engineermike

I received and installed my Wagner intercooler this weekend and thought I'd post some comments and pic's. I was going to post step-by-step photos, but there really is only 2 steps: 1) Remove stock intercooler, 2) Install Wagner intercooler. It took me 40 minutes start-to-finish with no lift. If I did it over again I could do it in half that.

I've installed a lot of aftermarket parts over the years and found many of them to be junk, most of them didn't fit that well, and more clearly weren't designed for the longevity of OEM stuff. That is NOT the case with this intercooler. It uses the 4 factory mounting bosses and it fits into them perfectly with the stock rubber grommets. The inlets and outlet line up perfectly with the factory piping, and the factory clamps and clip are used. The only thing in the box is the intercooler itself, as there is no need for adapter pieces on the piping or mounting locations. You can see in the pic that they even allowed generous clearance around the factory AC line. I have zero concerns about the long-term reliability of this intercooler.

Also, note that the end tanks are specially cast pieces, designed for smooth flow transitions and low pressure drop. You won't find any sharp corners or flat panels in the flow path.

Sorry, but I don't have any test results and my old Camaro broke my butt-dyno. I can just repost that factory testing showed about 1 less psi pressure drop and ~55 deg F cooler IAT's vs stock.

As a side note, my stock intercooler was dry inside, with only a slight oil residue. No moisture or pooling oil at all was inside. I did have the hole drilled, though.

SkiSmuggs

The spring clip retainer for the charge air pipe can be a PITA. Best loosened from underneath as that is where the opening is. It can be easier to get the pipe back on if removed from the intake manifold first.

safetypin

not that it's relevant for my powertrain, but an endorsement from you (after having read quite a few of your posts) is pretty convincing.

pat247

iTrader: (1)

Congratulations on your purchase. I'm very impressed with the craftsmanship of this product and how easy it was to install. German engineering at its finest.

I had one hot side pipe that was quite oily when I did my install. I've contemplated adding a catch can to the pcv system to help trap most of this oil.

benelli_t

Nice... How much HP & torque will you gain with just the Wagner inter cooler on stock tune?

SkiSmuggs

Dyno's show about 10 HP from 3K and up for all of the aftermarket ICs. Some say they can feel it, I can't, but feel good about having it for towing.

engineermike

I believe those dyno tests to be conservative. During a short dyno pull, there isnt enough time to heat up the intercooler and really show the benefits. The benefits will be the biggest up a grade pulling a heavy load, while during short bursts it won't show much. A reduction of 55 deg should be worth 35 hp, so the 10 hp increase is probably what you get from just the reduction in pumping losses.

Buellracer

Thanks for the write up Mike. I've been wanting a new intercooler but been ver indecisive on which one to spend the money on. Haven't thought about the impact of the cast rounded tank ends on the Wagner and the difference on dyno likely being from just decreased pressure drop and not truly factoring in how much cooler IATs will be on the road. Im out around lake Conroe just north of Houston which sometimes is the humidity capital of the world but you being in La. You likely know the same conditions. That had me thinking about the full race with Tial BOV to help drain. Keep us updated on how this one does for you.