Thanks All, This is helpful.

In the past (15+ years ago) I could go to the local car show, Sat Night Hangout or race track or parts shop(few still exist) and physically see a car or parts, and take notes on what I liked or did not like, and replicate the pieces or components I chose to.

Now with forums like this there is a ton of opportunity and access to information but so many more opinions to sift through, and I don't get out as much as I did when younger so less of an opportunity to physically inspect parts and setups, plus not everyone wants to let me poke around under their car with a light, the way you can with someone's Camaro or Corvette at the race track. I do need to get out to more events.

Has anyone ever done an independent and unbiased evaluation of comparable parts for a 996 Turbo?

While Intercoolers are not Rocket Surgery, I find it hard to believe every shop and tuner has their own customer designed product, and are not just white labeling the same stuff from one of a few manufacturers.

That being said, I have an experienced and incredible fabricator here in Houston that could make me just about anything, but no need to reinvent if someone else has built the best.

When ya'll say SRM, are you referring to Silly Rabbit Motorsports? Guess I have to add them to the list, which I think means I have identified 9+ places who have their own intercoolers for our cars.

Thank you all!

 

6 lbs or so.

 

OEM 996TT IC: 6lb 7oz each
OEM 997TT IC: 7lb 4oz each

My guess the all aluminum 4.5" ICs are going to be in the area of 13-17lbs each. 911 tuning is on this thread. Maybe they (along with other manufacturers) can publish the true weight of their 4.5s for comparison?

 

when you say there are 9 places ask how many actually make these i/c. my guess would be less than 4. theres more white label parts on the market than most are aware of. and yes srm makes their i/c in house form either cast or billet end tanks and cores spec'd to the shops design. i built my own with bell cores but that was before the i/c market started making good working i/c for a decent price. understand even your shop will source the cores from a core builder and simply build end tanks and mount them.

 

The only ICs I would consider are the 997.2s, Markski, and SRM-- decision based on goals/budget. Everything else is questionable..

 

John were you guys able to source the uber aerospace cores and build a set yet? I suspect those will noticeably outperform but at a price.

Yes, many shops relabel but there's multiple shops that don't including SRM and Marksi. SRM has upgraded theirs over time and offers different outlet piping as desired. Sean's testing showed that the larger pipes flowed more but had higher temps, I went with the smaller piping at my power level. Marski builds up to a 5inch intercooler at his shop :O

Lots of options and usage makes a difference as does power level. I'm willing to accept the added weight. The only testing I've seen done awhile back concluded the 997rs were best as I recall. It's why I installed temp monitoring in my car, I wanted to monitor my own setup. Lots of different opinions but often no hard data. Oh and the turbo size will also change things too so don't forget that! My old school hybrid K24 probably run cooler than stock k16 or 24 but hotter than the new breed of turbos I suspect.

FWIW I think one of the more important things is the ducting making a good seal. I think Joe Toth's scoops might also be of benefit so that instead of simply sucking air from the lower bumper we can ram it from the top. My upper ducts weren't even full sealed stock so I paid added attention to that aspect during my install! I'll get a set of his scoops one of these days, I keep hoping someone will temp test them first

 

I have 911Tuning 4.5" intercoolers on my car and they are working great at 1000awhp.

 

Yes, we have received 3 sets of cores about 6 weeks ago. The first set they sent this past summer were the wrong size so that set the project back about two months. Sean almost has the CNC end tanks finished and should have them welded on soon. I have not pushed him since he's busy with other stuff and the season is over for me anyway. I should have them by the end of the year is my guess.

The cores are 4" and the finished IC should weigh 9-10lbs each. They will be priced right at $7000 for the pair. Needless to say, the data on these is very impressive. These are the real deal for someone looking for a road course IC that can quickly shed a huge amount of heat yet flow well up to 1200hp.