any reviews of the bigun Kenne bell intercooler?

[dirtychamba]

trying to see if its worth the 1,000 bucks.

I know it'll help with back to back runs but how much?

Any iat2 temp drops? cooler blower?

I'm debating doing this or the trunk mounted ice tank.

 

[19COBRA93]

Wouldn't hurt to do both. But if I had to pick one, it would be the trunk mounted ice tank.

 

[- Aj -]

Bump

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

I did extensive testing all of which was shared with Kenne Bell while they are preparing an analysis.

At lower boost levels 17 or less the temperatures were improved with the BIGUN ICS. It will continue to perform better the higher the boost level.

In testing I made five back to back pulls with two minutes of separation between each pull. There was no fan on the heat exchanger for either intercooler. Both cars were brought up to the same operating temperature prior to making all test pulls with each intercooler.

Conditions for both days were near identical and >1% different.

The BIGUN ICS proved to be six degrees better mean overall operating temperature average between the stock 13/14 Intercooler and the BIGUN ICS.

So it was improved by 6 degrees average over the 13/14 intercooler on my 14 GT500 based on an average boost pressure of 15 PSI.

 

[- Aj -]

So would you assume the difference between the 07-09 IC and the KB is about 10-12* cooler?

 

[shelby mark]

Call Van or Kenne Bell they have all the data info for the testing of the intercooler they did on my motor . We picked up some pretty good power.

 

[dustin88lx]

I think you would definitely benefit more from the icebox if u are looking for cooler iats. If you are looking for overall volume and decreasing pressure the ic would be better. Unless your making 25# or better just wouldn't seem worthwhile.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

The BIGUN is 23% average more air flow efficient than the 2007-2012 GT500 Garrett Intercooler

The BIGUN is 11% average more air flow efficient than the 2013-2014 GT500 Fluidyne Intercooler

Kenne Bell tested numerous cores for cooling and air flow efficiency prior to bringing these to market. If they weren't more efficient or didn't work we wouldn't be selling them. In fact, the first couple hundred of them have all sold out and more are in production.

 

[ZOMBEAST]

Looks like an awesome product. How hard is it to remove the intake for the recommended enlarging, and how hard or involved would that enlarging be? Or is this something that can be done with the intake still on?

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

Looks like an awesome product. How hard is it to remove the intake for the recommended enlarging, and how hard or involved would that enlarging be? Or is this something that can be done with the intake still on?

It's a 6 - 8 hour job (book time) to remove everything and get the lower intake manifold off and get to the intercooler. Kenne Bell provides instructions on the machining of the lower manifold with each intercooler. It needs to be removed to be machined. Don't want metal shavings flying around that area.

 

[Robert M]

The BIGUN is 23% average more air flow efficient than the 2007-2012 GT500 Garrett Intercooler

The BIGUN is 11% average more air flow efficient than the 2013-2014 GT500 Fluidyne Intercooler

Kenne Bell tested numerous cores for cooling and air flow efficiency prior to bringing these to market. If they weren't more efficient or didn't work we wouldn't be selling them. In fact, the first couple hundred of them have all sold out and more are in production.

Does the better flow relate to lower temps also or are there "additional" benefits to better/less restrictive air flow through the core in addition to the lower temps that this I/C provides. I would guess that any I/C could be considered a restriction under the blower as compared to nothing between the blower outlet and the intake ports? So minimizing the I/C restriction is the key? <<and no temp change may be reflected through this less restriction benefit, but only better flow?



R

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

Does the better flow relate to lower temps also or are there "additional" benefits to better/less restrictive air flow through the core in addition to the lower temps that this I/C provides. I would guess that any I/C could be considered a restriction under the blower as compared to nothing between the blower outlet and the intake ports? So minimizing the I/C restriction is the key? <<and no temp change may be reflected through this less restriction benefit, but only better flow?



R

Better flow and less restriction = more horsepower

 

[dirtychamba]

23% sounds worth it for the 07-12 models but if i had a 13 i dont think i'd spend the 1500 give or take for it.

 

[Bad Company]

The difference is that you not only have a cooler that can extract more heat in BTUs versus the old cooler. You also have less restriction between the SC and lower portion of the intake manifold with a higher CFM air flow rating in the BIGUN cooler. So the bigger the SC is that you are using and the more volume(CFM) of air you're pushing through the cooler with a lower pressure differential across the core of the cooler, the lower the IAT2 will be. Say your old cooler can move 900CFM of air across the core without causing a restriction. But your SC is actually moving 1300CFM of air at full power. Now you have a restriction that you can't see or measure without adding extra gauges and sensors. This extra restriction maybe adding 4 psi of boost at the SC outlet that you never see in the engine at the lower intake manifold and where your gauge is reading. This equates to a 40*F air temperature increase at the SC outlet that the cooler must extract before the air enters the engine. This is what I mean by a pressure differential across the core of the cooler. 1 psi of boost means an additional 10*F in temperature rise to the air. 4 psi higher at the SC outlet is a 40*F increase in air temps at the outlet of the SC. Also the lower this pressure differential across the cooler core is, the less energy it will take to turn the SC to move that 1300CFM of air into the engine. Remember the SC is nothing more than a pump and the higher the pressure is at the outlet of the SC, the more energy it takes to turn it.

