To cut or not to cut...

[BAC5.2]

All of you knowing my "quest for sweetness" syndrome, I have come up with a problem.

I can buy a used SRT-4 FMIC and try to rig that thing to fit. That would cost about $100.

I could buy a 6" tall core, and BARELY get by without having to cut the bumper beam. This IC would only be able to really cool well enough for 300hp give-or-take.

Or, I could go all out and go with an 8" tall core. This would be fine for around 500hp, but I run into a problem.

The bumper beam. I could probably knotch it, and get it braced and keep it, or I could completely remove it.

The only concern, aside from saftey, is the ability to flow.

I'm not overly worried about the radiator, as it's been said our cars have a fantasticly robust cooling system.

I AM worried about flow to the IC. The bumper beam cover in the bumper ( Seen below, right below the once-chrome strip and gap, that section covers the bumper beam), would block a good portion of the IC, this would leave me with ~ 6" exposed, and 2" hidden by bumper beam and bumper cover.

Now, my options:

Get the 6" core, and worry about making more power than the intercooler can effeciently cool.

Get the 8" core and get rid of the bumper beam, and hack the bumper cover to lose all "sleeperhood".

Get the 8" core, notch the bumper beam and brace it with steel, and leave the bumper intact (creating a void and possibly impeeding flow to the IC).

Get the SRT-4 core and worry about a whole slew of mounting problems.

Get the 8" core, remove the bumper beam, get it re-sculpted to sit at the top of the bumper (above the once-chrome strip), but this would hurt flow to the radiator.

What do you guys think? Should I be worried about the flow to the radiator? Is the blow-by through the IC going to reduce the efficiency of the cooling system significantly?

Thoughts? Opinions? Comments?

*Pic for reference*



*edit* Used my own pic instead of Jim Pearson's pic from Legacycentral's rides section *edit*

[Legacy777]

Are you the one who bought Jim's car????

[BAC5.2]

No sir, I just used that photo for reference....

[dzx]

I removed the bumper bar and am considering hacking the bumper a little bit to get better flow to the intercooler since its 8 inches high. But I'm really nervous about even tapping something with the front of the car.

[vrg3]

You shouldn't have too much trouble with the radiator, I don't think... The intercooler will only be heating the air to above-coolant temperatures for very very short bursts anyway, right?

While a little notching should be okay, I don't think you should remove the bumper beam; in my opinion that's inappropriate for a street-driven car. Aftermarket front-mounts in general are hard to do very well on a street-driven car though. It's very hard to avoid the situation where your nice expensive intercooler takes on the role of the bumper in even mild collisions.

In many situations, a larger intercooler with a worse supply of ambient cooling air is better than a smaller one with a better supply of ambient cooling air. The larger core can absorb more heat before actually heatsoaking.

I think you should also think about other things that improve intercooler efficiency... Like a water spray, or a carbon dioxide spray, or a nitrous spray.

[BAC5.2]

Well, Vikash, I would imagine so. Probably around 1/4 mile at a time at the longest. I am never on sustained boost on back roads, and even then, not more than 7 or 8psi unless on the straights. That's good that I don't need to worry much about that.

I was thinking about trimming/notching the beam, then just welding a peice of square steel stock to support the remaining portion of the beam.

I have been looking into one of those Cry02 kits, but undecided on that. I will undoubtedly have a water spray though, that's a minimum.

[vrg3]

Right... I mean, where is there a road where you'll be staying on boost for more than half a minute or so? You'd have to be going really really fast.

About rthe steel stock thing... the thing is, as soon as you modify the bumper beam, you have affected crash safety in ways that you might not be able to predict. Crash safety is a weird thing, because you need the car to crumple just the right amount...

So, welding in a reinforcement might help restore it to its original level... Or it might take it off in a different direction. I don't know enough about the structural design of our cars to say.

[legacy92ej22t]

Hmmm, toughy. I'd say to go with the 8" core and and do your best to get it in with as little impact to the beam as possible. As Vikash said, you don't want to mess with the safety of the vehicle really but it will probably be neccesary to trim or notch at least a little.

