Originally Posted by
voltron
I dont know much about Diesels but have owned Modified Single turbo'd, twin turbo'd 400kw at the wheel 6 cylinder Nissan sports cars. I can't see how an intercooler is going to give you much in the sense of power gains. IF anything a larger cooler can give a slower power response because of the larger volume of air required to fill it before it passes through, but unless you are running higher boost with a tune, I wouldnt bother with the cooler. I haven't even seen the size of the cooler in the car now or where it is placed, that sort of upgrade is generally done with a tune and significant boost pressure increase. Im sure it has been all done before and I may be wrong, but as you said 5% gains aren't worth the financial outlay.
Any power increase comes with it's shortcoming and I have learned if you want more power just get a donor and go for a bigger engine or stroke the engine you have out. Currently my daydreaming consist of the 3.2 ford ranger turbo diesel. Anything is possible.
Graham