WRX Intercooler.... Installed....
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:54 am
At the Feed and Speed, a few of us came to a conclusion.
Most of the people running WRX Intercoolers are either automatic's, only running one intercooler inlet, or not using the hydraulic clutch.
But the infinite genius posessed by the group of people at the feed and speed figured it out.
It requires slight modification of the throttle body, VERY MINOR tapping of the ignitor pedestal, and slight modification of the intercooler inlet "Y".
After several hours of modification and help from air tools and Matts awesome neighbor, we got the intercooler to fit, without giving up one of the intercooler inlets, and still able to use a Greddy Type-S BOV (which is infinitely better than the HKS SSQV I was using prior).
Here's the step-by-step.
1) Get a spare throttle body. You will not want to do this to the only throttle body you have.
2) Look on the throttle body, and there is a line at one section of it. It's about 1/4" from the lip. Cut around the throttle body here.
3) Locate the throttle. The metal linkage attached to the throttle cable and cruise control cable must be modified to clear a blow-off-valve. The outside (right) cable is for the cruise control and it will hit a blow off valve, and not allow the hood to shut due to how the intercooler must be placed. We solved this by cutting that bracket, and zip tying the cruise linkage open (does not effect throttle position at all). You lose cruise control, but I never use it anyway. I'll figure out how to regain it another day.
4) Move the coolant tank. I don't know if it will be able to be oriented if it's in the stock or near stock location. I didn't have to deal with this.
5) Tap down the passenger side of the ignitor pedestal. It contacts the passenger side inlet of the intercooler. You don't need to beat the shit out of it like most people have done, you barely need to dent it, really. You could also cut that section out, but I chose to tap it down rather than remove material.
6) Cut the inlet Y at the corregations, and insert a 4" peice of 2" ID pipe. I got a 2 foot section of it for a few bucks at pepboys. Use the radiator hose from an old Jag (Vikash knows the model) to connect the Y to the turbo outlet (for a TD06H-16G, it's probably a little different for the VF11).
7) Install. You may need to modify the hood scoop and tap the hood a little and adjust things here and there, and you'll be all set.
I upgraded from the SAAB 10-core intercooler, and noticed a HUGE improvement in almost every aspect. Boost comes on much more smoothly, and feels a lot stronger.
The only downside is airflow. You have a lot of thermal mass with the WRX intercooler, but you lose a lot when it comes to flow from the hood scoop. I noticed that the intercooler would get heat soaked pretty easily. It'd be much cooler than the SAAB intercooler, but it was still warm to the touch after a very hard drive. A WRX hood scoop will surely cure this situation. I would love to do it shaker style, but I don't feel like cutting my hood THAT much.
Anyways, it's not super expensive or difficult to do the setup this way, and it's a MUCH better solution than the SAAB TMIC. You can even use your stock DV using a plate like Vikash made.
I'll take pictures later.
Most of the people running WRX Intercoolers are either automatic's, only running one intercooler inlet, or not using the hydraulic clutch.
But the infinite genius posessed by the group of people at the feed and speed figured it out.
It requires slight modification of the throttle body, VERY MINOR tapping of the ignitor pedestal, and slight modification of the intercooler inlet "Y".
After several hours of modification and help from air tools and Matts awesome neighbor, we got the intercooler to fit, without giving up one of the intercooler inlets, and still able to use a Greddy Type-S BOV (which is infinitely better than the HKS SSQV I was using prior).
Here's the step-by-step.
1) Get a spare throttle body. You will not want to do this to the only throttle body you have.
2) Look on the throttle body, and there is a line at one section of it. It's about 1/4" from the lip. Cut around the throttle body here.
3) Locate the throttle. The metal linkage attached to the throttle cable and cruise control cable must be modified to clear a blow-off-valve. The outside (right) cable is for the cruise control and it will hit a blow off valve, and not allow the hood to shut due to how the intercooler must be placed. We solved this by cutting that bracket, and zip tying the cruise linkage open (does not effect throttle position at all). You lose cruise control, but I never use it anyway. I'll figure out how to regain it another day.
4) Move the coolant tank. I don't know if it will be able to be oriented if it's in the stock or near stock location. I didn't have to deal with this.
5) Tap down the passenger side of the ignitor pedestal. It contacts the passenger side inlet of the intercooler. You don't need to beat the shit out of it like most people have done, you barely need to dent it, really. You could also cut that section out, but I chose to tap it down rather than remove material.
6) Cut the inlet Y at the corregations, and insert a 4" peice of 2" ID pipe. I got a 2 foot section of it for a few bucks at pepboys. Use the radiator hose from an old Jag (Vikash knows the model) to connect the Y to the turbo outlet (for a TD06H-16G, it's probably a little different for the VF11).
7) Install. You may need to modify the hood scoop and tap the hood a little and adjust things here and there, and you'll be all set.
I upgraded from the SAAB 10-core intercooler, and noticed a HUGE improvement in almost every aspect. Boost comes on much more smoothly, and feels a lot stronger.
The only downside is airflow. You have a lot of thermal mass with the WRX intercooler, but you lose a lot when it comes to flow from the hood scoop. I noticed that the intercooler would get heat soaked pretty easily. It'd be much cooler than the SAAB intercooler, but it was still warm to the touch after a very hard drive. A WRX hood scoop will surely cure this situation. I would love to do it shaker style, but I don't feel like cutting my hood THAT much.
Anyways, it's not super expensive or difficult to do the setup this way, and it's a MUCH better solution than the SAAB TMIC. You can even use your stock DV using a plate like Vikash made.
I'll take pictures later.