Intercooler

[rosssp]

I'm about to order the GRS intercooler from newministuff. I'm going through this stage of trying to carry out most of the work on my car myself. Has anyone got any tips, hints or the know how to change intercoolers?
Any feedback would be much appriecated.
Cheers all :thumbs up::D

[ELFMAN]

Hi Ross,

It's been quite a while since we fitted mine, so my recollections might be a bit hazy. Just arm yourself with a decent Socket Set and follow the instructions, which are pretty clear. My good mate Bill helped me with mine as he had the tools and the brain, but if I remember correctly, even to my mostly non-mechanical mind it was fairly straightforward. I think the only 'footery' bit we came across was removing one of the supporting brackets for the old intercooler (which are discarded), as it was slightly awkward to get to at the back of the engine, but we got round that by using various socket attachments to access the bolt.

The bolts for the Intercooler Brackets (located with the rubber Intercooler Couplers) are of that funny 'star drive' type (forgotten the proper name!), so you need one of these sockets - but you probably sussed that already...

When you remove the old 'Cooler, you'll probably see some OIL residue around the neck(s) of the entry and exit chambers/pipes either side of the 'Cooler where it fits into - I just gave them a wee wipe. Some folks reckon an Oil Catch Can is a good thing to fit, but the chap who actually makes the GRS (Graham I think) told me that he preferred to have a wee bit of oil kicking about for lubrication purposes - so who knows? I don't have a Catch Can. I suppose you can always whip off the 'Cooler from time to time to have a look.

Obvious point, but worth mentioning - take care not to drop anything down the open holes while you're working away, as retrieving anything (like a wee bolt) could be a massive pain! I sat clean cloths in/over them while we were working - just in case... Make sure the rubber couplings aren't kinked when you locate the GRS in place, and just tighten everything up! If I was doing it now, I'd get some nice new 'Alta' blue Intercooler Couplers from LOHEN and change them at the same time, which I might get around to at some point.

With the GRS, you'll also get a fibreglass 'Intake Diverter Attachment Thingy' which fits to the underbonnet area with your Bonnet Intake bolts. This helps the airflow over the surface of the 'Cooler. It's just a case of undoing the bolts for the plastic bonnet intake and fitting the new bits - take care to fit the new air diverter the right way up - I NEARLY didn't! Other thing I noticed was that the FOAM strip at the back of the diverter was fixed with double-sided tape, which gave up the ghost early on. I removed the tape from the foam and Araldited the foam strip back in place - it's fine now. The GRS chap actually modifies his designs from time to time, so he may well have rectified this by now.

Anyway, that's probably all totally bleedin' obvious stuff, but I hope some of it's useful. Welcome to the 'NMS GRS Club'!

[Aberdeen Al]

Well described ^^ should take around an hour all in to fit................even I managed :thumbs up: !!

I had an oil catch can fitted with mine - it was amazing how much it caught.

If you're going to fit replacement "snoot boots" (GTT or Alta) then best o soften them with hot water as they can be troublesome..........the std OEM ones are far more forgiving.

[rosssp]

Thanks guys i will give let all know how it goes. As soon as i get the intercooler fitted i'm of to dastek for the a uni chip, 15% reduced pulley,belt and a custom remap, to go with the K&N typhoon induction kit and the janspeed manifold with decatt and play mini cat back system. Hopefully i'll get some good figures from it.
Cheers all :thumbs up:

[stoney]

Thanks guys i will give let all know how it goes. As soon as i get the intercooler fitted i'm of to dastek for the a uni chip, 15% reduced pulley,belt and a custom remap, to go with the K&N typhoon induction kit and the janspeed manifold with decatt and play mini cat back system. Hopefully i'll get some good figures from it.
Cheers all :thumbs up:


will be instrested to see what it comes out at i fancy the uni chip but not till next year ;):smilewinkgrin:

[AndyP & Lenore]

Thanks guys i will give let all know how it goes. As soon as i get the intercooler fitted i'm of to dastek for the a uni chip, 15% reduced pulley,belt and a custom remap, to go with the K&N typhoon induction kit and the janspeed manifold with decatt and play mini cat back system. Hopefully i'll get some good figures from it.
Cheers all :thumbs up:

Like I've said before Ross, the combo you've put together should be very good indeed. The PM exhaust and the Dastek stage one kit were on our Hyper Blue and it was blisteringly fast. The only thing you're doing with yours extra is the GRS. Will be interesting to see how it maps with all that on.

A.:thumbs up:

[ELFMAN]

I reckon you'll be seeing around the 200bhp mark, Ross. and it'll sound mental! I sometimes wonder if it would be worth my while getting a more 'individual' remap than the current JCW 210/Superchip combo. The car seems to be running well though...

[rosssp]

The very helpful chap at dastek was saying it might be as high as 220bhp. Think i'm going to have to look at the brakes next.:lol:
Still waiting for the delivery of the GRS hopefully not to long now.:thumbs up:

[ELFMAN]

Be interesting to see what Dastek come up with... might be worth enquiring myself...

[stoney]

Be interesting to see what Dastek come up with... might be worth enquiring myself...


well eng wize yours and mine will be neer the same so would like to see what a custom map would do but wont be for 6-8 month before i even think about it ;)

my jcw air box and itg filter are going in on monday :thumbs up:

[ELFMAN]

my jcw air box and itg filter are going in on monday :thumbs up:

:thumbs up::cool::clap:

[ELFMAN]

well eng wize yours and mine will be neer the same so would like to see what a custom map would do but wont be for 6-8 month before i even think about it ;)

my jcw air box and itg filter are going in on monday :thumbs up:

:thumbs up::cool::clap:
If we're at Dastek for the Rolling Road Day, we can maybe find out.:off topic: sorry.

[rosssp]

Well the GRS intercooler is fitted, looks very nice. Even managed to change the spark plugs while i was in amongst it all. Some nice new shiney Iridium NGK plugs.
Well the verdict is good, car seems abit free'er (sorry about spelling if not correct) revs abit quicker. and the pops and bangs out the exhaust are emmense.
Bring on Dastek. :D:D:D:D:D:D

[Big Gordy]

Bring on Dastek

I thought you were just spectating:confused:

[AndyP & Lenore]

I thought you were just spectating:confused:

He's getting a tuning jobbie done, sometime soon.:thumbs up:

A.:D

[rosssp]

oh sorry for the confusion, just watching for the organised rolling road day, just wanna see how they put the cars through there paces, before i get my own booked in. :D

[Big Gordy]

The smoke has lifted and all now becomes clear:thumbs up:

[rosssp]

Well was just to watch at the rolling road day, but after a bit of arm twisting, :lol: i was persuaded to enter my car on to the rolling road. Very happy with the results as well. 193 at the fly wheel on the second run. And now i'm booked in at dastec for my supercharger pulley, uni-chip and remap. Lots of fun. Can't wait to see the results, watch out stoney. :lol::D:knife: