[murphius1118]

At what point is it a good idea to upgrade the intercooler in my N20? I'm currently running a JB Stage 1 tune and just bought an Injen intake. Plan on upgrading my chargepipe shortly as well.

I live in the philly area and the summers can get into the upper 90's here. Any advice would be appreciated.

[zcspec]

Any time you make power well above stock, your IAT temps will rise quickly and the stock IC cannot keep up with cooling down the charge. I would upgrade the IC as your next upgrade. While pricey, you'll notice that the ECU will not pull back boost as the newer/larger IC will do a much better job of cooling.

[murphius1118]

Thanks for the input. I'll be out of warranty in about 1000 miles and plan on doing some more mods including the intercooler.

[anotheran]

Go wagner competition EVO II (tube and fin) or ER FMIC (bar and plate). Best fmics out there

[D041987]

Wagner and Helix/Ambient Thermal Management FMIC are best designed. ER is very good as well but those 2/3 are the best in the game with hard data to back them up. But still great choices.

I got my eye on the Helix/Ambient Thermal Management FMIC just waiting for warranty to end and make sure I want to keep the car. haha

[bradsm87]

Originally Posted by anotheran

Go wagner competition EVO II (tube and fin) or ER FMIC (bar and plate). Best fmics out there

Evo II is the super thick one for BIG power 335is and requires a lot of cutting. Evo 1 competition would be better for N20.

[murphius1118]

Originally Posted by bradsm87

Evo II is the super thick one for BIG power 335is and requires a lot of cutting. Evo 1 competition would be better for N20.

Did some research since posting this thread and the EVO 1 Performance version is the right match for a daily driver N20 with a stage 1 tune. EVO 2 for heavier mods such as catless DP, JB4, etc...

[anotheran]

Originally Posted by bradsm87

Evo II is the super thick one for BIG power 335is and requires a lot of cutting. Evo 1 competition would be better for N20.

The evo II is stepped so it's not that thick. Wagner claims plug and play http://www.wagner-tuning.com/-NEW--E...F30_p_195.html

I personally can't say it's true or not as I went with the er fmic which is bigger and heavier for my 328i

[STR8-6IX]

I've heard that painting your intercooler black makes it operate much more efficiently

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by murphius1118

At what point is it a good idea to upgrade the intercooler in my N20? I'm currently running a JB Stage 1 tune and just bought an Injen intake. Plan on upgrading my chargepipe shortly as well.

I live in the philly area and the summers can get into the upper 90's here. Any advice would be appreciated.

If you plan on keeping your mods get an intercooler similar to Wagner EVO 1 or VRSF 5"

If you are going to get downpipes in the future, Wagner EVO 2 , VRSF 6" or Evolution Racewerks

[jaymax]

moving to an ER FMIC, would there be any turbo lag since the IC is so much bigger than the stock version.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by jaymax

moving to an ER FMIC, would there be any turbo lag since the IC is so much bigger than the stock version.

If your car is FBO there will not be any noticeable lag

[Tiago@VRSF]

I'd take a look at our intercooler options, we offer a budget 5" stepped street option that performs well with FBO, a HD version of that intercooler that features the densest fin pack of any intercooler available on this platform and a larger 6" stepped race core that is currently the largest intercooler available.

The large race core also features our HD core which is the densest fin pack available which allows for incredible heat dispersion due to the larger overall surface area. All of our intercoolers are a bolt on affair without any modification necessary and include our lifetime guarantee.

[sirch]

Originally Posted by STR8-6IX

I've heard that painting your intercooler black makes it operate much more efficiently

I have heard this as well but have never tried it myself. I'm somewhat skeptical as the paint my or my not interfere with the cooling of the intercooler to some degree. I've always wanted to try to anodize an intercooler and see what it would do.

I'm not a fan of the tube and fin intercooler and like the bar and plate.

Anyone add on a chargecooler yet? that may have the biggest potential for keeping intake temps down,this is used on the M cars. I'm sure frozenboost makes something that could replace the current intercooler, not that FB has the best water pump, and would be more work then the average intercooler install.

