Legality of cutting front to mount intercooler..

[d-shiznit]

I've decided to top mount the intercooller on my ae85 toyota sprinter. Just one thing I'm not sure about - if I can cut the top radiator support and still keep the car legal.

I've called the WA Department of Transport, I've checked all the ADRs, and from all my questioning I've gathered that it will be legal - provided it is approved by an engineer...

Being a poor uni student I'm trying to avoid paying an engineer just to come and take a look.. So is there anyone on here that can answer my question? Either from experience or if you are an engineer even better!

I'm thinking of doing something like this: Cut the support and weld in a new support going around the intercooler. (Image is taken from mr2drift's post - hope you don't mind!) except my intercooler is smaller.


Any advice is most welcome, I really do not want to finish the project and be unable to register it!!!

[Andrew162]

Tough call... my first thought is it's not legal, just by looking at it, and I think an engineer would probably scream if they saw that front support bar the way it was. But if you've found evidence to prove otherwise, then by all means go for it.

An engineer will look at the structural rigidity of the new brace from where the factory one was cut, and they will decide if it's as strong or stronger than factory specs. The bottom line is that the hood has to function (open/close properly) and be able to withstand a frontal impact to the same degree that a factory car of the same specs would.

[clubagreenie]

Usually they want to see the same or more metal than you removed. It would have to be angle/chanel section for rigidity and strength. By the look of your pic, there is room over the IC to replace it but from what you've said it won't.

Maybe make a new section from each side angled forward to clear the intercooler, then straight across.

Kind of like
IC
_____ ______
\ /
\__________________ /

[mrshin]

I'd be saying that what you've done won't pass, and probably won't work that well either. It really would be SO much simpler to mount it at the front of the car...

[The Witzl]

I will agree with the Shin
i really dont see much benefit in mounting the intercooler like you have pictured above.

[RONA]

updates......









startin to look good........

Theres a few better pics of Josh's setup, you have to remember though its a track only drift car and the main reason for mounting the intercooler as such is to stop it being damaged should he go cross country or hit a ripple strip at the wrong angle.

[Andrew162]

BLING!!!

Nice scoop....

[Dom-AE71]

Theres a few better pics of Josh's setup, you have to remember though its a track only drift car and the main reason for mounting the intercooler as such is to stop it being damaged should he go cross country or hit a ripple strip at the wrong angle.

it has nothing to do with avoiding damage. the entire purpose of V mount intercooler/radiator setup is to provide maximum air flow to both cores, when you tradtionally mount a front mount in front of a radiator your blocking airflow to the radiator.

makes for a more efficient cooling setup.

[d-shiznit]

Thanks for the comments.

The main reason I'm thinking of doing it is to minimise piping length...
To front mount my intercooler would mean long piping.
The intercooler I currently have is 270x300x75... while this might be a bit small, piping would be a 90deg bend connecting intercooler to intake - VERY SHORT length, should make for really good response.

So what do you guys think, small intercooler (270x300x75) and short piping, or medium intercooler (450x300x75) and long piping?

I've been searching for info on proper intercooler sizing, haven't been able to find much... looking at stock intercoolers though eg wrx, silvia etc, my small 270x300x75 cooler is bigger than all those, so maybe the size is adequate? Boost run initially will be 12psi, but I'd want something that would still be able to support say 25psi should I want to crank it up

Another option is a pwr barrell cooler! Only I haven't heard good things about them... anyone using one of these?

[mrshin]

I'd be tempted to use a water cooler, you don't necessarily have to use a PWR one though.

[nb86]

i'd go with the water cooler. having said that, if youve turbo'd an ae85 then you already are in breach of adr's and need an engineers cert. so i'd go nuts with your mods, keeping it safe and then get it inspected for about $400.

[The Witzl]

i have my reservations about the necessity of this V-mounting fad that's going around..... on a track i can see the benefit, but on the road i think the real world benefits are minimal - and you are probably better off spending that money elsewhere to gain performance

[mic*]

i have my reservations about the necessity of this V-mounting fad that's going around..... on a track i can see the benefit, but on the road i think the real world benefits are minimal - and you are probably better off spending that money elsewhere to gain performance

Agreed.

Infact unless you have the rear facing "exctraction" scoop on the bonnet, that will give you flow through th IC in a sort of venturi fashion, i cant see that its gonna cool much at all.

Even the setup shown (which i cant really see but appears to have the scoop) is going to favor flow through the radiator considerably.

A few mores degrees of angle into th IC would make a big diff. The IC is horizontal, and radiator core isnt gonna direct cold air onto it, or it wouldnt be doing what its designed to.

[-GT-]

Agreed.

Infact unless you have the rear facing "exctraction" scoop on the bonnet, that will give you flow through th IC in a sort of venturi fashion, i cant see that its gonna cool much at all.

Even the setup shown (which i cant really see but appears to have the scoop) is going to favor flow through the radiator considerably.

A few mores degrees of angle into th IC would make a big diff. The IC is horizontal, and radiator core isnt gonna direct cold air onto it, or it wouldnt be doing what its designed to.

Agreed again.

The other thing to be mindful of is just where the air will flow. If you give all the air coming in the front 2 options of which path to take it will take the one of least resistance. This means that if its easier to go through the intercooler and out the bonnet most of your air will flow that way, NOT through your radiator, with obvious problems, and the greater the difference in resistance the less air. It would be very easy to starve your radiator of airflow.

At least with the regular way you're forcing all the air to go through both intercooler and radiator. Even if its a bit hotter by the time its passed through the intercooler, the much bigger amount of flow would be better. Yes, cool air is important, but a big increase in volume will extract more heat than a few degrees cooler. Same goes for the intercooler.

I would want to do a great deal of testing to ensure a setup like that is actually more efficient, especially with the extra work and money involved.

Maybe just use some ducting/panels etc to make sure all the air coming in the front of the car has to pass through the heat exchangers rather than get round the sides? That's what i think is the best thing to be gained from the above example.

[mic*]

...yep...

The above example has gone to some effort to direct the air onto the cores, but even the tiny little gaps around the in & out plumbing of the IC could be reducing efficiency by up to few percent.

The core should be as wide as the air dam, or the dam should angle into it giving a "ram" effect.