Original TD5 Intercooler

After much procrastination we finally decided to get an intercooler upgrade a month or so ago. Due to the auto box oil cooler we had to get a custom one made rather than an off the shelf item which has led to time delays but it finally arrived this week. So my first job on Saturday morning was to get on and fit it…

The new intercooler from Ali Sport wasn’t a completely straight forward fit (when is it ever !) and I ended up having to grind away part of the near side bracket that holds the intercooler and modify the slam panel and anti-burst catch.

The mounting bracket was just touching part of the side tank and, although it would kind of fit, over time the two parts would have rubbed together and probably made a hole in the side tank.  To make sure I got the angle grinder out and reshaped the bracket to give more clearance.

Uprated Ali Sport intercooler

With that done I then put everything back together and found that when I closed the bonnet the anti-burst catch was hitting the top of the intercooler, preventing it from closing. By bending the guide in the slam panel and some adjustment of the pin plate and the catch itself I eventually managed to get the bonnet to shut with the catch missing the intercooler.

A road test showed a noticeable difference in torque with the 90 pulling up the hills without the need to kick down or losing speed. So far we’ve both been impressed by the difference it’s made to the way it drives, probably should have done it ages ago !