I installed the AMS full intercooler kit in my 997.1 and wanted to share some notes/details and there is not much information out there on the install. It seems that most people are having shops install the intercoolers for them so that may explain why not many have shared information on the specifics of the install


I decided to do the AMS kit as it seemed that just about every option required some "trimming" and modification of the factory plastic housings so I figured I may as go with the biggest and best intercoolers

Also I wanted to share some information on the performance of the intercoolers from an unbiased perspective

First I will state that this is a really great bit of aftermarket gear. Spot on highest quality and design. In the end it is true that you get what you pay for and this is no exception

These intercoolers are so giant there is no margin of error and they fit spot on. The discharge outlet has almost no margin of error as it is almost the same size as the hole in the body which accepts the outlet coupler. Kudos to AMS for making such a well executed product that it just "fit" perfectly

Some install hints in no particular order:

1. You are going to have to trim off some material on the body below the tail lights which is hidden by the bumper. Although this part is not used and you will never see it with the bumper on the car it is an irreversible alteration of the body and thus may not be for every one. Best to use a cut of wheel with a fresh sharp blade and check and recheck the clearance with the intercooler to take off the least amount needed.

2. Leave all the intercooler mount screws / nuts (ones holding the AMS bits to the factory bracket and the factory bracket to the car) all LOOSE so you can jiggle it all around and get the outlet on the intercooler to line up as close to dead center to the hold in the body so you can get the very hard to fit intercooler pipe onto the intercooler. These couplers are a really tight fit and hard to get your hands on so I used a few tricks, I headed the ends in hot water for a few minutes to soften then up and used a lot of soapy water on everything

3. It is very hard to get the Y pipe onto the coupler on the T/B. I removed the airbox and I loosened the couplings on the plenum so I could rotate it all upwards a bit and that gave me a good angle

4. Everything fit really good but I am going to add a bit of foam or something at the top of the intake ducks so seal the airflow a bit more - I noticed the Do88 kit has some form of sealer and I thing that makes sense

5. They do not identify R & L in the limited install instructions which are not that detailed. For future reference the pipe with the longer BOV tube (not used with stock turbos - gets a plug) goes on the passenger side - the one with the shorter BOV tube goes on the drivers side. The ducts go with the "Alpha" facing outwards - this way you can't get them confused

6. I found this to be a relatively hard install just due to the massive size of the new intercoolers and also the way you have the wiggle and align them into just the right spot to get the outlets to line up exactly into the center of the body holes. No margin for error a lot of wiggle and finesses.

Performance

The previous reviews that I have read are spot on these intercoolers are amazing

On 2 - 3rd gear pulls on the highway my AIT temps actually dropped as I picked up speed from 88 down to 83 by the time I hit 106 mph. This is on a 77 degree day. On the stock intercoolers I would see AIT temps in the 130 - to high 130 range on the same pull with temps raising 20 - 30 degrees during this kind of pull

So the intercoolers really work

Only draw backs are that driving slowly around town they seem to not cool as well due to reduced air flow the air temps are around 90 to 95 when I am in stop and go traffic or driving slowly 20 - 30 mph it does not get enough air flow to get the AIT temps down close to ambient

However anything over 50 mph it seems that the trend is a rapid cooling towards a few degrees higher than ambient no matter how hard you drive the car

Basically - without any tuning to compensate there is a significant difference in performance as it seems that you get that cold, crisp "turbo day" effect even on a hot summer day

It is clear from my data logs that the stock intercoolers are horrible and result in crazy high AIT's and unstable air which results in tendency towards detonation and with such thin air no power

One thing to note - I feel a noticeable uptick in lag in 2nd gear when getting on the car the turbos take longer to reach full boost because of all the additional air space to fill between the giant intercoolers and the larger pipes

In 3rd and 4th gear the lag or delay in response is not as noticeable and there is no significant delay in boost between gears

Overall

I am very impressed with the AMS intercoolers - great performance and great design and quality

I am now weighing if I will do a custom tune now or wait and install some larger turbos and then do a tune