Intercooler questions?

[niterydr]

My advice is no good, please delete.

[b00stcreep21]

There wasn't anyone in this thread that said e-bay intercoolers would suck. They work just fine......to a certain point. When I get some time to actually get my car running, I'm planning on doing a side by side comparisson with dyno numbers so this argument can actually have some facts and testing involved

[Halon]

That's all I have for pictures. I wish I had better ones.

And for them being good only up to a point, does a Garrett stamp make them instantly better or something, and more capable? Tell me what makes a Garrett core better and more capable then the one I have on my car? You guys were quick to jump and say my core was heatsoaked the day on the dyno when it started to sputter slightly at 7k+ RPM's, and I'd bet my arse that it's because you know it was from ebay. And when I went and put my hand on the freezing cold end tank and UIC pipe, I questioned it instantly, and we found the problem ended up being solved with a new set of spark plugs.

You're going to do a back to back test. Great, with what, one style of ebay intercooler? That tiny one you still have laying around that's a tube and fin? And then state that all ebay cores are as equal and crappy as your tiny tube and fin JRC core because you compare it to a larger bar and plate Spearco one? You group everything sold on ebay into one group, and that's crap. I swear I could buy a used FP turbo off ebay, and if i installed it and said nothing as to what kind of turbo it was but only that I bought it off ebay, some of you would say it looks like absolute crap and point out apparent flaws, just because I mention Ebay.

[Halon]

All Chris was getting at is that E-Bay can be very deceptive on products. Getting a "good" intercooler on there is kind of like finding a needle in a haystack. Yes it can be done, but why bother when proven options are readily available from dependable sources.

I bother because I got it for cheap, and I like the DIY route. So in my mind, it was why spend 800 or whatever on a kit, when I bought the core, built and powder coated the pipe myself, and paid no more then like 400 bucks, and had fun doing it!!

All I'M getting at, is don't lump every single thing on ebay into one category of "CRAP". If that's the case, then I guess I have some crappy block off plates on 2 of my cars that I saw were for sale on ebay. Know anything about those? They sure seem nice to me, and fit perfectly and work like a charm, but OMG they are on EBAY so they must suck a big one!

I just don't see why my ebay china core will perform worse then Chris's Garrett chinese made core.

[1ViciousGSX]

Damn Halon, you look fucking OLD!!!

Nice cast tanks, what name is that stamped on the side?

[Halon]

Hyperflow.

Here it is on one of my friends car. Yup, just another POS crap intercooler because of where it was purchased. Don't mind the fact that he's making mid 300's HP on the stock turbo, or wait... That must be impossible, because with it being purchased from ebay, and the lack of garrett stamp, this thing shouldn't be good past 250.

[niterydr]

My advice is no good, please delete.

[b00stcreep21]

This is the last post I'm going to make in this thread, or even on the subject because apparently an experienced, and educated insight on something doesn't mean shit now adays.

Yes, your intercooler has plenty of turbulators. A garrett core (and other known well performing cores) have a different turbulator design that look similar to yours, but DO NOT perform like yours. Why is this? Because the entire reason turbulators are there are to slow down the movment of air through the intercooler. (stays in the intercooler longer, gets cooled off more) So tell me, if you can see through your intercooler (like most of the cores bought off ebay), how much do you think it's going to slow the air down compared to a core that when you look through it, you can't even see light?

Brandon, your argument about everyone saying "EVERYTHING ON EBAY IS FUCKING CRAP OMGZ!!" is gettin really old, ESPECIALLY when no one has even said anything close to that in this entire thread. Incase you didn't know, EBAY isn't a company that makes products, so I'm not lumping everything into one category. Obviously ebay has good products listed for sale, you just have to find them. There, I said it. Happy now? No one on here was bashing your intercooler, or bashing on you, so there really isn't a need to get all hot and bothered about it.

As far as my testing goes, the plan is to test a cheap-o no name brand off e-bay of the same core dimentions with a garret core of the same size, with the same end tank design, turbo setup, boost level, tuning, blah blah blah, and tune it to the ragged edge and see where the dust settles. So, until I find deffinitive evidence from my future testing, or from other places doing the same for or against a garret/no name core, my opinions in this post stand.

I'm not hating on you, or your car in any way, shape, or form, the only reason I'm posting all this is because I genuinly believe there is alot of misconception about intercoolers, and this exact argument these days

[niterydr]

My advice is no good, please delete.

[Halon]

Josh, this wasn't meant to be about LSE, and I apologize for making it sound like I did. But with that being said:

He said they are only good to a certain point, a point of 250hp, in which he said he wouldn't recommend one off ebay, which is completely bogus and 100% false. It's not right to group all intercoolers on ebay into falling into that one category. I will never know if mine is good up to 1300hp, nor do I care, nor do I highly doubt the one who started this thread cares. I don't think even 1% of the people here care if their core is good up to 1300hp. What I do think matters, is that some work, and they work well, as long as you get ones that are decent, and you have to know what you're looking for. My turbulators are just as staggered as yours. I fully understand their purpose. They slow down, and "turbulate" the air so that more air becomes in contact with the surface of the aluminum, and so more air is cooled. I would love to test the PSI drop of my core, but I have no way to do this. My turbulators are just as staggered as the ones on yours. They are not perfectly alligned the entire way like some off ebay were. That picture I have doesn't show it well, but just to show the fellow audience, I will take off my piping and show you a better photo of the inside of my 2 year old core, so it may not bling like the one in your picture. I have a date right now though, so that picture will have to wait until tomorrow.