Which winner racing cooler?

Mexico is hotter than England but its air temperatures are not damn hot. Last time I was there it didn't get above 32 degrees.

 

I'm just fussy and you do get what you pay for, it always bugged me the quality of the finishing so I've been thinking of changing the one on the R26, it hasn't aged very well in 18 months considering the cars done about 4000 miles!

Had a few forge coolers in the past and have one on my 250, although those Airtec ones with the air guiding diffuser look good for the mk2 meganes

 

That's damn hot to me!
But tbh it depends on what bit of Mexico, the highest recorded temperature in Mexico on record is 52-53 degrees Celsius!

 

The quality of the welds etc I can agree on, but still not the performance aspect without any data, I've heard a few people say there forge / k-tec etc is the dogs danglies but then they never have any data to back it up with only saying things like it was a few degrees above ambient (Not having a dig).

Pace make (or always used to make anyway) the k-tec intercoolers and even k-tec say in there own review of there intercoolers :-

First up was our 50mm intercooler, this weighs in at just 3.5kg. At a 60mph cruise the inlet temp measured by the Renault diagnostic CLIP was 23 C and at wide open throttle the inlet temps peaked at 39 C. As soon as the WOT run was complete the core temperature was measured at 44 C. Air flow through the core was measured at 560 fpm

Finally we tested our new 80mm intercooler, this weighs in at 6.3kg. At a 60mph cruise the inlet temp measured by the Renault diagnostic CLIP was 25 C and at wide open throttle the inlet temps peaked at 31 C. As soon as the WOT run was complete the core temperature was measured at 38 C. Air flow through the core was measured at 430 fpm

And that says increases of 16 and 6 degrees respectively after 1 WOT run!

Personally i think people get hung up on brand names etc, it allways used to make me laugh when people would say nurofen (insert brand name of any pharmaceutical) is better than boots own brand ibuprofen etc, its exactly the same thing with the same amount of active ingredients etc etc ( i know not car related but i used to hear / see this a lot in my younger days)

 

If I went to Turkey,Greece,Cyprus, Egypt or even spain I wouldn't say 32 degrees was even hot never mind damn hot.
Look at the average air temperatures for Mexico its not as hot as most people think although it feels hotter due to the humidity.

Heres Mexico Citys weather for this week.

 

Like i said all depends on where you go in mexico, Mexico city is at a high elevation so will be naturally cooler and at the moment isn't it like hurricane season?

So you wouldn't say 52 degrees Celsius is damn hot?

 

We're not talking about a maximum recorded temperature though are we.

Haomaru is from Mexico city.

Check the average temperatures for Mexico City all year if you like, still won't be as hot as damn hot.

 

Semantics - All i said was it gets damn hot in Mexico....... I never mentioned a specific place or average temperatures

In my opinion, and as i guess most most reasonable people would agree 52 degrees is damn hot!

Also damn hot is very subjective as i said previously i think 32 degrees is damn hot as i start to melt!

 

You mentioned haomoru has had no issues. He lives in Mexico City. No one is saying 52 degrees isnt hot, ive been in 52 degrees and yes that is damn hot but when does Mexico City see that temperature?

 

I did mention that Haomaru has had no issues it was partly on his recommendation that i bought my Chinese intercooler, however I never mentioned Mexico city, only Mexico in general, just becouse i live in Gloucester doesn't mean i don't travel around the UK in my car, i assume Haomaru would also drive around his own country not just the city he lives in......

Anyway i digress and apologies to the thread Op for derailing the thread....

 

For the cost difference between the chinese coolers and the branded ones there must be some better gains for coughing up the extra cash (whether it be build quality or performance)... are they worth it realistically is down to the perspective buyer...

the fact the engine can survive and is not terribly affected by the std coolers high temperatures can only mean a Chinese cooler will do a better job than std... and a branded one a better job still... on road and on track and I bet the welding on the std cooler is as good as the Chinese one (not seen the two side by side)...

I'll more than likely go for the chinese cooler (unless I get a load of cash and go for the airtec lol) because from what I've read people are happy with it and it holds up well... if I was to see stats which say they make things worse then I wouldn't bother with one!

 

Then theres the mishimoto ones also to consider... they are like a happy medium between the cheap and expensive jobbies!

 

http://www.meganesport.net/communit...but-cheaper/page2&highlight=Ebay+intercoolers

Indulge yourself mate. Poobah makes intercoolers i think from memory!

 

Well poobah who makes the intercoolers says :- how anyone can declare an FMIC 'fine' without any actual performance data (pressure drops, I/O temps, tank design) is somewhat baffling.

So therefore without any data from the forge / k-tec etc how can we say there better than the Chinese ones?

 

I actually tried to get a test going with a Forge,ktec,airtec and any chinese intercooler(seems to be a few cores) but no one was interested.

Be nice to see how each compare.

 

No benefit to the manufacturers. A lot of the claims are bs!

 

Was hoping some owners would like to take part not manufacturers or sellers.

Would be a benefit to everyone who wants to buy an uprated intercooler in future.

 

Thats very true James - if i was closer i would have popped along with my standard and Chinese one to see how they fare, unfortunately your a fair distance from me!
When i got mine i did some basic testing regarding how much better it cools than the standard one and the pressure drop/ air flow from inlet outlet, i could try and dig them out if anyone can test the other intercoolers? Although i'm off on holiday tomorrow to Mexico tomorrow so it may take a few weeks to dig out and post?

 

The problem is getting a controlled environment.

It would have to be run on one car, on a dyno , multiple times. There are a lot of variables.

Either way , my chinese one managed 313.5bhp and 320ibft over 6 or seven runs with the figures being ultra constant.

 

just a few pictures of this intercooler against a standard one, im going to send it back and spend abit more on a 'winner' one

Same size by mattageaton, on Flickr


IC thickness by mattageaton, on Flickr

 

What spec have you got andy? I hear you've got a 250 turbo but what else have you done to reach those figures?

 

Yeah its a bit thicker than the OEM one but not much in it really is there, my winner racing one was noticeably bigger than the standard one

 

yeah, not justifiable spending £125 for something about 10mm thicker

 

Well fingers crossed matt e when your winner racing one comes you won't be as disappointed as with this one!

 

Larger chinese cooler ( 60mm )
630cc injectors
Induction filter ( pipercross )
RS Tuning Decat ( 3 inch )
RS Tuning Exhaust ( 3 inch )
Megane 250 turbo
Mapped by RS Tuning.

Easily capable of running more boost / power but I was thinking of the rods when Paul limited at 320ibft

 

Good Figures those Andy

Wouldn't risk anymore power that that! whats better a hybrid R26 turbo or a 250 turbo?

 

"Hybrid" is bigger.

 

Can't imagine it being too easy to obtain a 250 turbo either.

I'm tempted at getting an exhaust and map whilst the car gets the clutch & fly wheel done, was thinking of having the turbo done potentially at the same time.

 

I have a standard r26 turbo you can purchase to make it a "hybrid"

 

There's a seller on eBay with new 250 turbo's for £550 + vat. Item number 231010415192

 

Or £660 for all the non vat registered guys out there. ( IE regular consumers )