Intercooler

Has anyone bought this yet??? And if so where is the H2O tank mount and how is it driven??









_________________

 

Hello,

I don't know how many of the purchasers are members so I thought I would try to answer the questions for you.

The water tank is actually the rear window washer tank. Included with the kit are t fittings, hose etc. to connect it to the tank. You can choose to either have the sprayer come on with the rear wiper/washer or simply disconnect the rear wiper motor and the spray comes only to the i/c. You can also get a seperate tank for the i/c sprayer if you wish. We have an auxillary silicone tank and pump that will be available in late summer. Installation time is about 30-45 minutes.

If I can answer any other questions please feel free to call or e-mail.

Thanks.

Adam
ALTA Mini Performance
adam@altaminiperformance.com

 

Yes this looks really nice. Do you have any numbers backing the claims on the temp. change in the intercooler? Or did you just use some sort of thermometer? I live in South Fla. and I need all the coolness to the intersooler I can get. Thanks

 

Looks like something I might wanna get here in Phoenix!!

 

Are there any adverse effects of spraying water on the intercooler? Any problems with corrosion or anything like that? I'm assuming is treated to protect if from the elements, thus the hood scoop.

 

The kit seems to be in the beta stage. It would be complete with it's own tank, tubing, and switch. Ideal would be a temp activated switch that automatically turns the pump on when the intercooler gets close to being heat-soaked. Probably the most important in my eyes though, the kit should have an override to keep the pump off if the tank is empty. With a windshield washer, I can obviously see when no water is coming out (and know the tank is empty), but not so with this kit, therefore I could burn the pump out by keeping it on with no water to push.
Make these additions, and I'll buy one. Until then, I'm not going to try to guess whether or not the intercooler is hot enough to need to be sprayed and I'm not going to take chances on burning out my factory sprayer pump.

 

I'd like to see a small scoop in place of the "vent" under the driver side wiper for those of us that have cut out the back of the air box. Anyone else had thoughts about trying to "scoop" air into the air intake this way?

 

Yep, a piece is in development that replaces the factory vent incorporating a scoop.

Randy

 

>>Yep, a piece is in development that replaces the factory vent incorporating a scoop.
>>
>>Randy

Cool! Just keep us posted Randy this is pretty slick.

Paul

 

>>Yep, a piece is in development that replaces the factory vent incorporating a scoop.
>>
>>Randy

looking forward to hearing more about this piece. sounds great!

 

I'd be interested in a thicker intercooler, with a modified hood scoop for clearance. The stock IC doesn't have much mass, so it can't work as a very good heat sink. Here's the stock IC:



Something like the WRX (STi -vs- standard) as shown in this pic:

 

I'd like to get a one inch thicker core plus raise it one inch for flow underneath. There's just nowhere for the exit air to go. That would require a new a new carbon fiber bonnett!


Sol

P.S. Shaker hood scoop???

 

Now you're talkin'! The best setup would be the most aesthetically-unappealing one. The intercooler ABOVE the hood.

 

I just got my Alta water spray today and I can say I am NOT all that impressed. You will loose your rear wiper. The instructions want you to disconnect it electrically and use its tank. I also wish that the air deverter would have been ABS plastic or carbon fiber. Its made from steel and is very heavy. I just think they came out with this way too early. They need the complete solution with the tank and intelligent water spray. Not the rear wiper.

The blue replacment silicone hoses are nice looking but the smaller of the two is the wrong size and needs to be re-addressed. Its a bit small making it very hard to get on. I cut my hand 3 times before I finally streched it enough to get it on.

I do like the deverter design and the location/quality of the water spray nozel.
All in all I think they have a ways to go but they are on the right track.

 

Oh one more thing I forgot to mention or really ask.
What kind of fluid would you run in the tank for this? Water is out in the winter and I also heard you must use distilled water or it gets crusty white clogging your intercooler.

 

I agree Andy and Sol. There is a new intercooler under development - stay tuned!

I know there are at least two different people working on this, with two different approaches.

It shouldn't be too long before the news about them starts to trickle out.

Randy

 

>>I agree Andy and Sol. There is a new intercooler under development - stay tuned!
>>
>>I know there are at least two different people working on this, with two different approaches.
>>
>>It shouldn't be too long before the news about them starts to trickle out.
>>
>>Randy

What a tease!

Paul

 

>>I agree Andy and Sol. There is a new intercooler under development - stay tuned!
>>
>>I know there are at least two different people working on this, with two different approaches.
>>
>>It shouldn't be too long before the news about them starts to trickle out.
>>
>>Randy

Well, if you spilled the beans now then it wouldn't be long at all. So how about it Randy. Enlighten us....pleeeeease?!

 

I can't d#mn it! I would if I could, but just wanted you to know it's coming, not to worry.

It will be interesting to find out the balance of going to big versus getting colder intake air.

Randy

 

>>I can't d#mn it! I would if I could, but just wanted you to know it's coming, not to worry.
>>
>>It will be interesting to find out the balance of going to big versus getting colder intake air.
>>
>>Randy

I'm more interested in how they're going to fit it under the hood. Can you at least give us a hint of this requires a new or modified hood?

Paul

 

It depends on the design. There is definitely at least one that does not require a new hood, and one that might.

 

>>It depends on the design. There is definitely at least one that does not require a new hood, and one that might.

No new hood? Hrm, I'm now very curious as to how they are managing that considering how tight the MINI engine bay is. I'm sure you're not going to answer this follow up question but I figure I'll try anyways... Are we talking bigger intercooler or just "better" in some way? Better meaning the potential for a smoother inlet and outlet port, or something of that nature but not bigger.

How many would consider the replacement of the intercooler a "bolt on" modification? it's not exactly rocket science if that's all you change.

Paul

 

>>I'd be interested in a thicker intercooler, with a modified hood scoop for clearance. The stock IC doesn't have much mass, so it can't work as a very good heat sink. Here's the stock IC:
>>
>>
>>
>>Something like the WRX (STi -vs- standard) as shown in this pic:
>>
>>


If the WRX scoop were used, and placed in an aesthetically pleasing position on the hood... It would not be accurate for flow into the proper area.

 

MightyMiniz,
Andy was not talking about using a WRX scoop on the MCS, he was talking about using a LARGER scoop, like the standard WRX vs the STi WRX.

 

>>Yep, a piece is in development that replaces the factory vent incorporating a scoop.
>>
>>Randy

I find that interesting. People told me I was nutty when I suggested that here months ago.
They also said I was nuts when I suggested tapping into the plenum under the windshield.
Still haven't seen a sealed, isolated version of that yet.
Should have gotten off my lazy butt on packaged that up