Toby,
Great thread! Have you seen the 997.2/GT2 RS coolers? They appear to be way ahead of the 997.1 coolers in the fin density (both inner & outer) and end-tank department (and they're thicker and use 14 rows instead of 11). I'll be doing some testing shortly with each different intercooler (997.1 vs 997.2) on the same car (and a dual channel thermocouple setup to log temps). Couple pics, full dissection to follow, but I think Porsche really did their homework here:

 

Core comparison, 997.2 on left 996/997.1 on right:



Given the core differences, I wouldn't doubt a decent jump in efficiency (we'll find out soon enough ), but I've heard that despite the thicker core and better end-tanks, pressure drop is slightly higher through the new core due to the density. Not necessarily a bad thing though (what's an intercooler's primary job, right?) if kept to reasonable levels.

 

Earl
Many thanks for sharing the pics and the insight. I had no idea the new factory I/Cs were so different.
It appears they are from the same manufacturer with the similar construction ?

Really looking forward to your testing results - the higher the loading the better ideally well into 6th gear to give peak readings if possible

 

I thought they were from AKG as well, but they have stickers from J. Deus Thermal Systems in Portugal.

 

Very interesting....

A quote from their website:

Using the Technologies of the O.E. products on the Aftermarket and the knowledge of the Aftermarket Products on the O.E. we are able to supply high quality products in the both business markets.

Await your testing results, these new units may well offer something special ?

 

earl3 how did you get a hold of these intercoolers ? Does Porsche sell them ?

Looking forward for your testing because it sure looks that porsche did a better job with the gt2rs intercooler rather than the 997.1 gt2. Also that the gt2rs runs 1.6 bar rather than the 997.1 gt2 so they should be better but how much better ? better than what is offered in the aftermarket ? Cant wait for your results.

 

I think Earl is saying these are 997tt.2 intercoolers of the 2010 turbo Dfi and is guessing/assuming these will be used on the GT2RS

 

The PET lists the same parts numbers for the .2 and the new GT2 RS:

997 110 639 70 (left)
997 110 640 70 (right)

 

They are listed on several online Porsche dealer parts sections (see PNs above -Sonnen lists them for $454 USD/ea). I got these off a 2011 Turbo S that was at Champion Motorsports getting some of their 2010 intercoolers fitted. They played middle-man for me with their customer, so I'm very grateful for that.

I hope so -personally, I think these will clobber the $1500 USD "upgrades" (which may be hard to prove since I've never seen any data whatsoever on these) & hopefully rival some of the more pricier units in thermal performance (I'm thinking the $2-4k USD units, not the CTRs or Secans).

 

Initial results are in...

Background on the test car:

01 996 TT 6 speed, ~38k miles, fresh plugs, 94 (R+M)/2 octane, K16 turbos
EPL Flash
2.5" turbo inlet pipes
Remus Exhaust
996GT2 Intercooler (same as 997.1) driver's side
997.2 Intercooler (same as GT2 RS) passenger's side

Setup:

Type K thermocouple mounted in the passenger's side piping (same process for the driver's side):





Engine bay with thermocouples installed / ops check with the Fluke 52 II dual channel thermometer (calibrated to 500C with +- 1.5C accuracy and an update rate of ~2Hz). Note the water/meth nozzles on each side -this will remain off (the pump isn't even on the car yet). Pressure test was good.




Passenger's side lead:




Driver's side:





Extended wires on car



Note that I am at high density altitude (~6000ft today), so to create the 2bar or so of absolute pressure that a 1 bar flash calls for, these turbos are producing ~1.3 bar at the outlets to make up for the low ambient pressure (and quickly falling out of their efficiency range) -perfect for a thermal test on intercoolers!

I'm still sifting through the data but here's the first log:

This is a full 1-4 pull after a few quick 2-3 pulls to get her warmed up, ambient temp of 23.3C. The pull starts at 14 seconds & I let off at about 28.5 secs (about 210 km/hr). Sorry Toby, just not enough room to wind out 5th, but hopefully you can get an idea of future trends based on the slopes.



Pretty much the same story after repeated pulls, better than a 20C improvement once you get some load on these coolers (probably more as you do extended pulls).

These are not a direct bolt in for 996 and 997.1 cars, but for $500USD (slightly used) and some duct work, it was well worth it for me.

 

Great testing methodology ! Love the use of one different intercooler on each side - I never thought of that

There is no doubt that the new ones are substantially better than stock and at the price a really good "upgrade" and a factory upgrade !

Would be great to see how they perform at the bigger loadings.......

Edit:
Just read your excellent thread on 6speed. Be careful with your statement below:

Random thought...if I can produce logs of 2 different coolers on the same car at the same time with $200 of equipment and between a full time job, why can't very many of the people who sell these things do the same? ...the truth is out there

It is against the 6Speed rules to challenge US Tuners

 

pretty spectacular testing! How did you get IAT values for either side? I dont think durametric offers that option?

 

@Earl3

Thank you for the information about the 997 GT2 RS intercooler.
My car is a 997 GT2 2008.

Do i need some other hoses or brackets or anything else?
Are they plug and play?

@all
Thanx for the excellent thread

 

The pin locations and existing hoses are plug and play, but you will need to mod the ducts.

Here's one more log with the .2 cooler almost leveling out:

 

Earl, excellent work !

It seems very good compared to my expensive intercoolers although one has to remember that the GT2 (and this one in particular) runs 1.6 bar so I guess the pre intercooler temps will be a lot higher. Regardless a solid factory mod.

I think it may be a bit premature to think it is levelling out at 145mph when you look at one of my high speed traces ?