Thinking about swapping out the stock intercooler for an Alta version.....can anyone comment on the advantages and if they have done this ? thanks

 

i'd be pretty interested in this too if there werent horrible disadvantages to this. a larger intercooler could make a little more power. i like the M7 design though with the heat blanket under the intercooler

 

IMO, if you want more power from a bigger intercooler; it won't happen; save your money.

If you want a more aggressive looking engine bay...go for it.

I have talked first hand to several professional Mini racecar drivers with air to air intercoolers and they all prefer stock best. A couple weeks back at Mid-Ohio I watched the Koni Challenge series race qualifying. I went and talked to the 2 Mini racecar drivers. Their biggest complaint was that thier intercoolers sucked and they were losing lots of power and time because of it.

They each had different aftermarket intercoolers, and to be polite to vendors and designers on NAM, I won't mention the exact brands. One of the Mini's had a really popular intercooler on it that I have seriously considered buying; I asked the driver how he liked it; his response "It's a fu@&ing piece of $hlt".