Front heat exchanger for intercooler

stormtrooper

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Who is out there that has bypassed the front heat exchanger on the xm and are using it for cooling water for intercooler. Any issues with overheating engine on long hard climbs, how about on trail? Thinking about adding power freaks thermostat to help compensate for loss in cooling volume/area and doing it. Seems to be the easiest way to add intercooler on 2013 xm but i am thinking that front cooler does a lot of work on the low snow, icy trails you see in springtime mornings.

Not the room there is on the t3 under the tunnel for adding a cooler. The other option I am considering is converting the running board rail edges to run coolant to back of tunnel, then back the other side. This will defiantly work, just a lot more work and $ to making it work and still look clean. Not interested in the u cooler under belly pan some guys are doing. I hit way too much stuff.
 

Limbo

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It may be worth calling Boost-it, the cooler they had for their water to air set-up was really clean and neat, tucked up in the tunnel.
 

stormtrooper

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Yah, that's what I was thinking at first, but it won't fit. Need the t3 with the drop and roll for it to fit. It's surprising how little room there is on the non T3 versions. Pretty sure I am going to end up modifying my running boards and adding cooler at back end.
 

stormtrooper

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Something like this.
 

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stormtrooper

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Yah. I think I am going to cut my front cooler in half and split it ..... half for engine and half for intercooler. Give that a try. Just not sure what the inside of the front cooler looks like. Coolant goes in and out on mag side. Pretty sure I can make that work and will be a lot cleaner looking.
 

maierch

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Yah. I think I am going to cut my front cooler in half and split it ..... half for engine and half for intercooler. Give that a try. Just not sure what the inside of the front cooler looks like. Coolant goes in and out on mag side. Pretty sure I can make that work and will be a lot cleaner looking.

Wouldn't the engine heat increase the WTA coolant temperature making it less effective? I'm not sure if ice seen my Airbox temperatures get over 60 C which is where most thermostats open.
 

Washy

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I did exactly what you were planning to do. Converted the from heat exchanger into a dedicated cooler for the WTA intercooler, I sourced most parts from frozenboost including the bosch pump and a barrel style intercooler/lines. May not have been the best intercooler choice but.... I did not have any over heating issues with the sled, but I did add the Powder Freaks thermostat. It is pretty tight for the inlet and outlet of the cooler behind the motor. The turbo hit was originally a Silber kit that I added the WTA too. Cant really say if it was a huge difference over no intercooler as I never turned it up past 5 psi...
 

stormtrooper

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Wouldn't the engine heat increase the WTA coolant temperature making it less effective? I'm not sure if ice seen my Airbox temperatures get over 60 C which is where most thermostats open.

Since they will be effectively two different heat exchangers and not even touching each other. The effect will be marginal if at all. They will be dedicated cooling loops, no mixing of fluid. The front exchanger should see lots of fresh snow as the track basically does a 180 at the front. Thought about building my own intercooler but don't know much about sizing and think I could just waste a lot of time figuring it out so will use boostit intercooler. Was told with my intercooled I will see inlet temps of 200f? Would like to get to 7-8 lbs of boost.
 

rsaint

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I have box full of intercoolers, hoses,water to air heat exchangers and piping if interested pm me.
 

maierch

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Since they will be effectively two different heat exchangers and not even touching each other. The effect will be marginal if at all. They will be dedicated cooling loops, no mixing of fluid. The front exchanger should see lots of fresh snow as the track basically does a 180 at the front. Thought about building my own intercooler but don't know much about sizing and think I could just waste a lot of time figuring it out so will use boostit intercooler. Was told with my intercooled I will see inlet temps of 200f? Would like to get to 7-8 lbs of boost.

Yeah I never thought of it like that. If they are completely separate there shouldn't be any heat conduction between the two. If it were me I would do what Washy did and use the entire front cooler for the intercooler. You can save a bunch of welding if you can keep your engine temps in check.

I'm running 8-10 lbs and seldom see temps as high as 60 C read from a temp sensor tapped into the aluminium airbox directly behind the injectors. Most of the time I'm in the 30s but the aluminium around the sensor could be helping to lower it.
 
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