in general, thought that a black coated intercooler was better than raw aluminium, the intercoolers would be black. And as far as we can tell from just these three videos, they're not.

If you have two times the exact same intercooler, one in black and one unpainted, then I would agree. However, did you actually test it in the real world? I would assume the results would be somewhat negligible.

Just get an aftermarket intercooler and you should be happy with its performance compared to the stock one. If you really have to have an unpainted one, go check out PWC. They are an australian company which offers an unpainted intercooler for the i30N.
 
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