With all the hype of Remaps on the Jtd's and BMC Air Filters being soooo good....

How about a bigger intercooler as well??

Is it worth it?

Not sure, haven't looked into it. It's an idea though, but don't know where it would fit, the current one looks pretty cozy in there

Had this done on my V70 D5, the intercooler its self wasn't noticeably bigger (a few mm here and there) but was a more efficient design. Along with a custom map on my D5 it delivered some serious power & torque gains. The good news is the Fiat diesels seem to be much easier to liberate power from than the Volvo unit, the bad news is that the reason an uprated intercooler worked so well with the D5 may not apply to the JTD.

Fair enough a more efficient design would help, but a bigger one would increase turbo lag surely?

H2DaE said:

Fair enough a more efficient design would help, but a bigger one would increase turbo lag surely?

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I think it would. Although the JTD has a variable-vane turbo I'm not sure how it handles over-boost - dumping it or not. If it does then yes it would take a bit longer to get the larger intercooler upto pressure.

Sounds like it could be fun once it is up to pressure though :chin:

in 3 words - Not a clue
I need to learn more before doing more to the D5...

There is plenty of space in front of the radiator and there are loads of intercoolers on the market, it is just finding one that is a good fit and fabricating some mounting brackets....

The turbo on the punto Jtd doesn't have the variable vanes, but I remember, alfinge? posting something once about trying to fit the turbo from the doblo jtd to the punto but it would not line up.

Apparently the Stilo JTD turbo can be done I was considering this for the future

H2DaE said:

Apparently the Stilo JTD turbo can be done I was considering this for the future

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Hmmm, assuming that the rest of the engine is the same and it is only the turbo that is different, then the future is bright!

New injectors, New Turbo... 180 bhp??

new gear box, new clutch, brakes.... it just goes on and on.....

Think I would rather buy an already fast car...

gregit said:

Hmmm, assuming that the rest of the engine is the same and it is only the turbo that is different, then the future is bright!

New injectors, New Turbo... 180 bhp??

new gear box, new clutch, brakes.... it just goes on and on.....

Think I would rather buy an already fast car...

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Well I'm already upgrading the clutch, brakes and suspension so wouldn't be too bothered about that. Gearbox I'd have to look into, although I'm more worried about the amount of torque it would have making it undrivable lol Wheelspins in 5th?

H2DaE said:

Well I'm already upgrading the clutch, brakes and suspension so wouldn't be too bothered about that. Gearbox I'd have to look into, although I'm more worried about the amount of torque it would have making it undrivable lol Wheelspins in 5th?

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Fairplay!

Would certainly be a handfull to drive though! Our mondeo 130tdci's at work struggle to put the power down when you aren't pointing in a straight line, so you may want a limited slip diff as well....

gregit said:

Fairplay!

Would certainly be a handfull to drive though! Our mondeo 130tdci's at work struggle to put the power down when you aren't pointing in a straight line, so you may want a limited slip diff as well....

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The current one struggles to put it down if u really boot it around corners aswell, torque steers quite a bit and theres no electrical safety nets

H2DaE said:

Fair enough a more efficient design would help, but a bigger one would increase turbo lag surely?

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Turbo lag comes from the time the turbo takes to spool up, nothing to do with the intercooler. A bigger intercooler would mean cooler air, cooler air is denser air, denser air gives more power.

TDF said:

Turbo lag comes from the time the turbo takes to spool up, nothing to do with the intercooler. A bigger intercooler would mean cooler air, cooler air is denser air, denser air gives more power.

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I thought the turbo had to build up pressure in the intercooler aswell? So more space in the intercooler = longer to fill it up = more lag? Forgive me if I'm wrong my turbo knowledge is very limited

H2DaE said:

Well I'm already upgrading the clutch, brakes and suspension so wouldn't be too bothered about that. Gearbox I'd have to look into, although I'm more worried about the amount of torque it would have making it undrivable lol Wheelspins in 5th?

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5th hu? Floor it in 6th at 80mph, turbo spools in and if the surface isn't anything other than ideal you'll get spin, merest hint of moisture on the road it'll spin hard. Quickly you learn to be delicate with the throttle and feed the power in smoothly.

I thought all bigger intercoolers do is reduce heatsoak. So when you're constantly driving hard on a hot day, with a bigger intercooler you'll experience no loss of power.

So I think it's more the potential for more power (when charge temps go up ) The Skoda people do it with Fabias, have massive FMICs and then they end up fitting a hybrid turbo to keep boost up.

Definately a good idea but the cost is quite high...

TDF said:

Turbo lag comes from the time the turbo takes to spool up, nothing to do with the intercooler. A bigger intercooler would mean cooler air, cooler air is denser air, denser air gives more power.

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H2DaE said:

I thought the turbo had to build up pressure in the intercooler aswell? So more space in the intercooler = longer to fill it up = more lag? Forgive me if I'm wrong my turbo knowledge is very limited

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Your right H2DaE, I was wrong. Ive been having a read up on it, and changing the intercooler can be more complicated than I realised.

H2DaE said:

I thought the turbo had to build up pressure in the intercooler aswell? So more space in the intercooler = longer to fill it up = more lag? Forgive me if I'm wrong my turbo knowledge is very limited

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A bigger intercooler doesn't necessarily mean that the overall pressurised volume (intercooler + pipes) goes up. Combine this with a better flowing design and potential gains are guaranteed.

i was actually reading an article in retro cars yesterday on radtec www.radtec.co.uk who do rads but also intercoolers and dry sump applications.
to give oyu an idea of what an improved and well designed intercooler can do they do one for the focus STI
standard exit air temp 60o
radtec I/C 16o