Intercooler Core Design

The APR Intercooler core is a large bar-and-plate design featuring densely packed staggered and louvered fins. This design offers exceptional cooling while balancing pressure loss across the core, and maintaining critical airflow to the components behind the intercooler system. The core size was appropriately matched to the platform, minimizing pressure drop while leaving adequate space for appropriately designed end tanks. To APR’s mechanical engineering experts, the design represented the ultimate in performance, far exceeding the capabilities of the factory intercooler. To the driver, the result is simple: Repeatable performance, even in the most demanding of situations!

Core Style / Internal Fin Structure:

APR’s Engineers paid close attention to the balance between core effectiveness and pressure drop through the core, core style and fin density. With fin density too low, pressure drop decreases dramatically, but typically results in a core incapable of effectively cooling. Likewise, with fin density too great, pressure drop increases dramatically, resulting in the turbocharger working harder, and hotter, to produce the same level of airflow. By fine tuning this often unseen balancing act, as illustrated below, APR’s Engineers were able to maximize performance.

Core Styles

Number	Type	Fin Type	Fin Density	Pressure Drop	Cooling Effectiveness	Manufacturing Cost	Comments	Recommended
1	Tube and Fin	Straight Channel	Low	Low	Low	$	Poor Cooling	Not Recommended
2	Bar-and-Plate	Straight Channel	Low	Low	Low	$$	Poor Cooling	Not Recommended
3	Quality Bar-and-Plate	Staggered/Offset	High	Low	High	$$$	Excellent Cooling	Recommended!
4	Overly Dense Bar-and-Plate	Staggered/Offset	High	High	High	$$$	High pressure drop	Not Recommended

Core Size:

APR’s Engineers also paid close attention to the balancing act between core effectiveness, pressure drop and space for end tanks through core sizing. With the core too small, pressure drop decreases dramatically, but typically results in a core incapable of effectively cooling. Likewise, with core size too great, pressure drop can increase, resulting in the turbocharger working harder. However, more importantly, with no space for appropriate end tanks, utilization of the core and overall effectiveness of the system diminishes rapidly, negating the benefit of the larger core. APR’s engineers were able to balance each of these characteristics to deliver maximum performance.

Core Specs

System	Core Type	Thickness	Width	Height	Volume	Frontal Area
OEM	Tube and Fin	2.5"	26"	5.5"	357.5 in³	13.75 in²
APR	Bar and Plate	2.25"	22"	26.2"	801.9 in³	36.45 in²

The APR system increases frontal surface area by 165.09% and has a 124.31% larger core!

| Intercooler End Tank Design →

Intercooler End Tank Design

To fully utilize the massive core, APR’s mechanical engineers designed cast aluminum end tanks organically shaped for proper airflow distribution across the entire core. By correctly sizing the intercooler core, end tank design was not sacrificed. The one-piece end tanks are CNC machined to provide a slip resistant mounting surface for hoses, precise integrated mounting surfaces, and perfectly flat connecting surfaces used for TIG welding the tanks to the core. Through proper alignment in welding jigs, each unit is assembled to tight tolerances for a precise and accurate fit.

← Intercooler Core Design | Intercooler Bracket Design →

Intercooler Bracket Design

APR’s mechanical engineers designed CNC-bent and TIG-welded mounting brackets to securely hold the intercooler in place. The brackets make the install extremely easy. With the bumper and factory intercooler unit removed, the APR intercooler installs in minutes without any cutting, drilling or trimming. For the DIY customer, this makes a home install simple, and for everyone else it eliminates hidden costs that often come with a more labor intensive install.

← Intercooler End Tank Design |