Intercooler Ducting

[Stinky Rooster]

I am in the process of putting a R34 SMIC into my S1 stag, and I have realised that there is no obvious access for air to actually get to the intercooler. This may be due to the fact that I dont have the lower lip that appears to be standard on the RS4 and I am hoping that someone out there can confirm / deny that this is the main feed for the unit.

I was hoping someone would be able to direct me to some photos of the area in question so I can see for myself how the standard ducting works. I do have the vents in the leading edge of the passenger side front wheel to let the air out, just nothing to let it in.

Also, due to my pathological hatred of body kits, I don't want to have to install said front lip or **shudders** a new front bar. (I have nothing against people that do like them, just not my personal cup of tea. )

I am thinking of cutiing a hole in my front bar and meshing it over, but before I resort to this type of butchery I would like to see what every one else has.

[3intheBack]

Post up a couple pics of your setup - it sounds strange that you dont have ducting vents - where did the old I/C get its cooling from?

[Stinky Rooster]

Its a long and involved story that I don't really have the time (or inclination) to explain, but suffice to say the current set up is far from satisfactory and only gets what ever air can get under the front bar without the RS4 lip.

I would love to post some photos but my camera is currently out of action

[fcruz3r]

hmm..had a look at the standard rs4 front bar ...and surprisingly it does seem to have the plastic shroud collecting air from the duct in the lower lip

imho...u should source the standard front lip...but thats just coz i dont fancy cutting holes in the front bar ...else if you want to maintain the stock standard look and not go overboard on bodykits...u might wanna try sourcing the dayz front bar (although finding one would be another challange)

[Stinky Rooster]

Thanks for that Roy - just as I suspected. The problem with adding the front lip and/or dayz bar is that my car doesn't have any side skirts and only the standard rear bumper so anything else I use is just gonna look plain wrong as it will be much lower than the rest of the car (ever seen those idjits that put the V8 supercar style front dam on a otherwise stock commodore? ) and I don't want a body kit anyway - best way to be different IMO

Also, due to the different area of the R34 SMIC, I don't think even the std S1 lip would push enough air up into the new cooler. (I had a look at SK's thread on this conversion and he has modified the std ducting too)

I am open to any other ideas any one has.

to be continued....

[Tangles]

I used one for a little while, was the R34 GTT 'cooler and shroud. The stagea stnd shroud was smaller by memory then the GTT shroud.

Luckily Ive got the Dayz front bar so it was all good for me. If you dont have a 'air dam' type opening allowing air to get in, why not sell it for what you bought it for and get a fmic kit? they look pretty stealthy when tucked up in behind the stnd front bar.

[fcruz3r]

well i guess u could cut a hole on the stock bumper and use mesh to cover it up a bit...but i cant picture this looking good....and if u do mess it up ...its gonna be pretty hard to patch up

i've seen some guys running all motor cars with a round hole cut in the front bumper then using a subwoofer cylinder vents inserted into the hole...so maybe getting 2 holes with 3-4 inch vents with the pipe blowing straight on to the cooler might work....cant gurantee how it looks ...but just throwing out ideas

btw...i dont think the standard front lip hangs that much lower than the rest of the car...if u'r in for the cruise could meet up wif other stagea owners and measure things up.