Page 3 - intercooler

When I last left off our engineer, Steve, was busy scanning and creating a 3D model of the F30 stock unit as a reference for our new design. There is an impressive amount of engineering that has gone into this intercooler project already, with more to come. One of the reasons for this attention to detail is because of the wide range of models that this new cooler is going to fit, as seen by our photo gallery. Another reason is because BMW has a pesky habit of living up to their moniker, "The Ultimate Driving Machine," they leave little room for error.

Steve working the Faro Design ScanArm to create a 3D model of the stock intercooler unit.

Many of you have been asking about the status of this project, and I have concrete information and data for you to look over as you make your decision on an intercooler for summer 2017. In the last update (which, I know was a while ago), we left you with what the final design of the core looked like, complete with renders and studio shots of the physical production sample.

The project's lead engineer knows that any intercooler design should be able to live up to the demanding performance these trucks require during, off-road or work use, daily driving, and even towing vehicles. Our engineer tested three cores, all with slightly different design aspects, so our R&D bases would be covered. Each core consisted of a bar-and-plate construction, as they are much stronger by design and go with the tough theme of these trucks.

The core we decided to go with gave us a 77% increase in core volume and a 163% increase in external fin surface area - not a mild improvement by any means.

The movement on the 2016 Ford Focus RS intercooler project may seem slow, but it couldn't be more alive. Our lead engineer for the project, at my request, has completed a plethora of testing configurations to get the most detailed amount of data possible. For the past three months, we have been rocking out on testing, testing, and more testing for the RS, the primary objectives being movement on the upcoming diff cooler and this front-mount intercooler. We know that the RS crowd loves their data, so we want to overload you with what's finally available.

I won't sugarcoat anything here. The update is going to be very data-intensive. I don't have any entertaining anecdotes, interesting fun-facts, or puns about staying focused to fluff this piece with. Today's discussion will be about our Nitrous Blue hatchback and the focus on data.

Enlarging charge pipes for your turbocharged engine must be a detailed and accurate process. Think about it. It's not like companies make a charge pipe kit that is well-designed, well-documented, direct-fit and requires no modification to, let's say, a twin-turbocharged LS1 V8 engine fitting 1995-1998 Nissan 240SX's. You are going to need a fabricator for that, a very good one. It will be a one-off kit specifically for the car brought into the shop, not able to be mass produced due to the unique setup.

You can't design good intercooler piping that fits a particular application for wide-scale production willy-nilly. Without the use of the proper tools, time, and R&D, the resulting product will be met with negative feedback from the surrounding automotive community. With the overall tight engine bay clearances of this 2016+ Honda Civic 1.5L Turbo, working around the space to design piping that will fit with a larger diameter than stock is a priority. Even slight miscalculations

Bigger is better. This is the American ideal that has been the foundation of many in the automotive world. However, in modern times, it's all about consolidation; next-level vehicle technology comes in smaller packages, but broadens the ranges of performance potential. Our engineers shared the modern vision when designing an intercooler for the 2016 Honda Civic 1.5L Turbo. You can't just throw a huge core on this car and call it a day. With a cramped engine bay and the factory intercooler, radiator, and air conditioning condenser tightly bundled together, it's vital we get crafty. It's time to take the road less traveled with the core design to properly surge the maximum amount of cooled air into your Earth Dreams motor.

Everything about Ford's Super Duty Powerstroke brand screams, well, Super Duty. It has done so since they were first put in the Econoline Vans in the mid "90's. Our 2011 is equipped with the 6.7L turbodiesel V8 engine, and it's clear Ford has engineers who really took the Super Duty term to heart. There are two batteries, two radiators, two thermostats, two coolant expansion tanks, an engine oil cooler, a transmission oil cooler, an EGR cooler - this truck even has a fuel cooler. Just looking at the engine bay of this monster can be a bit daunting, especially to a guy used to dealing with smaller, beat up, four-cylinder engines. Fortunately, our engineers are well-versed in the nuances of this truck, as we already have many items out on the market for this application including a full charge pipe

It looks like mother nature is giving the tell-tale signs to us gearheads that it's time to get ready for track season. The weather is getting warmer and tracks all around the country have kicked off calendar seasons with maiden 2017 events already in full swing. A common mod many of us who are boosted, especially ST owners, want during this time of year is the intercooler. The 2013+ Ford Focus ST features quality design for its the factory intercooler, but improved efficiency is something we like to target. In the last update, we talked about the shortcomings of the factory core and how we plan to make an even more efficient intercooler. Now that we have received our production samples for the first time, we can get into the details of the design plan and what our goals are to improve performance.

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When it comes to data testing, our engineering department avoids cutting corners. Each product we put on the market is vigorously tested so we can be confident our products can withstand the abuse you intend to throw at them. With the intercooler piping for the 2016 2.0T LTG engine, we have gone through the proper steps to get the data gearheads want to see.

Our engineer put our dyno and flow bench to work to see how our design stacks up. We plan to offer these intercooler pipes individually as well as a kit, so both the cold and hot-side pipes had to be tested individually. The good news is promising numbers followed.

Flow bench data for our prototype intercooler pipes

The first thing our engineer wanted to do was analyze

Mishimoto prides itself on the ability to improve the cooling systems on just about any vehicle that rolls through the garage door. Intercoolers have become our bread and butter at this point. That being said, BMW's are notoriously over-engineered, so improving on the meticulous German design isn't going to be an easy task.

It seems that the engineers at BMW wanted to make sure they provided the best equipment on their "Ultimate Driving Machine," which means tight spacing. Peeling the front bumper cover from our loaner 2014 335i M Sport reveals a space no bigger than a toaster oven. A tricky intercooler project lies ahead, but that's OK, because we're up to the challenge.

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We have a lot of advanced equipment at our disposal that would make a design for an upgraded intercooler pipe kit for this 2016+ Chevy Camaro 2.0T superior over stock in many ways. We aren't only aiming for these pipes to have spot-on fitment. It's crucial to think about every design detail and consider how you can keep these pipes with you throughout your quest for more power without having to do anything to them. This means incorporating design features that can support even more modifications - whether you plan to use them or not. I'll take you through how we accomplished this.

Prototype intercooler pipes up for testing

Our engineer was able to get his hands on detailed 3D model data files of the Camaro's