When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Just got my new intercooler. I got a very nice deal on a new ATM Ambient Thermal Management through a NAM club member.
If I'm not mistaken, this is the same company that originally made the Helix FMIC. I believe the original helix is identical to it. The quality is just amazing, the welds perfect, the interior has smooth transitions and looks to be clean.
I look forward to getting it on this week and seeing the difference it makes.
Looks good! I have the Helix Gen 1 intercooler which seems to be the same design. It fits perfectly under the additional crash bar that MINI added to the LCI cars too.
Truthfully, I have not even driven the car. I installed it, and it's sitting in the same spot. I fired it and no CELs. I will post back here in the next several days when I get it out for a test drive. Again...life gets busy and my family comes first.
Is there really a noticeable improvement? Air to air is always so inefficient. What about any elevated temps on the radiator?
The IC is the only engine mod I have on my car and there's no noticeable improvement. I think the only time I would notice is if I was running on the track several laps in, when heat soak might occur. But for daily driving I doubt there is a big difference. I had the IC leftover from my previous 08 S and decided to install it instead of letting it sit in my garage.
I monitored intake temps for a short while before/after the IC install and the temp does stay much closer to ambient most of the time. But the butt dyno will not tell you there is a significant performance difference.
Thanks for the honest unbiased info. I enjoy your posts. I only have an older '08 MCCS, not a JCW, so I would have expected even less noticeable improvement, if there was any. When I monitored the IC outlet temp soon after getting the car, I was surprised at how close to ambient it got once underway. But that makes sense, now that I consider that track time, when using boost a lot, and with a performance tune, is where the hotter turbo exhaust temps would occur, and a larger IC makes sense.
I monitored intake temps for a short while before/after the IC install and the temp does stay much closer to ambient most of the time.
Isn't that worth its weight in gold? Keeping the engine cooler, no matter what your butt dyno says, will help with the longevity of the engine, no? Sitting in Sactown traffic in 105 degree days makes me want to install one.
Not really. The longevity of the engine is determined by how many starts it has on it per mile, how consistent the temps of the oil and coolant are, and how well the oil lubricates.. Based on your logic, cars that are run in areas where ambient is always cold, would last longer. They don't. In fact, because it takes the engine oil longer to come up to temperature, cold weather is harder on an engine than hot weather. The engine is no cooler due to the temp of the air charge entering the cylinders. A larger IC theoretically keeps the density of the air higher during boost, and that's the real benefit. More O2 mass, means more fuel, means more HP. Theoretically, because once the IC outlet air temp reaches ambient, a larger IC does nothing what so ever. So sitting in hot traffic, barely moving, where there is no real boost, so no use of the cooling effect to provide denser air, a larger IC does absolutely nothing. So, unless you track the car, where boost is constantly high, a larger IC can handle the increased mass air flow through the IC, vs the standard IC which could result in a significantly higher IC discharge temp. During normal use, the stock IC gets the charge quite close to ambient. The difference in air density for 4 or 5 degrees is not worth mentioning.
If anything, blocking the lower part of the radiator with a larger IC, and thereby admitting hotter air to the radiator, while at the same time, forcing more HP out of the same engine, will potentially cause the cooling system to work harder. It really depends on how well the cooling system was designed, and where the thermostat opening is during normal operation. In a well designed system, the Thermostat is not fully opened except under maximum temperature load. The job of the thermostat is to allow the coolant to warm up quickly, and then maintain the coolant at the design temperature.
Last edited by perryinva; Jul 18, 2016 at 11:13 AM.
Thanks, that makes sense. I wasn't thinking of cold weather like Canada, just the valley of California. Either way... I'll keep mine stock! Mainly because I'm lazy.
Titleist maybe I'll see you around Sac. I work in the midtown area but mostly drive between midtown and arden/arcade.
Perry I'm curious about the negative effects of placing the IC in front of a portion of the radiator. My AC is already not super-cold so would the IC increasing air temps only make the AC less effective?
I go the opposite. I drive out to Howe via Bus 80 from the Pocket everyday. My AC has already had a few thousand in warranty work done via the warranty. I probably shouldn't mess with anything. It was super cold after they fixed it last year, but I'm wondering if it's broken again. Now that it's hot as hell.
Yes, absolutely. On all cars the AC condenser is located in front of the radiator to get the coolest air. 1/4 of the (very thin) condenser is already blocked by the bumper. Put in a large IC, and you contain the bottom half of the condenser between the IC and the radiator, limiting the air flow to both. AC is normally not there on a track car (or not used), but for a DD I would think the impact would be significant.
Dang, my AC on my '08 R55S (Dark Silver) has NEVER been super cold from day one. Repeated complaints to the dealer while under warranty, was met with "everything is normal, that's as cold as they get". To be honest, the temp entering the evaporator measures about normal for an R134 system. I found that driving in Sport mode to keep the RPMs up helps the AC cooling the most . And a clean cabin filter. And I have heavy tint on the sunroof and rear and back windows.
Last edited by perryinva; Jul 18, 2016 at 12:50 PM.
Some hose on my a/c unit was cracked. So, it let all of the gas out and into the atmosphere. Also, at the exact same time, the water pump developed a leak. Thankfully I got the car into the shop before everything blew up. I should have taken the temp of the air coming out of it last year when it got fixed. Now it's a guessing game before the warranty expires.
Thanks for the information Perry. I don't plan on doing any other major engine mods (besides maybe a K&N panel filter) until after the warranty expires next October. Right now I think the AC still gets the job done and I have a feeling that if I go complain to the dealer their gut reaction will be take off that IC and come back if the AC is still not cold enough.
Here's a really helpful video giving an example of an intercooler change, and a list of the various types and models available. Please feel free to ask any and all questions. We've been doing this for over 40 years, street and track, so we're here to help!
First, to answer a couple of the above questions. That cooler is similar to our old design. We have improved the performance of our Gen. 2 MINI Stepped Core Intercooler, specifically changing the fin densities for better cooling and less pressure drop. We have these intercoolers in stock and ready to ship!
For more information on the amount of engineering and testing we put into our coolers, Here's one overview of the development of our Gen 3 intercooler.
We design and test our intercoolers in-house, with our on-staff engineer. We prototype with our in-house 3d printer, and test the design virtually with CFD modelling software and with independent-from-OBD datalogging).
Bottom line is that we believe we produce the best intercoolers for MINIs, and have them in stock.
