Page 2 - intercooler

The car is like an ecosystem. All the components under the hood of your Type R depend on each other to create the lovely symbiotic relationship resulting in speed. When one component falls behind in comparison to the others, the ecosystem as a whole lags. Our goal, as stated where we last left off, was to strengthen all the weak points and keep that turbocharged, aero-dripping, torque-vectoring machine carving corners and exceeding the expectations of FWD vehicles.

Extreme heat exposes a subtle weakness in your Type R. The excess heat will rob your CTR of its full potential on the track and the street, especially when we're talking about the intercooling system. Not only is the hotter air much harder to compress for effective forced induction, it can become a detriment to the rest of the ecosystem.

Honda made some sacrifices in the performance category for the sake of style. Even though the aerodynamically focused aesthetic of the FK8 incorporates plenty of gaping grilles, there are only

The weeks surrounding the new year are always a time for both reflection and a look ahead. If we look back on how Honda did in 2017, one could say that they made a splash. The previous year was the release of their spiced-up models, such as the Sport Hatch, aka the pseudo-Si, and the real Si as well. How could we forget the hatchback to rule them all, the Type R? Not only did Honda's ramped up hatchback rival the likes of the seasoned veterans of this field, specifically the AWD Focus RS, but it also took the crown for FWD cars at the revered Nürburgring. Even with these accolades, the CTR is still a mass-produced car. This means that it's inherently going to have some drawbacks due to budgets and production deadlines. We're spending 2018 to strengthen the chinks in the Type R's armor.

Many of the owners of the limited run Type R already know that we got a jump start improving on the flaws it was delivered with. We've already put a defense system in place to guard the valves and intake

It's autumn and, more importantly, it's the start of prime boosting season.  The cool, dense air that's characteristic of the changing seasons is much easier to compress and cram into the cylinders, while the lower ambient temperatures help the intercooler. Even with the stock set up, your tenth generation Civic has a little extra pep in its step. But there's no reason to settle for just a little pep when you can get more.

Our new intercooler design brought to life, and fresh out of the box from our factory.

When it comes to intercoolers, the old saying "bigger is better" almost always rings true, and even with the spatial restrictions we faced during the design process, we were still able to deliver on that mantra. To start, we added three more rows to our cooler to increase the fin surface area by 97%, almost doubling the amount of area being directly exposed to airflow. This might not come as a surprise to those who saw our design in the last update, but we decided the best direction

Fresh off the assembly line comes our prototype intercooler pipes for the 2013+ Ford Focus ST. In the last update, I reviewed the stock piping, our 3D printed prototypes, and mildly teased what the final version of this kit will look like, so it's time for a full reveal. Let's go through some of the design features and performance numbers that have resulted from this project.

Hot-side intercooler pipes

The hot-side kit will have a solid aluminum center section with silicone couplers attached to the turbo and intercooler outlet. It fits nicely around the engine oil pan and is mounted with brackets to keep it in place. However, a balance between flexibility and rigidity is important, which is why the couplers are long. This is what helps make the fitment accurate and absorb engine movement.

Piping leading to the turbocharger

While the piping diameter has been bumped to 2.5 inches, they still attach to the factory intercooler, so you can still enjoy the benefits if you are not running our

We've noticed that the 2013+ Ford Focus ST has little wiggle room when it comes to gaining power strictly from bolt-on parts. Even with stage 3 tunes, not many ST's out there see horsepower numbers beyond 300-350hp. That barrier can be surpassed with the use of ethanol or a bigger turbo, but on a stock turbo and pump gas, those numbers aren't going too far north.

With our intercooler, we wanted to bring on some positive effects for the power in this stubborn 2.0L engine. While power is important, we also needed to monitor the outlet temperatures with a visual analysis of heat transfer across the core.

Setting up our prototype for some dyno runs

One of our newer pieces of equipment is a neat little camera that detects thermal activity. It has been pivotal as our visual aid when looking at heat-soak and dispersion across stock intercooler applications, as well as our upgraded prototypes. We used it on our loaner ST to see how the stock unit handled the heat and how we could make it better.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: paying attention to details is a crucial part of life. Leading professionals are gurus at doing so in their respective fields. A good chef can wade through the already heavy seasoning in something like a gumbo and tell if there is too much or too little garlic by doing a simple taste test. A good fabricator can easily tell a MIG from a TIG weld by simply watching the arc on the metal (with the proper eyewear of course). And a good tuner can tell if something as elusive as timing is off, even in the slightest, on an engine they regularly tune just by listening to it.

If you want to be the best in your field, pay close attention to little details. It's what will set you apart from the rest of the pack. Our engineering department has honed their skills in noticing the details. In the case of our 2016 Ford Focus RS hot-side intercooler pipe, we paid close attention to airflow and noticed a problematic aspect - not with the pipe itself, but with the

Our engineering department sought to bombard our intercooler with dyno runs, gathering as much data as possible to ensure that it could stand up to the abuse and intensity you plan to put it through. Due to the fact that this intercooler is sandwiched between the radiator and air conditioning condenser, we had to be sure that our core could effectively combat the effects of heat-soak while performing at maximum efficiency. First, we had to start with size. If the intercooler was going to be an effective modification, it had to be bigger. In case you guys need a refresher from our last update, see below for a size comparison between our core and the factory unit.

Core volume comparison

External fin surface area comparison

We have given the core a boost in several areas, including internal volume by 45%, external fin surface area by a sizeable 239%, and overall core size by 78%. This will allow for much better cooling and heat transfer. While the core is bigger than stock, it will also be