Richard Olafsson

Hi guys,

I fitted an MY97 UK spec turbo engine in my Porsche 356 speedster replica a while ago now and have got around to measuring the boost temperatures with a multimeter. I have seen a peak of 50 degrees in the last couple of days but it tends to settle at about 30 degrees above ambient most of the time. The intercooler is not in the best place for flow so I have been thinking about my options.

Before I go spending much money on custom chargecoolers, would I be able to fit the Legacy RS air/water intercooler to my engine (pipework compatability)? Do I need to? The car weighs half what an Impreza does so the engine doesn't have to work hard at all during normal driving. Or would I be better off with a water spray or fans mounted on the current intercooler...
Bearing in mind that performance is 'adequate', to say the least, I don't have any major mods in mind for the future.

Any ideas/advice?

Cheers,
Rich
Ps pics and build can be seen on my website (www.ricola.co.uk)

GavinP

Richard,

I don't know if you have seen my web page but I have transplanted a RS Legacy air/water IC into my Impreza.

30 degrees C above ambient is a bit high - and would produce a useful power increase if you can lower it significantly.

I'm sure the chargecooler would work well in your application as long as you can get a decent-sized radiator at the front of the car for the coolant circuit - from your web page, it sounds like that could be a problem!

Maybe water injection is an easier option to package as you are very tight for space ?

I tried small fans on my IC beforehand and they do make a difference - along with intercooler water sprays although a chargecooler or WI will have a much bigger impact.

Thanks

Gavin

Richard Olafsson

Hi Gavin,

Yes, I've read your web page several times and is a good source of info, thanks.
Just not sure if it is in any way possible to do a bolt on swap with my engine and pipework, how many other parts would I have to change? Is there any reason that you didn't use the Subaru water pump in your system? I would probably use an oil cooler core and duct air from underneath the car.
I have considered fans, but I have only just started measuring temps so maybe that will be a start. I would have flow going the opposite direction to a Subaru install, straight out of the engine cover grill. It'd be better to use other peoples' experience rather than do the expensive and time consuming job of trial and error myself.

Cheers,
Rich

GavinP

Richard,

The Subaru OE pump is two-speed and rated at 15 litres/minutes maximum - if you want better performance, a higher-flowing pump is a much better bet - the Centripuppy is rated at 70+ litres/min.

The higher the flow = the higher the efficiency (according to Corky Bell anyhow... )

There is also a picture in Corky's book of an air/water install with a car using four small oil coolers in series due to space constraints - maybe an option ?

If you can get the original pipework from turbo to heat exchanger, it makes life a lot easier. The unit itself is a direct bolt-on part for a 93-96 Impreza - I'm not sure if the MY97 uses the same intake manifold as the earlier cars?

Apparently Pacet can do waterproof fan motors so you could mount one of those fans underneath and could also use a serious water spray without fear of shorting the fan motor?

I thought putting the chargecooler in my car was a project - compared to your efforts, it's a piece of cake!

Thanks

Gavin