When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Bought the FMII kit, they were out of stock on the intercooler so I bought this one which I thought was the one Gingium got for his turbo 1.6. Turns out it's way ******* huge. Is it even a remotely good idea to keep this thing or sell it and get a smaller one. To be fair it fits real snug and I'm capable of fabricating some brackets to mount it but I wanted to know
1. Does having a massive intercooler hurt performance
2. Is it worth keeping or no
3. If the answer to #2 is no, would you throw me some better options
Believe me, I'm well aware buying it without checking twice was dumb. Thanks very much
It's just dawned on me that I'm fully capable of pulling an engine, assembling a turbo, installing coils and so much more, but too stupid to buy a good intercooler
Anyway, looking forward to your advice
That's about what I have length wise, yours is a little taller. I bought my intercooler probably close to 8 months ago now because it was a great deal at the time so I jumped on it. I made it work by using custom brackets made out of this and they attached to the hood release latch. Measure, cut, bend. Fitment was close on the ends, the piping comes close to touching the inside of the bumper but clears the tire just fine. My only worry is that if you got IC piping from FM it may not fit. Then it's your call to swap to another IC (which may still have fitment issues with FM piping), or buy a universal IC piping kit and spend a few hours fabbing it up. As far as performance.....meh? On my build I'm not worried about it for the moment, I'll swap to a better intercooler in the future.
Bought the FMII kit, they were out of stock on the intercooler so I bought this one which I thought was the one Gingium got for his turbo 1.6. Turns out it's way ******* huge. Is it even a remotely good idea to keep this thing or sell it and get a smaller one. To be fair it fits real snug and I'm capable of fabricating some brackets to mount it but I wanted to know
1. Does having a massive intercooler hurt performance
2. Is it worth keeping or no
3. If the answer to #2 is no, would you throw me some better options
Believe me, I'm well aware buying it without checking twice was dumb. Thanks very much
it may delay full boost a tiny bit from a "correct" size but TBH if you plan to track the car I'd keep it. Lower IAC is always better, safer and makes more power.
I also have a oversized intercooler so I may be biased..
The biggest issue with a large IC is ducting and keep the engine cool. If you have AC it becomes even harder. Not something that can't be overcome. Just may take a little more work depending on your setup.