CSF cooling products... fitment?

[yokomo963]

Hey everyone,

I just installed a CSF aluminum radiator and the CSF Black intercooler in my N54 135i. I’m curious if anyone else who used these products had fitment issues as well?

The radiator wasn’t too bad, the fan “pinch” bolt areas were a hair off but I could look past it. The intercooler was my biggest issue. It is marketed as a direct plug and play intercooler but I ended up having to trim the surround on the car a LOT to get the IC to fit. The intercooler piping lineup was a bit off as well.

Just my luck with these two products? I’ve always heard great things about CSF performance wise... but after these two products, I’d probably say I won’t be going to purchase anymore of their products if this is the fitment I can expect for ~$1000 worth of product.

-Eric

[Jeef]

135i csf intercooler requires some cutting of the plastic since it's thicker on e82 compared to e9x. you could try forcing it up but it gets stuck on the intercooler core tubes that stick out in front.

fitment is fine for these two products though. No complaints here.

Try a Wagner intercooler if you don't want to run the CSF one with stock connections.

[yokomo963]

Originally Posted by Jeef

135i csf intercooler requires some cutting of the plastic since it's thicker on e82 compared to e9x. you could try forcing it up but it gets stuck on the intercooler core tubes that stick out in front.

fitment is fine for these two products though. No complaints here.

Try a Wagner intercooler if you don't want to run the CSF one with stock connections.

Thanks, I ended up cutting all the plastic off in front of the intercooler and removed the mesh insert as well. Hopefully they will perform well on track whenever this craziness is over!

[Petro135]

I have a csf radiator and a 5" stepped ic. It's a gplus cheapie from ebay. But measures the same exact sizes as the csf i was looking into buying, before I realized I needed new turbos and went for the cheap fmic.
Mine fits right in no trimming or anything. Since, I've pulled it at least 3 other times for other repairs. I do like the longer screws that come with the csf. I didn't get those with mine. I bought mine with the idea I'd upgrade to a bigger race ic in the future but it seems this is a decent unit and my iat's are better than I expected and the least of my worries for now. Good luck, I do wish I bought one with the silicone boot ends instead of the oem clips. A nightmare for me was when I did the vrsf outlets and had to pop the oem boots off the old outlets and connected them and got everything tightened and realized the teeth inside didn't line up. Its real tight in there to get back in and loosen and spin it 1/2" then retighten. Added a couple hours of aggrevation to the end of my turbo install.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by yokomo963

Thanks, I ended up cutting all the plastic off in front of the intercooler and removed the mesh insert as well. Hopefully they will perform well on track whenever this craziness is over!

It's a good intercooler, it will perform on the track

[yokomo963]

Originally Posted by Petro135

I have a csf radiator and a 5" stepped ic. It's a gplus cheapie from ebay. But measures the same exact sizes as the csf i was looking into buying, before I realized I needed new turbos and went for the cheap fmic.
Mine fits right in no trimming or anything. Since, I've pulled it at least 3 other times for other repairs. I do like the longer screws that come with the csf. I didn't get those with mine. I bought mine with the idea I'd upgrade to a bigger race ic in the future but it seems this is a decent unit and my iat's are better than I expected and the least of my worries for now. Good luck, I do wish I bought one with the silicone boot ends instead of the oem clips. A nightmare for me was when I did the vrsf outlets and had to pop the oem boots off the old outlets and connected them and got everything tightened and realized the teeth inside didn't line up. Its real tight in there to get back in and loosen and spin it 1/2" then retighten. Added a couple hours of aggrevation to the end of my turbo install.

I almost wish I went the silicone boot fmic as well but day two of driving around and no issues and car is holding boost!

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

It's a good intercooler, it will perform on the track

Good to know. Thanks mike! Can’t wait for ER to get back in production and get the their oil cooler installed! Then I think I will completely alleviate the limp mode issues on track.

[Dekdo]

no issues with the radiator

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Dekdo

no issues with the radiator