Unless you can purchase a used 13/14 intercooler, the price difference between that Ford Racing part and this KB BIGUN isn't that much different. The KB piece is worth the cost, especially when you machine the intake manifold for even more airflow then what KB is showing in its sales literature about this new intercooler.

If anybody is interested I do have a used 13/14 intercooler for sale with roughly 8500miles on it. PM me if you are.

23% sounds worth it for the 07-12 models but if i had a 13 i dont think i'd spend the 1500 give or take for it.

It is $1000 plus your time to install it. To me anything that can help lower boost pressure at the SC outlet port is a win win no matter what year the car is.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

The difference is that you not only have a cooler that can extract more heat in BTUs versus the old cooler. You also have less restriction between the SC and lower portion of the intake manifold with a higher CFM air flow rating in the BIGUN cooler. So the bigger the SC is that you are using and the more volume(CFM) of air you're pushing through the cooler with a lower pressure differential across the core of the cooler, the lower the IAT2 will be. Say your old cooler can move 900CFM of air across the core without causing a restriction. But your SC is actually moving 1300CFM of air at full power. Now you have a restriction that you can't see or measure without adding extra gauges and sensors. This extra restriction maybe adding 4 psi of boost at the SC outlet that you never see in the engine at the lower intake manifold and where your gauge is reading. This equates to a 40*F air temperature increase at the SC outlet that the cooler must extract before the air enters the engine. This is what I mean by a pressure differential across the core of the cooler. 1 psi of boost means an additional 10*F in temperature rise to the air. 4 psi higher at the SC outlet is a 40*F increase in air temps at the outlet of the SC. Also the lower this pressure differential across the cooler core is, the less energy it will take to turn the SC to move that 1300CFM of air into the engine. Remember the SC is nothing more than a pump and the higher the pressure is at the outlet of the SC, the more energy it takes to turn it.

Unless you can purchase a used 13/14 intercooler, the price difference between that Ford Racing part and this KB BIGUN isn't that much different. The KB piece is worth the cost, especially when you machine the intake manifold for even more airflow then what KB is showing in its sales literature about this new intercooler.

If anybody is interested I do have a used 13/14 intercooler for sale with roughly 8500miles on it. PM me if you are.


It is $1000 plus your time to install it. To me anything that can help lower boost pressure at the SC outlet port is a win win no matter what year the car is.

Great write up Bad Company. It's great when we have members who can apply their professional and personal experiences in an articulate means.

 

[Robert M]

Better flow and less restriction = more horsepower

^^^That was my thought. Lower temps because of a more efficient core are Great of course, but there is another benefit that I see few mention when discussing the I/C upgrade..........Better flow and less restriction = more horsepower.



R

 

[biminiLX]

IMO it is a worthwhile mod if the engine is out and you're building it for extreme use.
I personally wouldn't be pulling my '14 apart to swap to this, but I would be swapping it when the engine is out for rebuild for power.
It all depends on what you want for your motor, but I always want to build the best possible within the budget and this is now the best intercooler we have available.
If I'm going to the extreme with ported heads, cams, etc, then yes, this is very worth the effort to gain flow and efficiency at the lower intake/intercooler.
It would be interesting to see the gains in Mark's motor; meaning you have the best of everything and then upgrade the remaining restriction.
I wouldn't expect the same gains for my street/strip plans, but somewhere in between Van's stock data and Mark's.
Glad to see KB bring this to market.
-J

 

[biminiLX]

Wouldn't hurt to do both. But if I had to pick one, it would be the trunk mounted ice tank.

And to answer the OP question, I would agree.
-J

 

[Bad Company]

Great write up Bad Company. It's great when we have members who can apply their professional and personal experiences in an articulate means.

Thanks Van

 

[dirtychamba]

To bring a thread back from the dead,
I ended up getting the ice trunk tank from Van.

Improved IAT2 by about 10 degrees cooler with no ice and with ice I've seen it personally go from 140-150 down to 90 in a few minutes....

Currently I'm at 20.5 psi on my 3.6kb making 930...
Cams, ported heads , e85 etc...

At night my intake ambient temps are about 90 and iat2 around 110-120

Which is perfect in my opinion but during the day on a 84 degree and up day in Los Angeles the intake ambient go 150+ and iat2 140-150 ...again at 20.5psi

With my conservative 18.5 psi iat2 drop to about 120-130 on 80 degree days...

I'm looking to pull the trigger on a bigun or killer chiller soon and I'll post up the differences as the days are only getting warmer.