BMW Performance Intercooler - do88 Performance ICM-320

The S55 turbo engine that powers the BMW M2C / M3 / M4 F8X uses a top-mounted water-cooled intercooler instead of a “regular” air-cooled intercooler. This OE intercooler has a tube and fin core with clamped plastic end tanks. This construction has its drawbacks since it is prone to crack and start leaking coolant into the engine or leaking boost pressure out of the tank sealings.

Our mission when starting this development of a new performance intercooler was to eliminate the OE intercooler's weaknesses and of course, offer a great performance increase. During all tests we have carried out during the development of our entire BMW F8X M2C/M3/M4 product range we see clearly how the peak power is directly equated with the IAT (Intake Air Temperature).
To get an exact 3D-model of the available space to design our intercooler in we did a detailed 3D-scan of our M3 Competition engine bay. In our Solidworks CAD software, we tried out several design concepts for our charge air cooler using the 3D-scan generated model.

The final design concept was decided after several CFD simulations in our Solidworks Flow Simulation software. In this software, we can simulate airflow and measure pressure drop and air distribution over the core. We decided not to include internal air guides since several of our simulations showed they did more harm than good. The airflow is distributed perfectly over the core with our tank design without internal air guides as many claims are good. But in many cases, these cause turbulence and disruptions in the airflow.

Our final design resulted in a bar-and-plate core with TIG-welded aluminum casting end tanks. This offers peace of mind for any High boost tune. We have managed to utilize a massive core 85% larger than OEM and decrease (16% lower) the charge air pressure drop and maintain drop-in installation without modifications. Decreasing the charge pressure drop over the intercooler has several benefits such as the turbos need to work less to achieve target boost / lower temperature / improves throttle response. We have the equipment to calculate the pressure drop in our CFD calculation software and also real-world tests in our Superflow SF-1020 flow bench. On the water coolant side, we changed to a dual pass flow structure which allows the coolant to flow across the core two times before exiting the intercooler instead of the OE single pass structure.

Naturally, this being a do88 performance product, we have executed thorough, severe, and continuous tests developing this product to ensure the best performance. Not one compromise has been made.

All this hard work results in a product that in one way or another really will enhance the performance of your vehicle no matter if it is a standard car or a heavily modified monster! On the track, on the street, on the strip, this charge air cooler will be your true companion!

Significant advantages with do88 performance intercooler (stock comparison numbers):
- Peak powergain of 13 hp! Measured on a car with BootMod3 Stage 1 tune.
- