Intercooler for 135i and 335i

[Mr Hyde 44]

Does anybody have any experience with these? Seems really cheap I don't know much about intercoolers to be fair.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1295278657

[Kepes 231]

Plenty of reviews online for cheap intercoolers, just search "Ebay intercooler review." All the cheap ones are basically the same. After reading through a few I decided to go with an Ebay intercooler for my turbo build. They work but your car will be breathing hotter air and therefore be less efficient and produce less power when compared to something higher quality with more cooling fins. For a vehicle like yours I'd go with something higher quality and more expensive unless you're on a tight budget like I was. Avoid painted ones too, reduces efficiency plus the paint flakes easily. Ask me how I know. If you are after a cheap setup, save yourself a few bucks and get it from from Aliexpress for $280NZ landed. 
 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Kepes

[Mr Hyde 44]

32 minutes ago, Kepes said:

Plenty of reviews online for cheap intercoolers, just search "Ebay intercooler review." All the cheap ones are basically the same. After reading through a few I decided to go with an Ebay intercooler for my turbo build. They work but your car will be breathing hotter air and therefore be less efficient and produce less power when compared to something higher quality with more cooling fins. For a vehicle like yours I'd go with something higher quality and more expensive unless you're on a tight budget like I was. Avoid painted ones too, reduces efficiency plus the paint flakes easily. Ask me how I know. If you are after a cheap setup, save yourself a few bucks and get it from from Aliexpress for $280NZ landed. 
 

That's super helpful advice thank you for stopping me from wasting 350 bucks! Did you end up getting a better intercooler? Did you notice any performance gain? 

[Kepes 231]

No worries! Nope, actually I'm yet to finish my build and install this ebay intercooler and in the future when I have more funds yes I will upgrade. The cheap ones are fine under normal loads etc etc but it's when you start driving a bit more spiritedly and things get hotter where you'll notice the difference. A company tested this on their worked Mitsubishi and found that at the end of the dyno run the air temp at the intercooler outlet was 15c warmer with the cheap intercooler vs a quality one. Not a huge increase but in their case this robbed them of 10hp. Still, not a huge amount. Would you notice the performance difference? I'm not sure you would. 

I'm not familiar with the engines in your car, what's the stock intercooler setup like? Is it a lot smaller than these aftermarket ones?

Edited April 4, 2017 by Kepes

[Matth5 471]

I was eyeing that too. I bet it's from the same manufacturer as the cheap ones on Ebay like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322154621239?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

There's a guy on Youtube that installed this one, they're actually pretty good and fit just fine.

He even did comparison logs and it's pretty good. I'm sure it's not up there with the high end ones but still a major upgrade from stock, which will let you run more aggressive tunes. 

Thinking of ordering one and getting BMWorkshop to install when I take it in for the next service. Only thing is I don't want to risk any issues with my warranty. 

Even with the MHD stage 1 tune my car is hitting some high intake temps and showing signs of pinging (timing corrections), using 98 petrol helps too but you can't get it out of Auckland and that's where the best roads are for making use of the power!

[Mr Hyde 44]

1 hour ago, Matth5 said:

I was eyeing that too. I bet it's from the same manufacturer as the cheap ones on Ebay like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322154621239?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

There's a guy on Youtube that installed this one, they're actually pretty good and fit just fine.

He even did comparison logs and it's pretty good. I'm sure it's not up there with the high end ones but still a major upgrade from stock, which will let you run more aggressive tunes. 

Thinking of ordering one and getting BMWorkshop to install when I take it in for the next service. Only thing is I don't want to risk any issues with my warranty. 

Even with the MHD stage 1 tune my car is hitting some high intake temps and showing signs of pinging (timing corrections), using 98 petrol helps too but you can't get it out of Auckland and that's where the best roads are for making use of the power!

Very interesting. I'm probably going to give it a miss. The previous owner installed some quality parts so I'm thinking I'll spend a bit more cash and get something that's a little higher end. Be keen to hear how you go though.....

[Mr Hyde 44]

2 hours ago, Kepes said:

No worries! Nope, actually I'm yet to finish my build and install this ebay intercooler and in the future when I have more funds yes I will upgrade. The cheap ones are fine under normal loads etc etc but it's when you start driving a bit more spiritedly and things get hotter where you'll notice the difference. A company tested this on their worked Mitsubishi and found that at the end of the dyno run the air temp at the intercooler outlet was 15c warmer with the cheap intercooler vs a quality one. Not a huge increase but in their case this robbed them of 10hp. Still, not a huge amount. Would you notice the performance difference? I'm not sure you would. 

I'm not familiar with the engines in your car, what's the stock intercooler setup like? Is it a lot smaller than these aftermarket ones?

Not sure on how big the standard ones are I need to do a bit more research

[Matth5 471]

47 minutes ago, Mr Hyde said:

Very interesting. I'm probably going to give it a miss. The previous owner installed some quality parts so I'm thinking I'll spend a bit more cash and get something that's a little higher end. Be keen to hear how you go though.....

Just make sure whatever you buy isn't the same thing with a different brand, I'm sure a lot of these aftermarket intercoolers are made at the same factories and just have very high mark-ups, maybe with a few simple changes so they look slightly different

[Neal 544]

Head towards brands like APR or Mishimoto which for a given size have lower pressure drops and denser fins on the cooling area. ( better air temp drop)

Both are quality brands. 