For the bumper that's even tougher . You really need to retain the 'sleeper' look while at the same time trying to get maximum performance out of your IC/investment. I remember on one of the Ausie RS's, that had a huge FMIC on it, they cut out the bumper piece that you're talking about and I didn't really like the look of it myself. Maybe a happy medium? Maybe shave the bumper cover piece in question so that it's verticly thinner? Ya know what I mean? That way you get a bit more flow without really losing the look of the bumper.

[azn2nr]

i say do what you think will be best for performance. i have a 5 inch core that didnt require any beam cutting but a 6 inch would have trouble fitting without cutting. you can cut the beam but fully removing it will make it hard to put the bumper cover on.

srt cores are pretty tall so if you decide on a big core dont get the neon one.

lastly the folowing links can help in the descesion making.

http://www.rslibertyclub.org/photos/Mem ... s/DSC05506
http://www.rslibertyclub.org/photos/Mem ... es/RSKY_01
http://www.rslibertyclub.org/photos/Mem ... /PRNORS_01

[BAC5.2]

The only time I can see myself being on-boost for 30+ seconds is on the highway through 4th.

But at that speed, I doubt it would make a huge difference, and I could count on one hand the number of times I would ever be going that fast. And most of them would probably be on a track. Plus, with the power I am shooting for, I doubt I would ever be in a gear for 30+ seconds, even if I ran them out.

[-K-]

I wouldn't worry about a water CO2 spray on a FMIC. They stay pretty darn cool even if run hard as long as you are moving so it gets cool air. IMO sprayers are for TM Idle Air Heaters or drag cars for that last tenth. You should go to the RSLiberty board and look at some of the pic's of FMIC's they have fit up. Cores in the 500-600x300x75 range seem to be the norm over there. Check this out http://www.rslibertyclub.org/forums/vie ... php?t=4499

I would go tall, there is that cut out in the middle of the bumper that will flow some air. I'm also interested in how well a SRT4 FMIC will fit, but I'm going to stay with my AWIC till I max it out.

[jake15]

i think this is what my car is going to end up looking like, just a 89-91 instead of 92-94. i would prefer a little sleeper look but there is just no way to feed a big front mount intercooler enough air w/out cutting the bumper to shreds. i think you could save cutting the bumper by trying to do the 2.5RS bumper swap, which is what i'm hoping to do when i get around to putting my fmic, but i dont see that happening realistically on my income the opening on the RS bumper is sufficient for a good sized fmic and i think it looks pretty dang good.

pic of my car with fmic in front of it for reference



one more pic for those of you talking about not cutting the bumper (i found this on RSlibertyclub) the bumper looks like it keeps alot of air from going through the fmic. you can just see the top of the ic right above the bumper.

[professor]

Will the larger intercooler physically fit without savaging the bumber cover ? The larger unit will cool better even if a few inches of it are obscured, the fins that do not see direct air blast will nonetheless get plenty of air. I'm suspecting the air flow in that area is plenty turbulent.

I don't care for that "cut bumper" look, but if it could be installed with most of the bumper intact, you could always notch more later if you need it. You might also be able to deflect some air to do you bidding.

[Brat4by4]

Yeah, Vikash is right. Go the largest you can go even if there isn't what you think is enough airflow to it. Just the fact that it is there it can radiate the heat away and the air around it will almost always be cooler.

I guy I work with who does derby cars was telling me that a transmission cooler or whatever doesn't have to mounted somewhere to get air. Even if it is still under the hood, it will still radiate some of the heat away. And that is in extreme conditions and a small inline radiator works at cooling stuff down... on your car that large intercooler will be plenty effective. Keep the sleeper look! We can't be having mine, yours or Matt's car looking too different, now can we?

[BAC5.2]

I have decided to go with the 8" core and to leave the middle peice in the bumper. Sleeper style.

Just gonna make it fit, tilt, cut, wedge. I'll get it in there, and I'll make it look good.

Watch for pics! I'll probably do it between vacations this winter.