Dennis, the cooling capacity of the car also needs take in consideration of it's use, so what are you looking to do with it?

Street pulls you can get away with a stock sized replacement, if you are ever going to track the car, you will regret not going with a larger core...

Give us a call for details on setting up your car with our latest products, I would love to speak with you about your car.

 

Intercoolers act as both a radiator sort of device and a heatsink. So bigger, to a point, does make a difference in that they have more capacity to absorb heat. Emmitive coatings like the Secans use ought to bump efficiency of most any intercooler too and they don't cost much. Add to your list of intercooler vendors BoostLogic as I think Justin's testing has proven those work too. Honestly there's a bunch of good vendors for these now so deciding on one over another sure isn't easy!

I will say that the posting about fender routed piping having wheel interference and intercoolers having to be moved around to try and make room gives me some pause as it seems not everyone routes the inlets quite the same. Something to keep in mind for sure...

 

If done properly there is no wheel interference... most guys drop cars and put on 12 wide shoes with 315s.. thats the problem... not the design... Often the installation not done right... thus further problems...
A 2.5" tubing fits a 12"rim... but a 3" will not... you have to cut the IC brackets to move the piping up more... and that can only be done in house...
Most of these ICs, be it 4.5s or 6s use stock brackets- nothing gets moved around...
Done right its a good set up.. its been proven on a handful of 1000- rwhp cars including mine... gt35rs with 6" custom ICs and 3" inlets... NO rubbing.
here are some pics to refresh:
this is my car....

 

Just like Mark said, if done right, no problems.

Sledge:

 

Well Mark, that's pretty much what I'm looking for although at the power levels I'll likely end up at I don't think I'll need that thick an IC core. I do certainly want an inlet freed up like that however. Have you seen much of a difference between 2.5 and 3inch inlets? At what power level does the 2.5 become an issue? I run 295 tires and wouldn't rule out 315s and I'd do it on an 18inch rim most likely. I do happen to like my inexpensive wheels though so it will be awhile before I make a change there I think unless it's to fit my really wide 19s back on somehow...

 

I am glad for all the knowledge here. I am planning on tracking the car2-3 times per year, and do spirited driving of 30-40 minutes or more. I know heat soak is a killer. I noticed it with the stockers for sure at the lower power level. So for design purposes I do not plan on exceeding 650 whp and my extended spirited driving would be for about 30-40 minutes. There is race that runs across the mountains (official) that goes for about 150 miles I think. This race is probably a 1-2 hour event. I plan on eventually doing this one. But that will be the extent of it. The year I got the car, I took it to the track to 1/4 mile it. After about 4-5 runs my trap speed started dropping with the stock IC's. I started the day at 120-121 mph trap speed and ended the day with 117-118 mph average. my times didn't change mostly because of my poor launches. I then upgraded to better IC's and my trap speeds stayed even at 120-121 the next outing for about 20 runs. Now I have upgraded flow, fueling and have a lot more power than before.

 

BLK, as mark said , its all about how its done, if its done right then you will have no issues ,at all,i run 315 in the back and i don have issues , and my car is pretty low too..

 

Yeah, looks like I need to ponder a trip to Chicago! Mark I take it this isn't a one day job?

 

your fine with 2.5s" up to mid 700 rwhp.. mind you thats 2.5" per side so really its 5" across....
been there done it a handful of times....

 

You are fine with 2.5 inch inlets to 900rwhp or more as long as the outlet of the IC remains 3inch.

2.5" per side, does not even come close to a 5" inlet though.

A * c /1000 = vf


A = Inside area of the pipe (cm2)
c = Velocity of air (cm/s)
vf = Air flow (L/s)

Or

- mass flow rate - kilograms per second (kg/s)
m. = ρ * c * A

m. = mass flow rate ρ = symbolizes density

to calculate flow
Q=a*v

 

Im not getting techincal just coming off of dyno runs and past experience... my car put down 1000rwhp and has 2.5" piping on IC ends...

 

If you haven't talked to Markski or Neil and looked at their craftsmanship then you need to.

 

Correct.... that's what I was trying to show 2.5 is good enough for 99% of applications. 2inch inlets and 2.5 inch outlets for all but the most powerful of setups... 2.5inch inlets and 3inch outlets up to 1200-1300rwhp.

Justin