Intercooler tubing modification.

[Choochoochoo]

The piping for the fmic is a little snug in the area of the rad fan and the power steering pump pulley as well as the alternator pulley. I was thinking about just "flattening" or ovalizing the tube. I'm sure other people have done this, any tips? Pretty sure it's aluminum piping.. Just don't want to crack it. My method behind this was going to be some 2x4s in a vice with the tubing in the middle and ever so slowly "press" a portion of it into the oval shape so it won't contact the pulleys. Thoughts?

[my8950]

I recall seeing a company that actually makes oval pipe.
That may be a better route to go, unless crushing in a vice works ok for you.
Not sure how many ways there are to reshape the pipe smoothly.

[Choochoochoo]

It doesn't need to be super oval, just enough so I don't rub on the pulleys. Only really need about 1/2 inch more clearance to be super comfortable with it.

[NiggyMerk]

What intercooler are you running?

[Spaldino]

I watched a recent episode of Engine Masters where they were testing an engine on a dyno after whacking the header pipes with a big hammer. they saw no performance hit until they really flattened a bunch of the pipes and even then the performance loss wasn't bad at all.... a few HP max. This can probably be applied to IC piping as well. so if you were worried about ruining performance due to altering the shape of your IC pipe a little, well... you don't have to be. as long as you don't crimp the pipe, you're golden

[Choochoochoo]

To be honest, I'm adding performance by adding a fmic, especially since I don't have an ic at all currently, so I wasn't too concerned about loosing power due to the shape of the tubing not being round. I'm not going to go all crazy with it, just ovalize it enough to get the clearance I'm comfortable with. But still, always good to know that I won't be losing to many ponies from the barn when I do it!

[Choochoochoo]

What intercooler are you running?

It's just a cheap eBay special I got for next to nothing from a friend. It's somewhere in the range of 27x4x2.5? Nothing huge, but still functional, and better than nothing.

[merk23literturbo]

I have the Cossie IC and cut the outlet off and twisted it 90 degrees and rewelded it on so that it aims where I want it. No worries about it getting in the way now. Here's some pics:
http://s586.photobucket.com/user/merk23 ... t=2&page=1

[Choochoochoo]

Eventually I'll just go with either a rotated upper intake, or I'll just make my own and then I won't have to worry about it either. But for now, it's the simplest solution.