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air to air intercooler opinions

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Old Oct 17, 2004 | 06:30 AM
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Default air to air intercooler opinions

I'm about to order an air to air intercooler for my whipple supercharged 02 4.8. Does anyone have any opinions on the best intercooler for the job? So far I have deleted the whipple computer, put in 43lb injectors, FAL E-fans, 1.85 comp roller rockers with 918 springs, Dynatech long tubes with high flow cats. gibson swept side exhaust, 3.73 auburn limited slip rear, and of course I'm constantly tweaking the tune with HP software.
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Old Oct 17, 2004 | 10:50 AM
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If you don't mind a little fabrication work the OBX TX-3000 intercooler is the best buy right now. People are snapping them up from eBay for $275 and spending about $300 in piping and clamps and seeing great results.

Do a search for OBX FMIC in this forum and the forced induction forum. I did a big pitcure post about my install if interested. Also posted my before and after results.
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Old Oct 17, 2004 | 09:32 PM
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PWR has some pretty nice intercoolers, they even make a nice inline intercooler that is air to water.
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Old Oct 17, 2004 | 09:42 PM
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Thanks for the replies. I have been curious if people were buying the obx units because of performance or price. I've also seen them mentioned being used in the f body cars, and we have so much more space to play with on the trucks, that I wonder if a larger unit would show any real benefit.
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Old Oct 17, 2004 | 10:12 PM
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People are buying them for BOTH now. At first it was the price. To see if it would work out ok. The very first guy to try it out payed full retail for the unit which is $599.99 then all of a sudden they were all over the internet from a particular distributor in San Fran I bet.

Going bigger then the OBX is not really possible without serious modifications. Even the way it sits I had to notch part of my frame (not a integral structural part) to get it in there. At 12-13psi I can barely feel a temp difference in the IC after a full 1/4mile pass and a trip down the return road. Only the corner by the inlet even get swarm. Pretty efficient unit for the price.
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Old Oct 17, 2004 | 10:26 PM
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Got any pics of your setup, it sounds cool. Pun intended!
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Old Oct 18, 2004 | 08:10 AM
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Go with the D-max intercooler!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are twice the size of those others, bolt right in front of the radiator (like in the D-maxes), and only cost $350 at the dealer.

I dont understand why more people dont go with this intercooler.
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Old Oct 18, 2004 | 08:33 AM
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Check with Ryan23Silverado. A local guy here makes and air to water intercooler that does wonders. Ryan has it on his whippled truck. He says its like driving in winter all year long. You can imagine the underhood temps in PHX, AZ. He's a mod in the appearance section. Either him or I can put you in touch with the right guy if your interested. Its all custom and he does awesome work.
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Old Oct 18, 2004 | 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by vanillagorilla
Got any pics of your setup, it sounds cool. Pun intended!
Under the front end. I removed the platic airdam for the install. Here is where we notched the frame.


Drivers side with the IC mounted and piping on.


FMIC mounted and airdam off


Piping to the TB and MAF


Final pic with the airdam back on.. Testing showed only a 2deg diff with the airdam on vs off.
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Old Oct 18, 2004 | 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Snake Eater
Go with the D-max intercooler!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are twice the size of those others, bolt right in front of the radiator (like in the D-maxes), and only cost $350 at the dealer.

I dont understand why more people dont go with this intercooler.
For air/air get the D-max its a perfect fit, BIG, and cheap. I also dont understand why its not more popular.
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