First up...Intercoolers or FMIC (Front Mounted Inter-Cooler)..pls don't flame me if any information is not accurate..sifus are welcomed to show the correct path..thanks..
General Question: How much does frontal area matter, how big of an effect does it have when compared to volume?
That's actually a tough question because there is a lot of stuff acting behind the scenes. Here are some very general rules on FMICs:
1) Longer Intercoolers:
~ *Cools better - Increase total surface area (more heat transferred)
Increases the time the charge air spends inside the intercooler (more time for heat to transfer, but less efficiently at the end of the IC than beginning. Remember that the greater the temperature difference, the more heat transfer, and the charge air will cool as it passes through the IC so deltaT is lower near the outlet).
~ Have more pressure drop
2) Taller ICs:
~ *Cool better- Increase total surface area (more heat transferred)
No change in time the charge air spends inside (IC efficiency doesn't drop off as much from one side of core to other)
~ Have less pressure drop
3) Thicker ICs:
~ Cool slightly better - Increase total surface area (remember there are comparably more fins even though frontal area is unchanged). However, the ambient air temperature goes up as it passes through the IC (ambient at entrance of IC, hotter in middle, hottest at exit). So while the total surface area increases, the heat exchanging efficiency decreases the thicker you go since the temperature gradient becomes smaller.
~ Have less pressure drop
4) Other factors which affect the cooling n pressure drop are the intercooler cores & end tank designs
*Assuming that all of the IC face is still exposed to fresh air
From this we see that the most efficient IC for maximum heat exchange and minimal pressure drop is going to be a short, tall IC (pretty much the opposite of the stock IC).
There are a few reputable brands for aftermarket fmic's for the n54 335i..
1) AMS
Weigth: 17.6 lbs
Dimensions: 20 x 6 x 6
Stock Core = 4.9375” Tall x 20” Wide x 4.75” Thick
AMS Core = 5.8125” Tall x 20” Wide x 6” Thick
Stock Face Area = 98.75 sq.in
AMS Fa Area = 116.25 sq.in
AMS has increase of 17.7% in Front Usable face Area over stock
Stock Volume = 469.063 cu.in
AMS Volume = 699.5 cu.in
AMS has increase of 49.1% in Volume over Stock
2) Forge
Weight: 7.5 KG/16.5 lbs.
Stock Face Area: 600 cm2
Forge Face Area: 790 cm2
Forge face area is 30% larger than Stock.
Stock Core Volumetric Size: 7293 cm3
Forge Core Volumetric Size : 10679 cm3
Forge Core is 40% larger volume than Stock
3) HELIX
7.81" H x 20.75" W x 5.75" D -total dimensions
Upper face 2.81" x 20.75" x 2.25" = 131ci Core Volume +
Lower Face 5" x 20.75" x 5.75" = 596ci Core Volume = 727ci total core volume
ambient face 7.81" x 20.75" = 162sq/in
-58% more core volume than stock
-59% more ambient face than stock
4) ETS
ETS Core:
Weight: 13lbs
Type: Bar and Plate
Tall: 5.5" Tall
Thick: 5.0" Thick
Wide: 20.0" Wide
BMW Stock:
Weight: 7lbs
Type: Tube and Fin
Tall: 5.0" Tall
Thick: 4.0" (Dual Pass Core w/ .25" plate in center)
Wide: 20.0"
10% Surface Area Increase Over Stock
37% Volume Increase Over Stock
Basic specs of the car:
Super stock..hehe
More to come...
Super stock..hehe
