Originally Posted by
nickwe21
Hi,
Needswings sells an awesome split cooling (intercooler separation) kit consisting of a couple of houses and I get the concept. But I have seen many folks on MBWorld actually use BMW power steering reservoirs or come up with other solutions to have a separate cooling reservoir.
Are bot equally effective or is one better than the other at cooling temps? Also I don't see a lot DIY instructions for both. How difficult are they to install?
I'd love to hear an honest comparison and a source for a DIY.
Thanks guys!
No matter which of those two choices they both get heat saturated. The one with more coolant will take a bit longer to saturate, but eventually they get to about the same temperature. The key to cooler temperatures is to have not only more fluid, but also larger area heat exchanger.
I made my own tank and have two small fans behind the OEM heat exchanger which I can turn off or on from the drivers seat. When stuck in traffic I will run the fans, but when getting up to about 30 mph I shut them off as enough air will flow through the heat exchanger without them running. Ambient air temps make a huge difference. During the summer heat exchanger coolant temps easily get up to 150, 160F range here in South Alabama when in tight traffic. It will eventually cool down to about 35 degrees above ambient when driving about 45 or 50 mph, but higher speeds will raise the temperature another 10 degrees. In the cooler spring and fall time of the year temps will go down and run much cooler. I also have installed a temperature gauge to monitor the water temperature of the intercooler. An added benefit to the additional tank is it will take all pressure out of the intercooler tank system. A good number of Crossfires have had leaks in the intercooler and it is suspected they develop because of the pressure in the system as it comes from the factory.
First thing you need to do is wire up the coolant pump so it runs full time when the ignition is turned on. ( It is in one of those links above) There is a write up on how to do that here in the Forum. Finding a way to stabilize the extra coolant tank takes some engineering, but mine is stable and sets well in it's place. Thing is there just isn't much room so you are limited as to the size of an added on tank. Below is a picture of how I did it, using a 4 inch piece of heavy aluminum tubing as the basic tank structure. One other thing; If you elect to use another tank you will have a hose from the bottom of the OEM engine coolant reservoir that is no longer needed. Some simple pinch it off. I removed the SRT6 reservoir and installed a Limited coolant tank to make a clean installation.
I have used an aluminized insulating blanket around the tank which is not in this photo to protect the metal of the tank from radiant heating.