Forge Intercooler

[zayzay]

Just purchased the Forge intercooler. is anyone using it on their 1m and what do you think of the quality and performance of the forge intercooler? Do you see a performance increase? would appreciate any comments.

[ZA_1M]

Search button is your friend as a start, I'm sure its been well documented here

[MDORPHN]

Yes, a million threads on this, so I'm a bit loathe to replay but...

1) Intercoolers don't make power. They help you maintain power by warding off heat soak (and preventing the ecu from retarding timing due to heat)

2) Almost any aftermarket intercooler is a significant upgrade over the stock piece

Neil

[ChrisBuer]

I have a Forge and its superb. My car holds boost very well and consistently throughout the year. I'm yet to measure the IATs but it certainly feels stronger on boost.

[E30 Racer]

Originally Posted by ChrisBuer

I have a Forge and its superb. My car holds boost very well and consistently throughout the year. I'm yet to measure the IATs but it certainly feels stronger on boost.

How much boost are you running? What tune?

[bdaddylo]

Originally Posted by ChrisBuer

I have a Forge and its superb. My car holds boost very well and consistently throughout the year. I'm yet to measure the IATs but it certainly feels stronger on boost.

What boost gauge or data logger are you using to support your claims?

[Rsmatt]

Originally Posted by bdaddylo

What boost gauge or data logger are you using to support your claims?

What Chris is saying is that his car FEELS stronger with the forge intercooler than with the stock and this is certainly the case with mine as well although I don't have a forge intercooler I have an evolve one.
On the dyno with the standard intercooler the car loses power fairly quickly on multiple runs with the forge intercooler this was less evident, this I have been told is because the bigger intercooler helps remove heat quicker.
Chris and I for that matter don't run boost controllers on our cars but evolve have monitored mine when on there dyno whilst mapping my car to check the boost levels are correct, I can only assume that dms did the same.
Chris's car must run higher boost levels than mine though because his car is putting out the same bhp and torque figures with a less modifications. Specifically what these boost levels are I don't know but I'm sure evolve and dms will tell you if you contact them.

[E30 Racer]

This what I'm curious about. The Forge IC is nice, but with higher and sustained boost, I wonder how it actually performs compared to the larger ER, AMS, or HPF offerings.

[bdaddylo]

Originally Posted by Rsmatt

What Chris is saying is that his car FEELS stronger with the forge intercooler than with the stock and this is certainly the case with mine as well although I don't have a forge intercooler I have an evolve one.
On the dyno with the standard intercooler the car loses power fairly quickly on multiple runs with the forge intercooler this was less evident, this I have been told is because the bigger intercooler helps remove heat quicker.
Chris and I for that matter don't run boost controllers on our cars but evolve have monitored mine when on there dyno whilst mapping my car to check the boost levels are correct, I can only assume that dms did the same.
Chris's car must run higher boost levels than mine though because his car is putting out the same bhp and torque figures with a less modifications. Specifically what these boost levels are I don't know but I'm sure evolve and dms will tell you if you contact them.

Air to Air intercooler works on the basis of outside temperature and air flow through the cooling fins. From what I've noticed, on a hot (>85F) sunny day your intercooler will only be able to cool down your IATs to outside ambient temp +12F if you're traveling greater than 45 MPH. Once you stop moving, cooling essentially stops. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't see how you UK guys would have much heat soak issues due to the climate in the UK rarely getting above 80F unless you're constantly sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. In Houston, we easily average >95F in the summer and I've seen IATs in the 140F when sitting in traffic. I feel my aftermarket intercooler does help remove heat quicker, but it's not instantaneous and still takes several minutes, definitely longer than it takes to do a run on a dyno, depending on how much air flow is going through the intercooler.

I just want to let everyone know that unless you're running higher boost that would raise the IATs due to increased heat generated by the turbos, you're not going to feel any difference in peformance with an aftermarket air to air FMIC unless you live in a hot climate.

If you're tracking your car, the best way to prevent excessive heat soak is to raise your hood/bonnet in between sessions.

I'd like to hear experiences from other 1M owners regarding this topic.

[Derek8819]

I think you're right on the money as to the who needs an intercooler issue. My only worry is that the increased boost from the factory on the 1M already is too much heat generated for the factory cooler. Maybe on a standard 135 it's fine, maybe the BMW engineers looked at the 1Ms added boost and didn't think cooling was an issue, but I worry is they said...... It's good enough.

[E30 Racer]

Originally Posted by Derek8819

I think you're right on the money as to the who needs an intercooler issue. My only worry is that the increased boost from the factory on the 1M already is too much heat generated for the factory cooler. Maybe on a standard 135 it's fine, maybe the BMW engineers looked at the 1Ms added boost and didn't think cooling was an issue, but I worry is they said...... It's good enough.

Are you sure about this? 1M overboost only lasts for 8 seconds a shot. Like bdaddylo said, it would be good to hear from the 1M guys who have recorded their intake air temperatures at the track with stock boost on hot days.