I had today off and was still bothered by the poor fitment on my CG Intercooler I had tried to install over the weekend. So in the spirit of Tim Taylor, I had to go about trying to fix it and not abandon this IC just yet. The task today was the first and most difficult step, Re-machining the throttle body mating face. Here's why:

After doing a test fit on Saturday, I concluded based on the various reports and photos of these things fitted to our cars that something about these coolers has to vary piece to piece. After doing some detailed visual inspection on mine and comparing it to photos of others, I gave serious thought to what what might be off. It was pretty obvious that things would change for the better if the mounting face was slightly steeper than what mine had. Also, the face was not too flat.

Given how the unit was fitting up, this all made sense. A few calcs and I decided to take 1 - 1/2 degrees off the face to gain better clearances all around. So, off to the milling machine.

Holding the piece took a bit of care and it was not something that would hold up to any sort of "hogging". Many light cuts were made. For those curious, the ends and center tank were plugged with towels...

This picture was taken while milling the TB mating face after many checks for squaring the piece to the mill.

Next steps for the IC will include a better fitting of the underside bracket to the fan/alternator housing and laying out a better top baffle plate with cold air intake incorporated in.

Oh, the fun we have with these cars...

 

Cool

 

It's great that you are taking the initiative to correct the issues, but what disturbs me is that a piece of equipment as expensive as the CG IC should not have these issues.

I would have made a phone call and shipped that thing right back where it came from. CG should be taking care of the problem for you. My $0.02...

 

Vrus:

I agree whole heartedly. However, I have dealt with the US CG regarding this matter and two other times with other products. I am through with the US CG distributor and will now shy away from the products in general. Too bad, as CG has some cool concepts behind their line up.

This cooler had been back to CG once already for "pin hole" leaks at the tank welds. This is where the TB face might have been thrown off by warping due to the welding done on the tanks. Given my experiences with the return or repair services from CG, I opted to do this repair on my own as I have the equipment to do the job and I do not think that I would have gotten anything but grief from CG. I also think that the US CG folks would not comprehend the issue at hand. This is not intended as the insult it might read like, just stated the problem of how to communicate this issue along with a returned part.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Regards

 

Jim,

I find it disturbing that a company like CG who sells parts at top-dollar are not providing the after-service they should.

I appreciate the information and will make sure I dont do business with them. There are good vendors out there who deserve our money more than those who refuse to provide proper service.

Sorry for your troubles.

 

Another perfect example of the difference between factory engineering and the aftermarket, even at top dollar.

 

Jim,

Please keep posting pics as you go, this is very interesting, thanks.

As for CG, I would suggest you send an email to the owner of Cargraphic in Germany, a great guy, true Porschefile and VERY customer oriented, who visits the US affiliate very often. I am sure he will love hearing about your issues. Here is his email: T.Schnarr@cargraphic.de I never had an issue with the German outfit.

Good luck with this project.

 

Jean:

Thanks for the referral. I will send him a very cordial letter explaining my issues. If nothing else, he might be able to improve their manufacturing processes for this part.

I have ordered a few OEM pieces to use as needed during fitment, such as a stock air trumpet and back IC bracket as I expect to mod each of these as this all gets fitted.

More pix will follow.

 

Thanks for sharing Jim..... all negativity aside, very satisfying fixing things like this yourself....good stuff.

 

Daniel:

What is sort of odd is that I am not all that negative about this IC. I hope I am not coming off as completely so.

I do enjoy making these things work, many times better than as supplied....at least I like to think so !

My gripes on this IC is that for the money asked for it, I feel that the cold air snorkel for both the air filter and HVAC should have been better addressed. Also, the sealing of the baffle plate to the decklid needed to allow for all maufacturing toloerances and difference in body fitment. As example, the stock IC uses as flexible perimeter seal that can allow for almost 3/4 of an inch variances. This is my goal with my new baffle...I may not get this one.

Anyway, with family and the new, almost track ready Spec Miata, this IC project may drag on for a few more weeks. Stay tuned.

 

It never hurts to be have a CNC mill

 

Hi Jean:

I'd echo Jim's issues with Cargraphic USA and then some. I've had many problems not only with their QC, but product resolution as well. Currently, I have several large ones outstanding, as we speak.

I'll not recommend them for anything, at this juncture.

I will also contact Mr. Schnarr about this, thanks for the info!



911/Q45:

With all due respect, its just as inaccurate to lump all human beings into one category as it is to issue an indictment on the whole Porsche aftermarket. Like people,......there are good ones and not so good ones and it behooves all of us to find that out.

After doing nothing but 911 performance work for the last 30 years, I can tell you that as good as Porsche A.G is at what they do, they have also made their fair share of mistakes and are far from perfect. Those good folks are after all, still human like you & me,....

 

Steve,

This is very disappointing! Please definitely talk to Thomas Schnarr, great person, I will give him a heads up as well. I have no affiliation whatsoever, he has just been very helpful with my project.

Hope your issues get sorted out.

 

Hi Jean:

Indeed, it IS disappointing as I used to strongly recommend their products as well as selling/installing a lot of their items.

LOL,..Rest assured that I will send a note to Mr. Schnarr just to keep him informed about some QC issues and what his USA agent does.

Thanks again!

 

I have always been happy with Cargraphic stuff, my latest race cat/exhaust system is from them and it is excellent in quality and performance. The Intercooler however is only marketed by them and whilst some of you may have paid top dollar, it is not worth that sort of money. Mine cost under $3000 US - bought from the manufacturer about 6 years ago - FVD list it as 3000Euro which presumably is similar to Cargraphic