I try my best as always to avoid starting new threads. My search came up empty other than a for sale thread.

anyone wanna talk Wagner intercoolers vs the competition? I have R57 N18 post lift and there are some used wagners out there in good condition at a great price compared to new $750. $750 new is the highest price I’ve seen for aftermarket Mini.

Is Wagner regarded as one of the best or something? Do they make in USA? Anyone with R56 running a Wagner?

 

You could get a Wagner branded intercooler, or you could save the money and jest get one of these:

Same thing, except the logo... I've had one of those installed on my car for ~7 years(?) without any issues, other than the paint flaking off. I just hit it with a light coat of flat black whenever I have the bumper off.

 

Thank you sharing your experience and the link, I do appreciate it. The black coating looks nice but some say it’s a heat trap in hot weather?

 

The black coating will have some effect on cooling effectiveness, but not enough to worry about. My car will have an intake temperature MAYBE 1° off from ambient when cruising down the highway.

 

I'm with Nik. After reading up on some testing I came to the conclusion that the Wagner wasn't significantly better enough to justify the price. I read good things about the G-plus and bought this one from this seller on eBay. It's $100, seems reasonably well made, and is bare aluminum if that's what you want:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256033304468

I think I had to cut/modify...something...to install it on my 2012 CS? But I don't remember it being that big a deal. Maybe cut off the top tab or something?

 

You want this one…
I have run this one and I ran one like the eBay one listed above. The one I had, you could see where the Wagner logo was ground off the one end tank. The one I listed has the end tanks that you want, not the ones like the eBay one. The eBay one I ran, during the summer, was 10-12 degrees above ambient while the g plus one ran 1or 2 degrees above ambient. The one Nik has listed is a good one but the price is a bit higher.

 

+1 for the cast end tank, bar & plate one that was linked a few times above (although I think the other one linked is also fine since the core is still bar & plate)

I needed to cut the holes in the rad support a bit larger, which I didn't realize, and my 2012 didn't have anywhere to mount the centre tab so it just has a big zip tie that wraps the bumper bar. I also recommend sliding the hoses over the intercooler before you fully mount it.

And have some spare clips on hand for the lower bumper, fabric wheel liner, and wheel arch trim.

 

Good catch, I didn't notice the difference on the end tanks, though I wouldn't expect that specifically to make a performance difference. The core is definitely bar and plate, though.

 

In my cart now :-)

 

I think the end tanks made a huge difference when it came to the fitment and i do believe it built boost a bit sooner, been a few years.

 

Speaking to my mechanic recently he told me the two best options were Wagner and Airwerk i think its called
Any other suggestions that doesn't require much cutting or modification would be nice and if y'all can post pics

 

the one that I listed, or Nik losted. Are basically a Wagner, just has the logo ground off. Cheaper option same performance since it’s the same part.

 

cool thanks