Some pics of new custom front mount intercooler.

[sawood12]

As always there is more than one way to skin a cat and to increase IC effiiency you can either go big or improve the flow of air through a smaller IC. I've often thought that, as George had just eluded to, the standard setup is not that efficent. Sure you can get lots of air through the front PU but it cannot escape from the engine bay that easily, especially since our cars have that undertray, therefore you get a cushion of hot air trapped between the rear of the radiator and IC that can't escape that easily and it ultimately impares the flow of air through the rad and IC - you get a bow wave effect in front of the radiator and IC preventing air from entering in the first place.

I've wondered that if you mount the stock IC - or a stock sized IC, horizontally or even tilted back 45 degrees and have some vents in the bonnet and some plastic fairing scooping the air from the IC slot in the PU up through the IC to flow out of the engine bay via the vents in the bonnet you'd surely vastly increase the flow of air through the IC and therefore it's efficiency. Not sure how feasible this is with the space available but it is a similar principle than the extra rad the 996GT3RS has that has the slit vent in the bonnet. I think i've seen some photos of this configuration in another similar thread.

 

[George Elliott]

Scott, just notice tonight when reading a reply by Peter Epsom to a different thread, his fiberglass bonnet needs restraining at the front corners due to lift at high speed. Would indicate airflow is "there" but cannot get away.
Just one reservation, the rain and spray will be going through too, straight over the dizzy, HT leads, etc.[8|]

George
944T

 

[sawood12]

You'd need some fairing or plastic scoops to channel the airflow through the IC as it will only work properly if you channel the air through the IC. but in anycase in the standard setup there is nothing to stop any debris from getting in and around the engine bay. You see a similar concept on other cars like Lotus Elises where there are great holes in the bonnet to allow the air to escape once it has been through the radiator. Unfortunately there isn't alot of room to play in the 944 engine bay.

 

[George Elliott]

I'm with you, the bonnet should be vented.
George
944T

 

[Diver944]

I saw an interesting setup on a Honda 4x4 turbodiesel with intercooler (I forget which one).

It had a very discrete vent at the front of the bonnet, basically a two foot wide by 2 inch tall slit between the bonnet and the front bumper. The underside of the bonnet had a two foot wide by 2 inch wide plastic duct that took the air to the back of the engine bay and through a horizontally mounted intercooler that had exit ducting coming out the rear of the bonnet and channeling air to the front of the windscreen.