Intercoolers - Not all are equal

Hi and welcome back!

Referencing back to the last upgrades that were done on the car (Garrett 3076 gen II) I had a problem with intake temperatures rising. This was obviously affecting the map and meant I wasn't running as efficiently as I could be. My tuners suggested the car be upgraded with a larger 4" core intercooler. This left me confused as I already had one, A Mishimoto Type R no less.
Before I could grab my wallet and order up something expensive my tuner suggested that he has had good results with an unbranded intercooler from China. Now, this did put me off a little but it was quite reasonably priced and would be a straight'ish swap.

I decided to also have the intercooler painted black, not because I think for one moment that it helps efficiency but more because it is aesthetically pleasing on the front of a black car.

Although I do not have the data logs yet (the tuner shall post them up later), the results were actually quite surprising. Approaching peak power intake temps of the Mishimoto was around 43 degrees centigrade. Compare this to the unbranded one which only went as high as 25 degrees. This is some difference not only releasing the potential of the car more freely but will be a bonus on particularly hot days (we do have them in the UK) when the car would be forced to hold itself back.

I obviously can't say that I am an expert in these things although in this case it certainly looks as though the Mishimoto is not all it claims to be. Physically the intercoolers may be the same dimensions although the unbranded one appears to have more bar and fin construction. Hence greater cooling. Apart from being able to say, Mishimoto = No! I would advise caution when buying and dearer is not always better! 

As for the outcome? 

I can't complain!