Should I cut the lower grill for the intercooler?

[o2sys]

Has anyone cut the bottom lower opening after installing an a2a intercooler?

The stock opening is pretty small and feel I'm not utilizing the full cooling effectiveness.

Not to mention that the top half is also behind the bumper support bar.

Will this make the bumper droop in the middle over time?

 

[eighty6gt]

I've always though of this, or portholing the rest of the honeycomb on the insert.

Probably more effective to try to fence in the core from the opening on up, or some other interesting stuff.

 

[cyclerick]

The Paxton install on my 2011 GT CS required cutting the opening of the front fascia to fit the inter cooler and improve air flow. If it were my car, I'd be doing all I could to improve the cooling effectiveness. Your car will run cooler and produce more HP with less heat.

 

[eighty6gt]

Some fairly wimpy aluminum angle could help shore up the cover. My cover/insert don't fit together worth a crap at the lower opening. I am thinking of installing fasteners along the top.

 

[chandlern]

I'd box it in so that all the air going through the opening has to go through the intercooler. If that's not enough then enlarge the opening. I think that if you just enlarge the opening you'll have even more air moving around the IC and only a little additional through it. I think Jason (DOB) has a few shots here and there of his blue cars set up (I know not a/a but same concept).

 

[MassMustang]

Does the intercooler extend that far? This is a pic I found while googling the Agent47 ducts.

 

[Wes06]

probably the best thing to do for it, is boxing the IC in, so that any air that goes into the opening is forced through the IC rather than being able to go around it

 

[o2sys]

Ok after looking at it more carefully, it's not the width but rather the height. More than half is behind the bumper support bar.

 

[cyclerick]

Now that I see the picture, I'd do as suggested and box it in. Hopefully you can angle the outer section towards the inter cooler so that it directs the air that way and the same for the other side.

 

[Sky Render]

Doesn't JPC make a lightweight bumper beam that is only a single metal tube?

http://www.jpcracing.com/2010-2014-mustang-chromoly-lightweight-front-bumper-support/

 

[o2sys]

CHE makes an aluminum one for 05-09s but concerned about safety.

 

[skaarlaj]

Seal the back of the intercooler to the front of the radiator with foam on the sides, and for the bottom and top just use some sort of shheting to do the same so every bit of air the radiator ingests gets pulled through the intercooler first regardless of the restriction in front of the IC

 

[TGR96]

Doesn't JPC make a lightweight bumper beam that is only a single metal tube?

http://www.jpcracing.com/2010-2014-mustang-chromoly-lightweight-front-bumper-support/

CHE makes an aluminum one for 05-09s but concerned about safety.

Yeah, I don't think that would help with airflow anyway, since you will still have that same amount of area covered once you put the urethane bumper cover back on.

 

[Towelie]

I didn't cut mine, but I did install a CDC aggressive chin spoiler which kinda funnels air into the bottom half of the intercooler. My IAT's are usually about 5 above ambient at 10 psi

 

[Pentalab]

I didn't cut mine, but I did install a CDC aggressive chin spoiler which kinda funnels air into the bottom half of the intercooler. My IAT's are usually about 5 above ambient at 10 psi

This. I have a CDC chin spoiler on my 2010. That will funnel more air into the lower grille opening. Replaced the oem upper grille with a 7 bar grille, which then puts one helluva lot more air through the upper grille. The 10-12 cars will take the 7 bar upper grille for more airflow (but oem fog lamps are deleted). The 05-09 cars will take a 9 bar upper grille from a lot more airflow ( same deal, the oem upper fog lamps then get deleted.)

 

[Department Of Boost]

Bump cover delete = best option.

 

[JeremyH]

Contrary to popular believe an "A2A" intercooler actually performs very well with little to no external flow through the core. The aluminum will still pull heat from the charge air and reject to the surrounding air as long as there is a delta T. Even slight flow of air under the car is enough to sweep the radiated heat away in most cases. If you have an undersized core or heat soaked bay more air flow under certain times may be prudent. So the thought that you are significantly hurting performance of the charge cooler by " blocking the core by bumper grilles etc. just isnt the case for A2A.(which is really air to solid then to air).