Using Copper Pipe for Intercooler Piping??

[dsmturboawd]

could you have routed the ic piping any longer?

 

[JCG-GSX]

Are you referring to the silicone couplings, or the copper ones? Either way, the silicone ones I either got from a trucking company or E-bay, and the copper ones my plumber friend got for me, I assume they probably are available at any home depot etc.

 

[JCG-GSX]

Originally posted by dsmturboawd
could you have routed the ic piping any longer?

In terms of the routing, this seemed like the most logical route. I'll let you know how it works out for me.

 

[CanadianTSi]

WOW that piping is even longer then the Greddy FMIC...i didn't think that was possible

 

[leet]

I agree, short-route the piping.

And for ####s sake, shrink those damn pictures.

 

[dsmturboawd]

how long til it turns green?

 

[JCG-GSX]

Leet,

What path would short route piping take for this type of intercooler? I'll stick with this piping for the time being and see what gains I get from it, but it would only take a few hours to fabricate another route, and I'm open to suggestions.

 

[TERBOLASER]

Hey man I think the idea was bad ass I had. I just finished making my self a new turbo nice little thing I made up and I need new piping for the turbo and front mount set up. I used PVC previously to replace stock IC piping and it worked fine no burning or evolution of chlorine gas ( intake temperature dont even get hot enough to burn PVC. I like the piping I wanted you to ask your friend( the plumber) where i might find piping exactly like yours. i like the set up looks hot but I have to say that you could have made the piping shorter. longer piping causes pressure drops.

 

[babell2]

Nice to know I'm not the only one that has done this. I ran almost the same routing and same style of intercooler on my 90 Talon with 2" copper. I know everyone is going to say that 2" is to small but that is the largest I could find in the local home supply stores. I also got all my couplings there they are rubber with a SS sleeve around them and hose clamps riveted to the sleeve.

 

[jfdid]

Those pipes look really good. If you could perhaps clearcoat them, or protect them from the atmosphere so they don't turn green, I think it'd be a winner. I love the unique look. Cheers

 

[ItsStockOfficer]

Oh man, so much bling!

 

[Green93TalonTSi]

You can use Fence post from LOWES, its 2.375" almost 2.5" and jsut cut it and then make your ebnds, me and my buddy did that with his FMIC setup on his 200SX w/SR20DET , the fence post was only liek $6-$7 for 7-8ft ,also you can get couplers from NAPA , out of there Pressure hose stuf work great ! you can buy that stuff by the foot, outta 1 foot u can get 3 couplers and thats only $15 for a foot, so figure 2 feet f that so u can have piping doen pretty cheap if u do that route.

fence post $20 for 2 7-8ft sections,

Couplers - $30-$45

Welding - $30-$50

Paint - $20

Now thats some cheap FMIC piping !

 

[JCG-GSX]

Wow, post got revived from the dead!

TERBOLASER: Like Babell2 said, you should be able to find the piping at any hardware store. My friend did soldering to join most of the pipes, I'm not sure if you plan on doing that or not

Babell2: How do you like the piping you did? How long ago did you do it and how is it holding up?

ItsStockOfficer/jfdid: I like the looks of the copper piping, but I think for corrosion resistance, and more stealth, I'll be painting it black next time it comes out.

Overall, I like the way it has worked. It has done wonders to cool the intake charge, and the intercooler fits perfectly where it is. The only thing I have noticed is more turbo-lag, but what do you expect with a ported/clipped B16G and long-ass piping? I figure I can route the piping a little shorter when I get a chance, but if I keep the revs over 4k, I don't notice any lag anyways!

 

[buddielee5]

i was wondering if copper piping would work good for boost pipes on my johnny racecar i am planning on running 16-20 pounds of boost. Also what size pipe should i use 2" or 2 1/2 " piping. any advise would be very helpful.

 

[gsxeclipsed]

I did a little search on the net and found that copper pipe will hold atleast that much pressure. I saw some that was 2" and it said it would hold 400 psi unless i read it wrong. Any reason why you want to use copper?

 

[buddielee5]

no reason just brain storming on ways i can do my piping.

 

[DSM90AWD]

I think you'd have difficulty finding Copper bends which would be needed for the piping. If you just like the look of copper, why not just make the piping of mild steel and then get it copper plated (any chromer can do this).

Come to think of it that would look pretty cool judging from how OCC's Statue of Liberty bike turned out

 

[JoeWagon]

This has got to be one of those "there's a reason nobody has done it" things. If I listed the materials to use for an IC pipe, copper might be down at the bottom with tin foil.

Where are you going to find 2.5''+ copper? Can you even imagine how heavy and weak this would be?

 

[91boost]

Basically you wrap it with something and you have as good as anything else.

Your not talking about wrapping IC pipes with thermal wrap are you? Thats a BIG no-no.

 

[crankbender]

Since you decided to resurect this I will go ahead and use it as an education tool .

Please explain why you think wrapping IC piping is a bad idea and I will explain why you want to do it .

 

[91boost]

Since you decided to resurect this I will go ahead and use it as an education tool .

Please explain why you think wrapping IC piping is a bad idea and I will explain why you want to do it .

Intake charge temperature before OR after the intercooler is greater than the engine bay temperature. Wraping it would just trap the heat inside.

Proof? Just order a temp probe like I did. I actually bought and used it for my mr2, but decided to do the same test on my GST.

 

[babell2]

Babell2: How do you like the piping you did? How long ago did you do it and how is it holding up?

Seems like years ago now. Holding up just fine. I need to bead the ends some way eventually over time the couplings blow off running 19+ pounds of boost. The piping is not turning green or even showing much signs of dulling. My only regret is I let some of my students (when I was teaching auto) solder some sections when I put in my MAFT and they globbed things up a bit with solder when they did it.

 

[DSM90AWD]

Intake charge temperature before OR after the intercooler is greater than the engine bay temperature. Wraping it would just trap the heat inside

You must really have a suck-ass Intercooler if that is the case
When I pop my hood up after a run, my UIP is way hotter than my FMIC core and LIP.

The MR2 has a UIP on top of the engine right below a vented engine cover. Hmm.. last time I checked DSMs don't have the the benefit of fresh airflow on the UIP

 

[91boost]

You must really have a suck-ass Intercooler if that is the case
When I pop my hood up after a run, my UIP is way hotter than my FMIC core and LIP.

The MR2 has a UIP on top of the engine right below a vented engine cover. Hmm.. last time I checked DSMs don't have the the benefit of fresh airflow on the UIP

Stock IC. But I do not think an aftermarket unit would produce a lower temperature than the engine bay temperature. Easy check- get a temperature probe and test your setup.

The MR2 does have its UIP right ontop of the motor. BUT- the airflow on the MR2 goes from bottom to top, not top to bottom. The vents are there to release hot air.

 

[DSM90AWD]

Stock IC. But I do not think an aftermarket unit would produce a lower temperature than the engine bay temperature. Easy check- get a temperature probe and test your setup.

I'm getting an infrared temp gauge in a couple weeks (Bday ) so can test, but in the past I datalogged very high engine compartment temps prior to my cold air intake. Also, I just put this together to show you why your setup may not show much difference whereas mine does:

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This is based on the following compressor Maps. Note that the T-25 islands are pretty small, so you may be on an even lower efficiency one.

So if your engine compartment temps are <91.2F then don't wrap, if >91.2 wrapping may benefit.