Nice....I've been holding off ordering the Competition model, but now may have no choice

One question, any fitment or install issues? I've got a MY2012 Cooper S, and am worried about the bumper and grill, and having to hack it in?

 

Cut the top tab that it comes with. It's completely not necessary and it'll sit nice and snug like the photo provided. If you do that, you won't have to do any bumper/grill trimming. I did this with my Forge intercooler when I had it. It holds nice and tight on the existing oem mounts just fine!

 

 

I think it might have something to do with the cold chilly wet air we have been getting lately, in the sun it's warm but the second you're in the shade it's chilly! My MCS has hardly been running after turning off the engine at all, I have even waited for it to come on but it doesn't.

 

No I've seen it stay on regardless of the weather. It hasn't been indicative of the cooler temps and turning off. Evolve naturally stayed on longer than the Wagner.

 

Isn't that a radiator fan? I could be wrong, but I don't think that fan has anything to do with the temperature of the charge air or the quality of the intercooler. I think it's based on the thermostat temp.

 

Not sure where you're looking at. Maybe the stealth black paint is that good because the intercooler is right there in the pic.

 

Really? The comment was in response to your post directly above mine, and to this:

To say it more clearly: I don't think the time the radiator fan stays on has anything to do with your intercooler. It's based on thermostat temp, so it does stay on a shorter time in cooler weather as mentioned above.

 

And I understand that, but it hasn't been cool every single day here either.

 

Will this fit the Countryman? It looks like it does.

 

Yes it will!

 

Cool - just need to be brave enough to tear apart my car to install it

 

I'd like to know if it's possible getting it without the black color... I like the look of the intercooler sticking out. Might get one if it's possible.

 

Not that hard. I've done it so many times on so many R5x MINIs that I can normally do it in about 30mins...

Give them a call and see what they can do.

 

yeah, I'm fairly confident I can do it, just more concerned that since I have the aero kit on, that it is going to get in the way more than normal. It looks like once the bumper is off, the intercooler swap is a piece of cake with two clamps.

 

Having aero kit shouldn't be any different. I have the aero kit on, even the GP2 engine tray.

 

After reading reviews on other MINI websites i see that the Wagner Intercooler is very well liked, although a few people have posted data suggesting you lose 5 hp but get better temperature readings so it's a trade off i guess. Darn you Ra2, making my decision for a future intercooler even harder now!

 

Just picked up mine yesterday!

 

Get one and I'll install it for you! It's worth it!

 

How would you lose 5HP from swapping out for a more efficient intercooler?

 

I saw someone's dyno on a motoring alliance thread, they did dyno with stock IC, Stock IC with tune, and Wagner IC with tune. Wagner IC with tune produced 5 less hp, but far better temperature readings.

 

Pressure drop due to it's size perhaps.

 

Yep. The bigger intercoolers are more efficient thermally, but are going to have a larger pressure drop. The net effect in real driving is probably more power, but on a dyno won't capture that unless you do several back-to-back pulls and take the final results.

 

Intercoolers do not really add or decrease power. They mearly make the power you do have more consistant. Yes you will see a pressure drop, resulting in a slight power decrease, but after driving it hard on the street, track, autocross, ect. you will have more power still being delivered since you will have cooler air temps going in compared to the stock. Plus if you get a tune, you will be limited in how aggressive the tune can be if you dont get an uprated FMIC.

Long story short. Dont worry about 5hp. You'll be fine.

 

Hey,

Glad you have your new intercooler and are happy with it

I’m wanting to ask a couple of quick questions about what everyone is discussing here as I’m not quite sure I am keeping up

Pressure drop. How is this measured? Is it boost pressure before intercooler and boost pressure after intercooler when under full throttle/maximum power? The difference between the two is the pressure drop? Is this done on an actual car using a turbo, IE Hot side of the intercooler air pressure versus cold side of the intercooler air pressure? If that is the case, doesn’t the pressure drop because the air is colder? I am wondering if that is the case and if so, wouldn’t we want to see the biggest pressure drop between hot and cold side as that would be the same as the biggest temperature drop?

The test people talk about on other posts here is the “IAT recovery times”. I am not sure I understand this test either. Isn’t the measure of an intercooler its ability to maintain the lowest temperature possible when ON boost rather than when recovering after letting go of the throttle? Of course that would also be a benefit but I would think it’s more important to be measuring the temperature difference between intercooler inlet (hot side) and intercooler outlet (cold side) as this is when BHP is important, rather than how quickly the piece of metal cooled itself down when on cruise after the throttle is released?

I am always looking to learn more about intercoolers. We fitted something a bit different to my car. I think this picture link should work. It’s not by any of the major known names that mini guys use.
Regards,
Steven_RW