how good/bad are these copy intercoolers?

[krush]

hello all,

seen a number of group buys on this site with copy intercoolers, prices lingering around $250 mark (give or take $50). just after peoples opinions on these things? i wouldnt have a clue really about them, but would it be better then a stock intercooler?

at the moment my r32 gtst has pod and exhaust and id be looking to get an rb25 turbo+bleed valve to 14'ish psi, and obviously am going to beed an intercooler. i wouldnt be going much further then that in the way of modding the car.. so would one of these coolers suffice?

obviously id like my moneys worth, but im not keen on spending $1k+ on a top of the range intercooler made for 400hp+ that im never going to push to its limits..

cheers!

shaun.

[CEF11E]

these intercoolers are great. I had one on my cefiro pushing 1.2 bar during drift days and intake temps never went over 35~40.

with the previous cooler i had (almost same size as the hybrid copy) it got up to 55!!

Keep in mind. those coolers are huge! you will need to mod your front bar to fit but its deff worth the while

[krush]

thanks man,

i gather noone else has any thoughts on them?

[Lazy-Bastard]

I have a hybrid copy - 600x300x76 and have had no problems.

My car span up 200kw on the mercury dyno the other day and inlet temp was at 33 degrees, so the performance of the cooler seems fine

[nedb]

I have a Hybrid cooler on my Auto R32.

My mods were pod, 3" full exaust, rb25 turbo and just with the cooler itself I gained 14 rwkw on stock boost.

[boostn32]

i have a X Racing cooler, same as most bar and plate 600 x 300 x 76. it works fine inlet is very cold, im running a trust td06 + lots more and its up to the job, will be pushing for 300rwkw and using this cooler

[Kaido_RR]

i got a hybird copy aka china cooler 600x300x76, had no problems with it so far, i am running 12psi without a problem. I have been reading thou that the only problem with the hybird china cooler is that the endtanks are not as good as something like a gtr cooler

[funkymonkey]

they're all made in china to pretty much the same standard. As long as you don't get one with a dodgy weld (which you should be able to fix pretty easily anyways) you're good. Intercoolers have been around since 1970, its not brain science, so a dodgy copy would be 99% as good as a big brand one.

[180bfj20det]

they're all made in china to pretty much the same standard. As long as you don't get one with a dodgy weld (which you should be able to fix pretty easily anyways) you're good. Intercoolers have been around since 1970, its not brain science, so a dodgy copy would be 99% as good as a big brand one.

Yep I agree.

I run chinese hybrid copy 76x300x600 as in my avatar. My temperature is never above 40 degrees usually 2-3 degrees above ambiant. Doesnt leak and flows extremely well. I wont even change it cause really its very very good and I reckon 300rwkw will be easy with it. I making 230rwkw and the cooler is not one bit stressed thermally.

DO yourself a favour and get one. I got mine for $310. Ive seen them in the 200s or the 500s lol!

[Col-GTSX]

Thats a "fully sick" (thrope said so) 180B....

Love the idea.... All you need is a baby on board sign and you are done.

[midnight]

they are made in the same place, so I wouldn't exactly call them copys. more like unbranded.

[600hp]

All intercoolers are not the same and don't kid yourself that they are made in the same factory.

just take a TRUST core and then compare it to a Cheap Hybrid and then compare it with one of the best, an ARC job.

They are no the same.

yes they do a good job at lower power figures, up to 500hp or so.

I've got a cheap chinese one on my golf which makes 210FWKW and then we have a TRUST on on the GTR.They are both 600x300 and thats were the similarity end.

[predator]

Even though I have just installed a cheap version myself.. I'd tend to agree with you 600hp. I'd like to hear some comments from people running 400hp+ and/or high boost levels and whether they still think they are that good.

My view is that it's just a way to get a cheap intercooler and keep intake temps down enough until it becomes a weakness. Then you upgrade it again, just like anything else.

[funkymonkey]

the comparison here isn't between top of the range abd knock offs, its between hybrid and hybrid copies (or so I assumed). At this range of the market the differences are minimal, and the namesake isn't worth the hundred's extra.

[oscar32]

I have a brand name larger cooler on my car, and my bro has a hybrid copy of similar size.. with similar boost and mods (before the new turbo) there didn't seem to be a lot in it.

I imagine once you start pushing big power it matters, and that slightly better design may shine or something. But I can't see how it could be $1000 better

[2fardown]

I'd like to see some test results comparing a big name equivalent to a china job or hybrid. Because frankly, if the only argument you have for the more expensive one is it's brand; that simply isn't good enough.

[jazza08]

Not much in it between Hybrid and the copies... but say Trust or even better Apexi coolers, then you will start to see a difference. This is obviously more noticable when running more power. A standard old r32 GTR cooler will flow better than a new Hybrid one from what ive seen!

[600hp]

I've seen a car with a hybrid cooler at 250kw at the wheels go to 270 at the wheels,with a cooler from Performance Manufacturing at Tarin Point.

very nice bit of gear.

same settings nothing changed at all!

[jazza08]

This company have a website dude??

[180bfj20det]

I've seen a car with a hybrid cooler at 250kw at the wheels go to 270 at the wheels,with a cooler from Performance Manufacturing at Tarin Point.

very nice bit of gear.

same settings nothing changed at all!

Just to be sure were they both the same size coolers (as hybrids come in different sizes).

The chinese ones also come in 100x600x300. Im sure this has to flow good hp. As for big name brands vs chinese ones...havent seen a comparison. All I know is that I had a jap one on my car, changed to chinese one and made an extra 30hp at the same boost setting blah blah. Still, I think that trust and the like have to make good products...but I would love to see a comparison of the intercooler I mentioned above and all these other expensive coolers, I reckon the difference would be very very minimal under 400rwkW. Ofcourse for anything above this, I dont think you can buy chinese 6" thick coolers like trust make so cant compare here and yeah you can only conclude that for high hp only the name brands are the go. There is not enough demand for 1000hp chinese coolers so they are not made. Could be wrong. I just would love to see a back to back test for interests sake.