air-water ic with cobra heat exchanger and "ebay" core...

Picked up an 04 cobra heat exchanger (ebay.com) and a large dual 4.5" core intercooler (frozenboost.com). Plan to order the rest of the parts for this from frozenboost after i make sure things will fit under my hood/in my bumper etc. I intend to use the bosch pump and the 3/4" hose they sell there.

this is for my 1999 C43 mercedes with the aftermarket eaton on it. this project is applicable to many other vehicles/uses as well. any thoughts? any interest?

I will be monitoring the iat temps and if all works will likely run a bit of nitrous (or will run meth if i still want to do a bit more cooling).


I would have done air-air if there was any way to run the necessary pipes.

-drew

 

[Heath]

Drew,

how do you like that C43??? I've looked at those in the past... I like em... Big engine, little car... If Tara doesn't get a minivan for her next vehicle I'm thinking like an E55 for her...

 

[justin146]

What are you using for a pump? You could grab a pump from a Lightning or Terminator.

 

[Jakee]

I always like to see other projects, so i'm interested.

 

[expo5.0]

i'm pretty sure i'm going with the $120 bosch pump they have on frozenboost, the terminator pumps are like $90 on ebay (the lightnings are the same)- but i'd have to order the pigtail for it too for like $15.

heath- i love the car, but it's too slow compared to the newer models out there stock (what from '99 isn't?). this stuff should let it keep up with almost all the new "special" models.

-drew

 

[CDW6212R]

That sounds interesting Drew. Do you by chance have any room for a large coolant bottle instead of a basic fill neck/cap? I know that water/air is very efficient, but any cooling of the coolant could equal an injection of water/alcohol. I don't know if I will have room myself, but I will try hard.

If you can build a coolant container that can include an AC evaporator, then you could fabricate new AC lines to force cool that coolant. Good luck,

 

[expo5.0]

I should post an underhood picture... I'm already afraid that if i want to run a reservoir i'll have to place it inside the bumper!

I think i may do that though and just plan on only having it accessable with the p-side headlight out. so long as i can check coolant level with it in that would work fine. I'd just pull the headlight for track day (my iat would benefit as well)

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes I figured that you surely have no more room under that hood then we do. It would probably take about two gallons of space to hold any kind of evaporator core. I have no idea where I will place one, I like the battery in the stock location.

 

[expo5.0]

yeah, i have less room than my friend's 2001 gt turbo 5.4 dohc project had... it's unbelievable how little space i have.

I did test fit the heat exchanger today and it will fit fine- It also looks like i will have the option of running 2 of them down the road if i want to (with a bit more cutting). I'm hoping i can keep my iats in the ambient plus 50 or less range or better.

 

[CDW6212R]

Well keep at it and show us a taste of it with pictures as you go.

 

[expo5.0]

sorry for cell phone pics

think i can hold 5 psi with fiberglass? much easier that way if i can do it than if i have to get a new top "flange" made for the supercharger out of aluminum

 

[CDW6212R]

5psi might not be too much, if the fiberglass is well done. I would use that to have one made from aluminum.

 

[expo5.0]

yeah- i think i can do it, but if it doesn't work perfectly it will be the ideal starting point.

I'd have a couple of buyers if i get that part made too i bet- all the benz guys with this charger on their cars said an intercooler couldn't be done... i've already shown it can be eh?

you know i'm teh 'glass master though too, lol. Honestly, it's a different application for me glass wise, but i do have a lot of glassing experience.

 

[CDW6212R]

That is going to work well for you then.

Question Drew, I've just found a possible source for a hood section to add to my OEM hood. How much reliability would you say there is for glassing a fiberglass top layer onto a stock steel hood? If the details work out so that the two "eyes" that I want can be had located correctly, I might have a piece to graft soon. I do have a friend who is retired from painting and fiberglassing. He could do the work, he's good enough, but are there any new products that didn't exist say ten years ago to help with this? This man is a master painter and his fingers/hands can feel and correct any defects. I would need to provide the proper materials and chemicals, as he lost all of his equipment long ago. Thanks for any help,

 

[99SportX]

Looks good. As long as you can assure that it won't crack, I bet it would hold the pressure. If that joint encounters any repeated flexing, it probably won't last very long.

A fabrication shop should be able to TIG weld some aluminum piping to that manifold if it is cast aluminum. It wouldn't hurt to try the glass though, I guess. As long as none would get sucked into the engine if it failed. lol

 

[expo5.0]

yeah- it isn't just that it needs welded- it's a complex 3-dimensional shape that needs to turn into a piece of 3" pipe very smoothly... going to be very costly remaking the whole thing with new aluminum. I'm confident in the glassing now that i've started it.

i have good confidence in glassing to metal if done properly. have you read my write-up? it's old and outdated, but a start.

let me know when you get closer to actually doing that?

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, the seller is helpful and has offered the top half for $250. It's a little more than i would wish for just pieces from a broken hood, but it is a start. I need to call my friend to see if he is still willing and able.

 

[expo5.0]

Sorry for cell phone pics

no hard data yet- other than that the core was at 24 celsius today after some hard driving when the sc outlet was at 38 (ambient was 18) according to my laser thermometer. iat gauge is backordered.



also, a problem- under vacuum the silicone couplers "pucker" and lose shape, do i need to be concerned? they are pretty good 3 or 4? ply couplers and i'm running reasonable vacuum 20-24 per my gauge

 

[CDW6212R]

It looks great, but that vacuum is high enough to eventually ruin those hoses. They are great for boost, but any decent vacuum will need hard pipes. Try to keep the length of hoses very short between components. Regards,

 

[expo5.0]

problem is i needed a pretty complex shape

i wonder what options i have- i'd imagine steel would heat soak significantly worse right? I can't really fabricate it from plastic.