There arn't any quality 3.5" intercoolers for 800 dollars. I'd own them.

 

i built a set for under 1200$ 4.5" i/c

 

The polymer end-tanks actually help keep heat in the core where airflow can carry it away. If you took 2 identical intercooler cores and put metal end tanks on one and polymer end tanks on the other, you will see better temp recovery times with the polymer tanks. The only benefits to a metal end tank are strength and getting rid of the stock hose ends.


Buy a $20 tube of epoxy, put a good bead around the 997.2 end tanks, and enjoy out-cooling brands that cost 2-3x as much.






To the OP, no discernible performance difference in stock 996 vs 996 gt2 coolers. They both have ~2 sq in of wide-open channels in the core.

 

Out of curiosity, how did you come to the conclusion that most leak? Do you know how many hundreds if not thousands of these intercoolers are installed on 997.2TTs, GT2s, and GT2RS worldwide and running without any issues?

I have almost 100hrs of track time on them running in some very high ambient temperatures. I pressure test several times each year. For the few 997.2s out there that have leaked a little bit, Araltide provides an easy fix.

Again, just like anything on the internet, you never hear about the 1000s of these intercoolers around the world on all the 997.2TT, GT2, and GT2RS that are working without any issues. You only hear about the few problems that crop up, and as the internet myth would have you believe, they all leak now. BS....

The end tanks are not plastic btw. They are a composite material which has much better insulating properties that your basic all metal end tanks.

 

I agree with what you say. But I personally had a client with a new set where one leaked. Then he got it warranteed and the second one leaked as well. No joke. Not trying to discredit them but that's a fact. You don't hear the calls or the emails with odd issues and cel. Some of us on the other side get the questions. In the end it turns out often to be busted end tanks. It gets me because we the tuners get blamed or questioned - it's the tune I know the tune they say. I have to go to great lengths disproving that assumption.
With that said , I think if they work without issues they work fine for entry level kits. But most shops don't even know how to pressure test let alone diagnose these problems if any. For those who wrech on their own it's a no Brainer but for someone who paid $800 to install them only to find out they are busted , well guess what , the $1400 plus labor one paid will quickly add up to $3000. I've seen it and heard it.
It's important to express opinions from both sides.
Markski

 

All I was saying is that out of the 1000s out there, the few cases that have issues is still a very tiny percentage of the sample pool as a whole. It's the few cases that have issues that you hear about, not the 100s out there that work as designed... By the same token, I'd venture to guess that greater than 95% of the 997/997TT cars out there are running stock or moderate boost set up at less than 1.3bar or so and that is where these ICs work best and where any leakage issues are minimized. Of the hand full of guys are running 1.6bar+ and or cars with crazy HP, then the 997.2s are not for then. The big turbo high HP guys are not tracking their cars where huge turbos are a hindrance more than anything. By "tracking" I mean running hard on a road course for 30 minutes at a time as opposed to an 8 second run down a drags trip or trying to outrun that Corvette from one stop light to another. The big power cars are mainly straight line go fast for a brief moment type set ups (as opposed to running all out for 30 minutes+) where IC flow is more important than fast thermal recovery.

 

I have looked into this a bit, I don’t see a direct comparison between the 996 GT2 and the 996 turbo intercoolers anywhere...

 

I plan on doing 997.2 intercoolers at some point...
Here's stock 996GT2 intercooler cores, note the extended 'finning' :
Cheers,

 

I’m sorry, I meant in terms of cooling (or flow) efficiency.

I don’t intend to do much power wise to my current 996 than a simple tune, clocked waste gates and possibly the GT2 intercoolers. The 997.2 intercooler, as good as they may be, wouldn’t make sense for me. I’m looking for “only” around 500hp and minimal lag.

 

How long do you plan to sustain that 500hp? If you're looking for the 5-10 second sugar high, then stock coolers will be fine. Beyond that and depending on climate, things start getting hot and the DME will pull the power back. If you want to keep that 500hp for an extended amount of time, neither the 996 or 996 gt2 cooler is going to cut it. There is a reason Porsche didn't run more boost form the factory. I've seen plenty of flashed but otherwise stock cars become slower than stock after a few laps on a road course.


To answer your question:


In terms of flow, the 996 and 996 gt2 are the same.
In terms of cooling efficiency, slight advantage to the 996 gt2 but it's really minimal -we're talking a degree or two under loading.

 

+1111

 

earl3, curious why you say 996TT/GT2 intercoolers are insufficient at 500chp?...factory 2004+ GT2's and 997.1TT(IIRC use same core) both run 1-1.1bar 480hp factory on them without issue...cores appear to be good quality.
My logs(street pulls) show very quick recovery times and about only 20C variance from ambient on a HOT day. I will try to log on track at somepoint to get a 'bigger' picture...
Will compare to 997.2TT intercoolers when I upgrade, maybe next 'season'.
Cheers,
Rob

 

http://www.wagner-tuningshop.de/#cat...he/porsche-996

Wagner tuning for great cheap coolers I have them and could not be happier with k16 billets and a Markski Proto Tune

Email the owner Carsten Wagner he will give you a great deal prob 1000 shipped

 

Hi Rob,
I imagine you'll see the issue with your track logs. They're ok for street pulls, its usually when you get into 5th where things get ugly quickly. You'll still see some benefits on the street with a upgrade as well.


The cores do appear to be decent quality from the outside, and they do recovery pretty quickly, the problem is the open channels that allow the flow to go through the core without ever touching a fin:

 

$1000 shipped is steal considering they come with silicone hoses too.

Maybe we can save some money by combining a few orders for international shipping