I wanted to thank you for this thread. I completed the upgrade today, could not have done this without your detailed post. The only difference was I used a 7/32" drill instead of 1/8" for the wire ties. Would never have tried this without your post - outstanding stuff, again, my regards to you.

 

Maybe a dumb question but would it be possible to fit the 997.2 intercooler housing "air duct" to fit into the 996 rather than modding the existing housing to fit the new intercoolers?

 

Just a note to the last question re modding the 996 vs. 997 housings- it took about 20 minutes to clean up the plastic with a Dremel tool and plastic cut-off wheel, along with w flap sander with 120 grit paper. The second side went quicker. If you follow the post it goes surprisingly fast on a 996 X50 like mine.

Go for it.......

 

no idea, but these .2 housing are very expensive (~200 bucks each?).

 

is there an alternative to the 997 ic's that provide similar results without having to modify them or the car ?

 

nice option to have the 997.2 GT2RS intercooler option...I'm subscribed.

 

did Porsche recently change part number from 99711064070 to 99711064071 ??
why?
any differences?

 

That would be left side and right side numbers.

 

This was a great read. I'm very impressed. But I do have some words of warning and I hope Earl might revamp his writeup at some point.

Tie Wraps are not good, not even decent, at long term structural construction.

While they initially can be cinched up very tight they are made out of some of the most heat/ozone intolerant plastics. OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THEY WILL GET BRITTLE AND BREAK.

Tie wraps are made primarily to organize wiring bundles etc. Over time they have no resistance to cracking and are usually installed in the telecommunications industry every 3-6 inches. One of their biggest requirements in manufacture is to not be flammable. Nothing about them is made to have long term strength.

On top of that, they really are crap when they get brittle and are subjected to vibration and strain. The duct boxes are better but have the same issues.

Earl, where you drilled your holes near the edge and ran the tie wraps, I would expect over time to see those holes break away and the tie wraps to snap.

Not being in the tranches on this mod, I don't know what else is feasible but the cores should be secured in a different manner before there is a larger issue.

PS: Everything I've said about tie wraps is true for good ones that meet industry standards like Tyco brand etc. What you get from Lowes may be the same, better or worse.

Jim

 

there are metal cable ties available http://www.mcmaster.com/#metal-cable-ties/=cteu1y which would alleviate the problem of the nylon ties breaking. metal ties, though, would open the possibility of their cutting thru the plastic parts to which they are mounted, unless properly reinforced from behind. i, personally, don't like the idea of my intercoolers cable tied into place, but to each, their own as brackets in this design instance are difficult to fabricate and attach.

 

An 1/8" tie wrap is manufactured to have about 14-18 pounds of holding ability when cinched. That's new out of the box. So two of them would hold 30-40 pounds when new, if cinched to spec without sharp bends. Seems ok at first but I can't guess at the forces applied in bouncing around in the car. As they age for months at a time and become brittle that strength will go downhill to just a few pounds.

Sharp bends or being pinched against a harder surface will just make things worse.

My first instinct was something like safety wire through a bent tubing at the radius'. But I'm an electronics engineer and I'm stepping off the ledge talking about mechanical engineering.

Jim

 

I appreciate the feedback and have some thoughts. Just to be clear, the cores are not zip-tied in, they are mounted to the factory intercooler/bumper metal cage with the factory pins and c-clips. Only the ducting is zip tied on. Personally speaking, mine have been fine after a year of abuse in the Mojave desert, and I do check them fairly regularly -still very tight but still pliable and no wearing of the holes. Since the ducts are only tied to the core, there is very little relative motion going on. Alas, if you are concerned with long time issues, you could extend the factory metal clips as was done in post 157:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post3120809

 

Well I feel better they aren't holding anything structural. Perhaps Lowes sells ties that happily don't meet the spec they were originally intended for because the spec ones won't hold up under elevated temperatures very long at all.

Since I tend to keep cars for decades, I worry about long term effects.

I've still got a 1989 Toyota pickup with over 300K on it that I keep repainting and having the seat reupholstered. I'm at the point where I have cars in long term storage that I no-op with the DMV and rotate them in and out over the years. I've got lots of warehouse space and just go park them in the back inside and bring them out after a few years.

So my idea of a long term mod involves 30 years. But then again, I won't live that long from here on out

Anyway, nice work on the testing. I find it very interesting that none of the tuners added pictures of their own cores, etc. You are very kind to them in your writeup. I would name names on the ones you found deficient and sent back.

Jim

 

no, left and right do not differ in the last two digits.
The .2 IC earl mentioned were listed as 70's, both.

 

did anyone experience "blown" end tanks of the .2 ICs?
blown apart from the aluminum core.
speaking of ~1,6 bar.

any nice ideas how to fix that stronger than stock?

edit:
here are pics:
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post3237405