OMG intercooler fins wasted!

[KurtsM5]

Good grief. I've never really got down and peered at them closely.

I have to wonder what the effect is on IATs.

[M5_Raz]

Those big Florida bugs huh

Are you gonna replace them?

[KurtsM5]

I bought it in Atlanta. It lived in Kentucky and Ohio before. Crap roads.

[M5_Raz]

How many miles does the car have?

[KurtsM5]

Originally Posted by M5_Raz

How many miles does the car have?

130 on the chassis, engine replaced in 2020. Oil pump failure.

[pmsteinm]

My 1st time at Thermal in the summer the F90s we were driving were having trouble getting too hot. All were a year old (they hadn't gotten the new cars yet) and their radiator fins were beat to hell. The instructors said that happens every year and when the cars get reconditioned to be sold they "brush" the fins out. I'm not sure how that works but it sounds like you can do something without replacing them.

For normal street driving the temp increase probably doesn't matter. The thermostat probably just opens a little sooner.

[KurtsM5]

Originally Posted by pmsteinm

My 1st time at Thermal in the summer the F90s we were driving were having trouble getting too hot. All were a year old (they hadn't gotten the new cars yet) and their radiator fins were beat to hell. The instructors said that happens every year and when the cars get reconditioned to be sold they "brush" the fins out. I'm not sure how that works but it sounds like you can do something without replacing them.

For normal street driving the temp increase probably doesn't matter. The thermostat probably just opens a little sooner.

I have some bumper cover damage so it'll be coming off anyway, I'm going to look into putting some screen on the back side of thhe lower grills and I'm going to paint the grills gloss black while I'm at it. I've seen combs for straightening fins but these fins are tiny compared to a conventional radiator.

[m5rosco]

You can straighten the fins by hand with a small flat head screwdriver, but it would be tedious and and would take forever!

[KurtsM5]

Originally Posted by m5rosco

You can straighten the fins by hand with a small flat head screwdriver, but it would be tedious and and would take forever!

Like the rest of my life!

[vafan13]

Originally Posted by m5rosco

You can straighten the fins by hand with a small flat head screwdriver, but it would be tedious and and would take forever!

I did this for one of the two side heat exchangers last fall. It is kinda "zen" but it does take *forever* because of how hit they were. I then bought an OE replacement for the other side.

[KurtsM5]

Originally Posted by vafan13

I did this for one of the two side heat exchangers last fall. It is kinda "zen" but it does take *forever* because of how hit they were. I then bought an OE replacement for the other side.

I would imagine that anything used is gonna be just as beat up as my own. How much was the OE?

[saxonb]

You can get upgraded ones instead of OE ones from Airtec: https://www.airtecmotorsport.com/pro...0-f12-both-lr/

[saxonb]

Also you can get a fin comb to help fix the fins: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben.../015326sch01a/

[saxonb]

Originally Posted by saxonb

Also you can get a fin comb to help fix the fins: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben.../015326sch01a/

Apparently these don't work!

[vafan13]

Originally Posted by saxonb

Apparently these don't work!

I've only had luck using them after using a very small screwdriver to mostly straighten them out. Otherwise it's impossible to get all the teeth between the fins.

[KurtsM5]

Originally Posted by saxonb

You can get upgraded ones instead of OE ones from Airtec: https://www.airtecmotorsport.com/pro...0-f12-both-lr/

This seems to be a lot better idea than swapping the charge coolers. Someone I think m5rosco replaced his charge coolers and saw no IAT reduction.

[vafan13]

Originally Posted by KurtsM5

This seems to be a lot better idea than swapping the charge coolers. Someone I think m5rosco replaced his charge coolers and saw no IAT reduction.

I wouldn't be so sure. Capacity for cooling the water will go up above a certain mph, but capacity to cool the charge air remains the same. At least with bigger charge coolers there is a benefit at higher speeds where the heat exchangers can match the additional capacity.

What I'd love to see is someone doing both. I'll consider it, but first I want to try and get more airflow through the stock exchangers. Thinking an air dam on the front of a wheel well.