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I bought the Blackstone version of the saab i/c a little while ago, and Just found this auction talking about how much better the blackstone is (i thought the word Blackstone was a sales gimmick, guess not¿) ...
Auction Link

Does anyone here know if this is true, and the 10 row version actually flowed better? Was this a downfall maybe in that it didn't cool as well? imo the tank looks smaller, but could just be an optical illusion to me

Yes, they flow better and we assume that their cooling capacity it slightly less then the normal version but have no solid data to back that up. We know that they flow better though. I swapped one in and was reading .5-1 psi higher manifold pressure then with the normal one.

I've seen both tanks in person ( I have the normal and BAC5.2 has the 10 row) and I don't remember the 10 row looking fatter or anything. It looked and fit the same IIRC.

I thought all the Saab intercoolers were made by Blackstone. I thought they just switched designs a few times. Some have 10 rows and some have 15, some are all aluminum and some have plastic end tanks, some have anti-freezeup valves and some don't...

Like Matt said, the 10-channel ones flow better (so the turbo puts less heat into the charge) and probably are a little less efficient (so they take less heat out of the charge). In terms of thermal mass they both seem to be about the same. And the external dimensions are pretty much identical. So it's hard to say for sure which one is better.

My opinion is that the 10-channel one is better. Reducing restriction is more important since our compressors get inefficient quickly at high pressure ratios.

Yeah, my 15row aluminum said "blackstone" on it too.

FWIW, at 16psi, on the dyno, immediately after the second pull, my IC temp was 129 degrees.

No worse than a hot day in Arizona.

That was on a 10-channel.