Finally got around to fitting my new intercooler yesterday. Went for a Toyosports 690x180x65 with 57mm inlet and outlet. Although I couldn't find a direct comparison between this cooler and a forge or airtec for the Punto, there was enough Dyno data about for Vauxhall and Audi cars to convince me it'll be decent.
Came well packaged and arrived next day.
Fitting was fairly straightforward. Removed bumper, unscrewed OE cooler and it unclipped shrouds from top. Broken off old hose clamps and removed old part.
As the new cooler was universal, it needed brackets making. I used 1" x1/2" aluminium box to brace the two original mounting points on the radiator, secured with m8 bolts, nyloc nuts and penny washers top and bottom over original rubber bushings. Cooler is mounted on 4mm x 25mm aluminium bar bolted to to the box section. I slotted the holes on the flat bar to allow positioning on the car. It's tight fitting so measuring and drilling accurately to get perfect fit is almost impossible hence the slots.
To secure the top, I bolted a length of 1.5 X 25mm bar to the middle mounting point and bent and pulled it over the crash bar and attached with some self tappers.
Most difficult bit was moving it on the slots to ensure neither the cooler or hoses touched anything. I used 45 degree 57 to 51mm reducers for the piping, 30 degree elbows would be an easier fit. Final bit was trimming the shroud to fit, dremmel and cutting wheel sorted that although many people just remove them.
I'd estimated 4 hours for the job, took about 6 including going to get hose clips. Other than usual spanners etc I used a angle grinder for cutting, bench grinder for finishing and a variable speed drill. You could do it with a hacksaw and files though, slow speed drill is essential for drilling metal.
Test drive today
Cheers
Ben
Came well packaged and arrived next day.
Fitting was fairly straightforward. Removed bumper, unscrewed OE cooler and it unclipped shrouds from top. Broken off old hose clamps and removed old part.
As the new cooler was universal, it needed brackets making. I used 1" x1/2" aluminium box to brace the two original mounting points on the radiator, secured with m8 bolts, nyloc nuts and penny washers top and bottom over original rubber bushings. Cooler is mounted on 4mm x 25mm aluminium bar bolted to to the box section. I slotted the holes on the flat bar to allow positioning on the car. It's tight fitting so measuring and drilling accurately to get perfect fit is almost impossible hence the slots.
To secure the top, I bolted a length of 1.5 X 25mm bar to the middle mounting point and bent and pulled it over the crash bar and attached with some self tappers.
Most difficult bit was moving it on the slots to ensure neither the cooler or hoses touched anything. I used 45 degree 57 to 51mm reducers for the piping, 30 degree elbows would be an easier fit. Final bit was trimming the shroud to fit, dremmel and cutting wheel sorted that although many people just remove them.
I'd estimated 4 hours for the job, took about 6 including going to get hose clips. Other than usual spanners etc I used a angle grinder for cutting, bench grinder for finishing and a variable speed drill. You could do it with a hacksaw and files though, slow speed drill is essential for drilling metal.
Test drive today
Cheers
Ben
