Custom intercooler

Talk and Tech about turbocharged 924/944/968 cars
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333pg333
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Thom wrote: Mon May 22, 2023 3:59 am
333pg333 wrote: Sun May 21, 2023 10:06 pmfwiw...those guys are from New Zealand, not Australia. To us the difference in accents is stark, but to many others from other countries, we sound the same.
Andre Simon at HP Academy has quite an accent too, at least for someone who learned English at school I found hard to understand him initially :shifty:
Haha...yis, huzz ixunt uz rilly strung. He does a great job with HPA but I have to cringe sometimes and also giggle a little at the foreign guys he's interviewing going slightly cross-eyed trying to decipher wtf he just said/asked. They can be feisty too.


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Thom
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I sourced a new, huge air filter from Sweden and installed it last night. It is basically twice the size of the previous filter... at this stage I would say that the car is a bit of a handful. The engine feels like it could propel a far heavier car. It picks up in 6th at 2k rpm as if it was a diesel truck, cruising at 100 mph without breaking a sweat whilst flooring the throttle requires guts I have been running out of. 16 years working on this car and it feels like I have reached a stage of development that exceeds any of my expectations... 16V is the way to go!


'90 944T - modified somehow

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Tom
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Thom wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 12:23 pm I sourced a new, huge air filter from Sweden and installed it last night. It is basically twice the size of the previous filter... at this stage I would say that the car is a bit of a handful. The engine feels like it could propel a far heavier car. It picks up in 6th at 2k rpm as if it was a diesel truck, cruising at 100 mph without breaking a sweat whilst flooring the throttle requires guts I have been running out of. 16 years working on this car and it feels like I have reached a stage of development that exceeds any of my expectations... 16V is the way to go!
That's awesome Thom. Super happy for you. I bet it's a total beast!! If you are a GoPro guy, we need some video! :)


#43

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Thom
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Thanks Tom. This car has been a long time coming and as you are well aware involved a lot of resource, not "just" money but also trial & error, hundreds if not thousands of hours of thinking, analysing, pondering, turning wrenches and literally bleeding. It has been a hectic journey with lots of downs, though thankfully not major ones such as a blown engine, but the results seem finally here considering that what I can see so far in terms of performance seems to be the tip of the iceberg as I have not even increased yet the ignition timing in the upper load areas. The engine at this stage really "out-chassis" the whole car and I cannot reasonably imagine wanting any more of this. I am also super happy that I can now focus on and enjoy cars of lesser performance considering that the almighty 944 turbo will always be there to provide the juvenile speed fix... yet casually get me from A to B in no fuss whenever needed - I am particularly satisfied that I was able to reach a Jekyll vs Hyde state of tune, as as a Porsche it should also be able to remain docile and easily usable in my opinion. It just feels like a whole new car. Apologies for all that horn blowing but it really feels that good, and this does not happen very often with such long and sometimes tedious projects.

I will try to make a video if I can find a passenger cold-blooded enough to focus on filming rather than be overwhelmed with the performance.


'90 944T - modified somehow

#44

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I second the request for Video. Just get a cheap mount and then you don't have to worry about a passenger passing out!

It sounds compelling if not a little scary Thom. Almost echoes Tom from what I've read so much so that he's detuning his car? I wonder if it isn't time to consider some sort of tunable nanny tech? Didn't Gustaf have a rudimentary bolt on traction controller some years ago? I know that's not really your cup of tea but a small concession to safety might not be a bad thing? 'Stuff' can go wrong with little warning and at speed one is merely a passenger.


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Looking forward to a Video👍


#46

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Thom
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I went out for a long drive with a friend in the passenger seat, to hold the laptop and shoot some videos with his phone but he was not able to hold his phone stable as he was keeping an eye on EGTs and the resulting videos are barely watchable at all. Will try harder the next time.
I have been adding several degrees of advance without getting any detonation, which has been quite a surprise as it was really hot the other day (34°C ambient) and with 20 psi of boost inlet temp would barely climb up - I saw no more than 36°C. Really impressed with the performance of the intercooler.
Considering the "high" values in the advance curve and how effortless the engine still feels the plan now is to push the boost up to 30 psi... That's where the turbo should work most efficiently and the sort of boost levels I had always in mind when building that engine. Now I probably sound overconfident as the car did not feel as threatening as before, and it is not sure if I am building confidence again or if the high ambient temp and the 220 lbs ballast in the passenger seat tamed the beast somehow... Judgement day tomorrow.
Last edited by Thom on Thu Jul 13, 2023 10:11 am, edited 2 times in total.


'90 944T - modified somehow

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Thom wrote: Thu Jul 13, 2023 10:04 am I went out for a long drive with a friend in the passenger seat, to hold the laptop and shoot some videos with his phone but he was not able to hold his phone stable as he was keeping an eye on EGTs and the resulting videos are barely watchable at all. Will try harder the next time.
I have been adding several degrees of advance without getting any detonation, which has been quite a surprise as it was really hot this day (34°C ambient) and with 20 psi of boost inlet temp would barely climb up - I saw no more than 36°C. Really impressed with the performance of the intercooler.
Considering the "high" values in the advance curve and how effortless the engine still feels the plan now is to push the boost up to 30 psi... That's where the turbo should work most efficiently and the sort of boost levels I had always in mind when building that engine. Judgement day tomorrow.

Holy Cow! 30psi... :shock: :shock: :shock: Do you plan to dyno it? If everything holds together, that should make some epic power....


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Thom
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Well, we have a "low" static compression ratio, a deckplated block, Carrillo rods, a massive FMIC, proper spark and "cold" plugs, a (relatively) restriction-free inlet path and exhaust... what could go possibly wrong? 8-)
Back pressure perhaps... I'll stop increasing the boost when/if EGT goes out of control.

Yes, I will go to the dyno eventually. If it ends up being as fast as I expect, extracting the very last HP may not be possible with tuning on the road.


'90 944T - modified somehow

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After I finally sorted by head gasket issues, I then went through 3 clutches, 2 sets of CV joints, and 2 transaxles, and probably other stuff I'm forgetting. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. :) Can't imagine how your new motor will feel in that car. Videos please! :)


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