In terms of painting intake parts and exhaust parts, ceramic paint has will help keep the engine temps down. If you upgraded your intercooler and ceramic painted the rest of tubes going into your intake if would also help keep the intake temps down.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by ckpaden

I have heard this as well but have never tried it myself. I'm somewhat skeptical as the paint my or my not interfere with the cooling of the intercooler to some degree. I've always wanted to try to anodize an intercooler and see what it would do.

I'm not a fan of the tube and fin intercooler and like the bar and plate.

Anyone add on a chargecooler yet? that may have the biggest potential for keeping intake temps down,this is used on the M cars. I'm sure frozenboost makes something that could replace the current intercooler, not that FB has the best water pump, and would be more work then the average intercooler install.

In terms of painting intake parts and exhaust parts, ceramic paint has will help keep the engine temps down. If you upgraded your intercooler and ceramic painted the rest of tubes going into your intake if would also help keep the intake temps down.

what exactly does the chargepipe do? all I know is that the OEM one is shitty plastic and is prone to fail if you drive aggressively. so it helps lower intake temps?

the reason why painting an intercooler black works is because the colour black attracts the most heat (try touching a black car, and then a white car on a hot summer day) so this in turn should dissipate heat more effectively. this would probably work well enough, but apparently the OEM intercoolers are also shit so may as well change that too.

modern BMW's run hot. removing your plastic engine cover and the foam insulation stuff underneath will help keep temps down. at the temperatures these cars sit at, the oil degrades and becomes useless very, very quickly.

[sirch]

Originally Posted by STR8-6IX

what exactly does the chargepipe do? all I know is that the OEM one is shitty plastic and is prone to fail if you drive aggressively. so it helps lower intake temps?

the reason why painting an intercooler black works is because the colour black attracts the most heat (try touching a black car, and then a white car on a hot summer day) so this in turn should dissipate heat more effectively. this would probably work well enough, but apparently the OEM intercoolers are also shit so may as well change that too.

modern BMW's run hot. removing your plastic engine cover and the foam insulation stuff underneath will help keep temps down. at the temperatures these cars sit at, the oil degrades and becomes useless very, very quickly.

Charge pipe and chargecooler are two differant things. The charge pipe if made out plastic, I'm sure fine for most. Depending on the plastic it may or may not be more resistant to heatsoak. I'll ceramic paint mine once I'm outside the warranty. You also want to watch for having a charge pipe that causes pressure drop and this is why bigger is not always better.

A Chargecooler is what is used on the M series cars. It is an intercooler that is cooled by water which coolers more efficiently then air.

Your right it is all about keep the engine, tranny, intake temps, ect down as much as possible, whatever works I'd agree.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by STR8-6IX

what exactly does the chargepipe do? all I know is that the OEM one is shitty plastic and is prone to fail if you drive aggressively. so it helps lower intake temps?

Im confused by some of your posts

Charge pipes have nothing to do with intake temps. They are changed because they fail under high boost thats all.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Im confused by some of your posts

Charge pipes have nothing to do with intake temps. They are changed because they fail under high boost thats all.

nevermind.. I misread someones post and assumed that is what they said.

so what is a chargepipe, and what is the difference between that and the downpipe?

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by STR8-6IX

nevermind.. I misread someones post and assumed that is what they said.

so what is a chargepipe, and what is the difference between that and the downpipe?

charge pipe connects to your intercooler and is replaced for reliability

downpipe connects to your turbo and exhaust. Stock downpipe comes with restrictive cats, replacing stock DP with catless or high flow cats will allow the turbo to spool faster, make more power with less restriction

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

charge pipe connects to your intercooler and is replaced for reliability

downpipe connects to your turbo and exhaust. Stock downpipe comes with restrictive cats, replacing stock DP with catless or high flow cats will allow the turbo to spool faster, make more power with less restriction

would a downpipe increase the longevity of your turbos due to decreased pressure?

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by STR8-6IX

would a downpipe increase the longevity of your turbos due to decreased pressure?

In theory increase it because of less back pressure

[330i_sportshadow]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

If you plan on keeping your mods get an intercooler similar to Wagner EVO 1 or VRSF 5"

If you are going to get downpipes in the future, Wagner EVO 2 , VRSF 6" or Evolution Racewerks

Do you think that going EVO II on a n20 320i will be an overkill due to its weight? I think stock fmic is very light so I wonder if that could cause other issues