intercooler choice

[BOZ22N]

hi,

i am trying to decide what type of intercooler to use on my 1995 R33 GTS-t, what benifits will i get if i use a bar and plate cooler over a tube and fin or vise a versa? is there much gain in using a GTR plenum or something similar to eliminate the tube going over the top of my head?.

Ta

[paulr33]

do a search or look in forced induction, recently hot topic. the cost of new plenum is not worth it and you save like .0024psi (or some tiny figure) in pressure drop by using less pipe work which was covered in the recent threads. the new/used plenum is around $1000 you could buy much better stuff for $1000 dorras as theres no other real gains with using front plenum other than less piping as far as i can tell from reading

a gtr front mount is supposed to be well suited for a stock/mild gtst. can be purchased cheaply and will flow good for upto around 300rwkw. however i got a second hand rebuilt dodgy one under my bed which i brought for $350 so they can be had ultra cheaply these days too. i think tube and fine is the one you want which is what the gtr one is, someone may be able to correct me however, seach in forced induction, youll find all u need to know

[MacGuyver]

I heard that bar & plate coolers have better cooling properties, where as tube and fin coolers have better flow properties. (or is it the other way around?) A lot of jap drag cars use the tube and fin ones (HKS and other jap coolers have names like 'drag spec') where as cars that compete in endurance events apparently use mostly bar and plate ones. The GTR ones are tube and fin.

[hayai32]

In my humble opinion.... bar and plate or tube and fin.... it comes down to which one you like the look of best.

[Abo Bob]

I heard that bar & plate coolers have better cooling properties, where as tube and fin coolers have better flow properties. (or is it the other way around?) A lot of jap drag cars use the tube and fin ones (HKS and other jap coolers have names like 'drag spec') where as cars that compete in endurance events apparently use mostly bar and plate ones. The GTR ones are tube and fin.

That's right.

For street driving you don't need the better cooling because you aren't on boost that much.

[2BNVS]

i have a hybrid fmic and that is great (bar n plate)

the theory is bar and plates dont flow as much air due to the dont have rounded surfaces like tube and fin which bounce the air into the cooler but in terms of actuall cooling, the bar and plate is better even though it doesnt flow as much air through...

ben...

[MacGuyver]

I don't think there's really much of a muchness between bar & plate VS tube & fin on the street. If you're into competitions/drags then you would probably look into which is more suited for a particular application but just for street driving either is fine. I've got a Greddy one (tube & fin) and it rocks!

[specialk]

the main difference that i was told is that bar and plate take longer to heat up (therefore stayin cooler for longer) where as tube and fin heat up quick and cool down quick... correct me if i am wrong

[Ronin 09]

see here, www.are.com.au

[Godzilla32]

Tube and fin flow better but not such a good temp drop, bar and plate have a better cooling effect but the design of the core limits flow capabilities of the outside air trying to get thru the core. So my chioce will always be the apexi GT spec intercooler, it combines a bar and plate style core with a uniquely shaped runner. Its actually angled on the front edge of each runner to help direct the outside air thru the core.