A friend of mine has a used Greddy intercooler for sale that was on his Nissan 240. He said he would sell it to me for cheap, but I don't think it will fit.

I have a 2007 MCS, and I haven't torn the front end apart yet to look around, but I know some here have. The dimensions on his intercooler are 35" wide (from inlet to outlet), 11" tall, and 3" deep. After some research I found that the Alta intercooler is 23" wide, 8.76" tall, and 1.75" deep which is shallower than the stock intercooler which sits at 2.5" deep.

I'd like to upgrade the intercooler before I start doing any other mods, and since this one would have a much higher area it seems logical that it would be a better unit than the others out there, provided it fits.

SO, does anyone know if this would fit? If not, are those sizes on the Alta the maximum size intercooler you can squeeze behind the bumper without having to start hacking away at ****?

Thanks!

 

It would never fit.

Get the Alta, you wont be disappointed.

 

I think by the time you get done making it fit you'll be in it more than your saving money wise. Also I dont think you'll get the performance you would want since the MINI IC's have been tried and tested on the car.
But all the best if you wanna do a custom setup! I think that would be cool.

 

It's not going to fit. The surface area is attractive, but you'd have worse pressure loss and throttle response with a huge intercooler like that on our cars.

I wouldn't touch Alta with a 15 foot pole. Watch, they'll be on here in 15 seconds to try and hustle you. Helix and Forge make the best by far. Everything fits perfectly under the bumper cover! Evolve Automotive has a really good one too but you'd have to pay U.K. duties. Use what works and what's been tested. These three brands are tried and true!

 

Not to start an insane back and forth but, Alta also has a bunch good reviews out there for their intercooler, no need to hate on them for being more active at seeking customers than Helix of Forge on NAM, they are a business after all. But you are more than entitled to your opinion of them and seems like you had a bad experience.

That being said, do not bother trying to fit the different intercooler into your MINI. Much more hassle than it is worth. Do your research on NAM and spend the little more for the right intercooler. There are a bunch of reviews on NAM and other sites for the few options available for your MINI and make a choice based on your findings.

I went with Forge and have been very happy with it on my 2011 with some agressive driving on 100+ degree days.

 

I second the Helix IC...

 

Awesome! Thanks for the responses guys!

The only reason I was even slightly curious is cause he was offering it to me for $100....

I've liked everything I've read about the Alta intercoolers, so that's probably what I will end up getting. I lurk a lot and realize that Shane doesn't care all too much for Alta due to the issue with some unichip (I think that's what it was) that they carried back when the R56 first came out, this seems to be why most people who aren't "pro-Alta" don't care for them. BUT, their intercoolers seem to work fine.

Really, whatever comes up used for a good deal when I finally get the bosses approval on this purchase will most likely be what I buy. Lol.

 

I've had a handful of their products and uhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm.... will never buy their stuff again. Thank God there are alternative solutions.

 

I can see that my performance mod list is going to get a lot more expensive. Thats a good thing tho

 

Has anyone installed a larger intercooler on a 2012 MCS with the additional lower bumper brace support? If so what brand. Have heard feedback that the added brace on models built after 10/2011 will not allow larger intercooler unless it is removed.

 

check the market place. there are a few Forge ICs on there for Cheap!!!

 

I just had the Forge FMIC installed a couple months back. I picked it up new for about $650 with free shipping. Very happy with the selection.

 

No issues at all with my Alta intercooler. All it took was some trimming of a easily replaceable plastic part. And me being just a stupid engineer, I think it's more efficient than a stepped core. But all of them (Helix, Forge, and Alta) will do the job nicely.