A number of race car fabrication places in NZ can also build you a high density intercooler.

plenty of choice 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Neal

[Neal 544]

If your after short term intercooler gains then you could got down the water spray kits that put a mist of water onto the intercooler .  Would be reasonably effective.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/400303484278?_mwBanner=1

otherwise water cooled intercooler  s are very effective for size like the ones found on M5s or new m3. Does mean an additional radiator but if you end up chasing large hp number gains would be a way to go.

http://www.germanboost.com/content.php?6873-Here-is-what-the-BMW-F80-M3-F82-M4-S55-hpfp-s-(high-pressure-fuel-pumps)-and-the-inside-of-the-water-to-air-intercooler-look-like

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr Hyde 44]

On 4/5/2017 at 4:44 PM, Neal said:

If your after short term intercooler gains then you could got down the water spray kits that put a mist of water onto the intercooler .  Would be reasonably effective.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/400303484278?_mwBanner=1

otherwise water cooled intercooler  s are very effective for size like the ones found on M5s or new m3. Does mean an additional radiator but if you end up chasing large hp number gains would be a way to go.

http://www.germanboost.com/content.php?6873-Here-is-what-the-BMW-F80-M3-F82-M4-S55-hpfp-s-(high-pressure-fuel-pumps)-and-the-inside-of-the-water-to-air-intercooler-look-like

 

 

 

 

 

The spray system looks very interesting!

[Matth5 471]

I've just placed an order for the $300 intercooler I linked above. Will aim to get it installed in June when I book my car in for service at BM Workshop 

[Matth5 471]

Arrived at work today to find it sitting at my desk. Exactly 1 week from ordering, very impressed! Did not expect that from the $14 China post delivery.

Briefly unwrapped and had a look, as far as look and feel goes, build quality seems excellent. I'll take some photos at home.

Edited April 24, 2017 by Matth5

[Mr Hyde 44]

48 minutes ago, Matth5 said:

Arrived at work today to find it sitting at my desk. Exactly 1 week from ordering, very impressed! Did not expect that from the $14 China post delivery.

Briefly unwrapped and had a look, as far as look and feel goes, build quality seems excellent. I'll take some photos at home.

Looking forward to seeing the photos!

[Matth5 471]

The box was branded "CSK Performance". Must be the manufacturer?

Googling that led me here: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/133177
Here are pics, taken with my Nexus 6P in non-ideal lighting. 

Has some numbers stamped on it, didn't lead anywhere in Google. 

[Mr Hyde 44]

Looks like a decent bit of kit. Are you installing it yourself or are you getting someone to do it? I'd be interested to know what it costs to fit.

[Navin 180]

That actually looks decent. Assuming it still fits n55 even if it says n54?

[Matth5 471]

Yeah the fitment may be a bit of a risk on an N55, I hope the hoses reach where they should.  I don't have the equipment to fit it myself. I have a jack that can't fit under my car and jackstands that, even at their lowest, are too high for my jack. Maybe I should buy some and get rid of my old crap..

Original plan was to have it installed at BM Workshop when I service it in June, because I wasn't expecting it to arrive so fast! But now that I've booked that 20 min track session at Pukekohe in May, maybe I should try get this installed first so I can run a more aggressive tune. 

Edited April 24, 2017 by Matth5

[Navin 180]

Definitely keen to see how you get on. Will be picking one up shortly for the 135 too. 

[Matth5 471]

My god, I wish I paid someone to do this. My body aches, even typing hurts.

So the lower charge pipe on N55 is obviously not the same as the N54, as the included hose was completely wrong for it. I got the closest fit I could find from Repco, a 63 -> 75mm silicone coupler. 
63mm fits the intercooler, 70mm fits the lower CP but theres no 63 -> 70mm at Repco or Supercheap. So I used some silicone tape to fill the space and make it fit.

Fitment looks like crap from underneath but it works. It's at an angle facing a bit down, possibly just being pushed like that due to the N55 lower CP and Repco hose, maybe I should have cut it shorter. I haven't put my underbelly pan back on but expect it'll be a bit tricky, the intercooler is pushing down on the bumper a little.

I'm now just struggling to fit my chargepipe back on the throttle body after I removed it, bloody thing won't go all the way on and it won't hold if it's not pushed all the way up the throttle body.

Would have been so much easier if it had stock connectors, it would not need the couplers and would fit N4 and N55 just fine...

I'll have impressions once I get my car back together properly...

[Navin 180]

Haha good effort for doing it yourself. Might have a hunt around for a n55 specific one then. Have the charge pipe on the way and will be tackling it next weekend hopefully

[Herbmiester 923]

Matt, I had a similar experience with my AMS (made in China copy) Intercooler, getting the plumbing connected is an exercise in frustration. However with the addition of my charge pipe the car feels great. Best of luck it will be worth it in the end.

 

[Matth5 471]

Managed to get my chargepipe to fit this morning by taking a fresh approach.

Took off the air filter housing, loosened the clamp holding it to the silicone coupler, and then it slid on more easily.

Car is now drivable, but not fully re-assembled...

I want to have a second go at getting the intercooler sitting nice. The guy in the youtube video had it perfect. I've got the trackday on Saturday so for now I'll leave my undertray off, just have to pull off the transmission cover too otherwise it scrapes the ground when going over 70kph.

I'm thinking If I leave the couplers on the intercooler and loosen the clamps where it connects to the BMW pipes, I can try adjust its position. Might need to pull out the cooling fan again, but I really hope not, it's not fun. 

[Herbmiester 923]

IF you can get someone to apply upward pressure on the intercooler and or piping that made it easier for me to seat my silicone hoses.

 

[Matth5 471]

As I neared home I gave it some gas to test everything was tight, and I could hear the now all too familiar whistling sound of a boost leak.

Looking under the car, the silicone host on the turbo side has partially slipped off and the T clamp is just resting on the intercooler.
Thought it was tight as can be *facepalm*

Good thing I kept the undertrays off. 

Edited May 8, 2017 by Matth5