Need help, Custome Intercooler project

[cb3016]

I recently found my way into all the material i would need to custom make a FMIC (electrical mechanical constuction company that i work for). Have everything i need, cores, material to fab endtanks, piping, couplers, hose clamps. Now what I am short of is the knowledge of how an intercooler is slaped together. I am competant in welding as I do that almost all day for money so i got the end tanks unger control, what i need to know is how to fabricate the core, I have some slim louvers (louvers = air vent...kinda) that I plan on making the cores out of. Basically could somone advise me on what a core is technically and what they would be like if you cut one horizontally down the center. I would just pluck my side mount off and get a bandsaw to cut it dow the center in 2 but well this isn't a one day kinda project and i still need my car outside of this project. Can this be done? Has anyone ever made their own FMIC from scratch? Or an i just waistin my time on tryin to fab a core and should just buy a HKS core or equal?

-CB

 

[DGajre777]

There are 2 types of cores, info below is from Extreme Intercoolers

Bar and Plate Intercoolers

Bar and Plate Intercoolers have long been the standard of the racing Industry. They allow great flow and efficiency , the only down side is they are heavier and less air gets to the radiator when they are used in a front mount application. The Bar and Plate units get their efficiency by using very fine internal and external fins. These fins can be as thin as .002" and can be louvered and staggered to aid either efficiency or flow. All of our bar and plate cores are engineered with the right balance of flow and efficiency in mind . The charge air ( internal ) fin pack is dense enough to allow superb heat transfer to the ambient ( outside ) fins , but not so dense as to allow back pressure in the turbo. The main feature of our bar and plate units is the internal fins are staggered to allow every air molecule to "scrub" the charge air fins , so they can easily carry the heat away to the ambient fins. Our internal fins are positioned in such a way so that the air does not turbulent or "tumble" too much to decrease flow. It is a constant zigzag motion that gets all the heat out of the charge air , but but because turbulence is not induced , the overall flow is exceptional. We recommend these units for those who want the max performance out of their intercooler , and don't care about an intercooler that weighs a little more.

Extruded Tube and Fin

Our extruded tube and fin intercoolers are the finest available. They feature an exclusive micro-extruded internal fin that allows these units to be the most efficient extruded tube intercoolers on the market. The advantages of an extruded tube intercooler are that they are light weight and they flow the most of any design size for size. The design is strait forward , the internal fins in these intercoolers are part of the tube , therefore the air flows straight through the core. The key to efficiency is getting every air molecule to "scrub" the internal fins. As the airflow is laminar ( in a strait line ) , only about 85% of the air molecules come in contact with the internal fins . This is why these units are a little less efficient than bar and plate units. This laminar flow is also why these units flow so well , as the air does not zigzag or tumble , it gets through the intercooler quickly. The other benefit of an extruded tube intercooler is that the round nosed tubes allow good airflow to the radiator , and as these units are less dense than bar and plate , they weigh less. An exclusive design to our units , is we use smaller tubes on our extruded units , because there is more tubes for a given size the efficiency really goes up. Our extruded tube units are the only units that come within 2% of the efficiency of bar and plate units. We recommend extruded tube units for those who need light weight and air to the radiator.

Are you doing this to save money or as a learning experience? You can get intercooler cores from slowboyracing.com or roadraceengineering.com and make the pipes yourself.

 

[cb3016]

learning experance, i am DIY with everything, all started with my firstn port job and now anything i can fabricate i do it just so my car stays originalish. but by the looks of this i may not be able to make the really fine fins my-self have to see if mcmaster or grainger can help this one out, and if not that start in with maybe just buying the core and goin that way. Thanks for the info. This is in no way to save money just love workin on my car