[FirstBMWLA]

Originally Posted by Haus_07

I made 2 L-angles out of aluminum and had a shop weld them onto the intercooler, then drilled and tapped 2 holes on the bottom of the bumper support. Attached the angles with fine thread screws and lock washers. Solid as can be!!

Any idea of how far down the brackets need to be from top of intercooler? I'd like to have brackets attached before tearing car apart to measure it all if it's avoidable for less downtime.
Pretty sure the left to right placement of bracket is flexible but I'd want to get the height of them right.

Thanks for your help.

[secretsquirrel]

Originally Posted by FirstBMWLA

How did you secure your intercooler? Not sure if I'm down for the zip tie approach.

I did the same thing. The welder supplied the aluminum L-brackets and drilled 3/8" holes on the end to secure to the bumper reinforcement. He did the work for a total of $40.00. I really liked the guy so i gave him $60.00. I bought a colbalt drill bit for 10.00 at Homedepot and drilled the 3/8" holes. It took about 3 minutes per hole.

The IC works like a charm. In 97degree weather the ambiant temps when the engine was warm was 39-40degrees. I couldn't get the temps over 50 degrees even after 5 or 6 back to back 3-4 gear runs.

[secretsquirrel]

Originally Posted by FirstBMWLA

Any idea of how far down the brackets need to be from top of intercooler? I'd like to have brackets attached before tearing car apart to measure it all if it's avoidable for less downtime.
Pretty sure the left to right placement of bracket is flexible but I'd want to get the height of them right.

Thanks for your help.

The welder I used finished the job in 2 hours (not sure how much time he worked) and this is with him supplying the L brackets, so you might not have much downtime. I didn't measure how far down the IC the bracket sat. It was about 4" or so. But you'll have to measure for yourself. But the important part is that the IC sit as high as possible so that you can button up the undercarriage. Its also important that the IC sit back as far as possible for the same reason.

Do yourself a favor and purchase the huge zipties from Homedepot to secure the IC to metal bumper support bar, then use a sharpie to draw a line where the L bracket will go. Just remember to have the IC sit as high as possible. Don't worry about covering the radiator. I live in TX and it has not affected cooling.

To ensure this, the L brackets were 2.25" in length and the mounting hole started from 1.75" to about 1.95", leaving about .3 to the end of the L bracket.

Keep in mind that I mounted a 3.5" thick CXRacing IC so length of your L brackets could be slightly different.

I hope this helps.

[Haus_07]

Originally Posted by secretsquirrel

The welder I used finished the job in 2 hours (not sure how much time he worked) and this is with him supplying the L brackets, so you might not have much downtime. I didn't measure how far down the IC the bracket sat. It was about 4" or so. But you'll have to measure for yourself. But the important part is that the IC sit as high as possible so that you can button up the undercarriage. Its also important that the IC sit back as far as possible for the same reason.

Do yourself a favor and purchase the huge zipties from Homedepot to secure the IC to metal bumper support bar, then use a sharpie to draw a line where the L bracket will go. Just remember to have the IC sit as high as possible. Don't worry about covering the radiator. I live in TX and it has not affected cooling.

To ensure this, the L brackets were 2.25" in length and the mounting hole started from 1.75" to about 1.95", leaving about .3 to the end of the L bracket.

Keep in mind that I mounted a 3.5" thick CXRacing IC so length of your L brackets could be slightly different.

I hope this helps.

What he said. You will have to temporarily mount the intercooler in place (big ass zip ties) and mark the locations for the brackets. I didn't measure mine either, just marked them and had my buddy weld them to the IC. You definitely want to get your IC as far up and close to the radiator as you can. Get the IC permanently mounted first before you install the plumbing, otherwise you may cut your silicone to long which will push out the intercooler and it won't fit behind the bumper. Mine sits pretty tight against the backside of the bumper cover using the Godspeed v-mount IC. I put two vertical strips of bulb seal on the outside edges of the core, and it seals up nicely to the backside of the bumper cover. It takes a little bit of work and planning to install these IC's, but the end result is f'n awesome!! Plus, for $300, you can't beat the price!!