N54 intercoolers

[et89]

Hey Guys,

Question about a N54 335i.
Upgraded inlets
(new) stock turbo cores
stock downpipe, M-performance exhaust

Question is, when pushing for 20psi, currently the IAT's run up to ~75degrees celcius.
Car doesn't feel faster than at 16psi. My advice was: upgrade intercooler and downpipe, or keep it at 16psi.
upgrading the downpipe is not an option because of legislation, sound and environmental testing.

Is it worth it to only upgrade the intercooler, and are there options available that will fit without hacking into the
(M package) front bumper?

[NOTORIOUS VR]

Hey Guys,

Question about a N54 335i.
Upgraded inlets
(new) stock turbo cores
stock downpipe, M-performance exhaust

Question is, when pushing for 20psi, currently the IAT's run up to ~75degrees celcius.
Car doesn't feel faster than at 16psi. My advice was: upgrade intercooler and downpipe, or keep it at 16psi.
upgrading the downpipe is not an option because of legislation, sound and environmental testing.

Is it worth it to only upgrade the intercooler, and are there options available that will fit without hacking into the
(M package) front bumper?

There are different size intercoolers available - You're in Europe so see something like Wagner Tuning maybe. Also you might want to consider methanol injection to help with cooling and octane (not sure how your fuel is in NL).

But the fact is, when pushing little turbos very far you make more heat. Instead of new stock turbo cores you should have gone with a larger turbo to reduce IAT's and give more power.

[et89]

Fuel is RON98, RON102 is getting more available also.
Not my car, and my first advice to the owner was to keep it at 16psi, and not push the stock turbos as much as he did.

Thanks, we'll look into the Wagner intercoolers!

Mishimoto any good or should we stay away from that?

[wgknestrick]

Fuel is RON98, RON102 is getting more available also.
Not my car, and my first advice to the owner was to keep it at 16psi, and not push the stock turbos as much as he did.

Thanks, we'll look into the Wagner intercoolers!

Mishimoto any good or should we stay away from that?

Mishimoto are fine as well (almost everything they make is well designed). Almost all IC are made in China anymore and for most people not worth the added cost. IE the cheap ones perform at about 95% of a respected core brand. The big choice with any of the N5X intercoolers is the style of inlets or outlets (OEM vs traditional rolled bead). This will decide if you keep the OEM plastic tubes or replace them with more robust Al ones. I also do not like the stepped core designs because of the added cost and the very little flow that actually makes it up to the stepped core area. Mishimoto have nice cast, smooth flowing end tanks as well. I made 640whp on a universal Mishimoto IC, and it is nice that IC are basically a commodity part now with very little cost. I remember when you used to have to drop $1500 on an IC, but now that is down to about $250-$300. VRSF also makes a nice, cheap IC for N5Xs.

I also expect someone to come in and shit all over cheap core ICs, but again the fact is that for 95% of builds/people, they don't matter one bit.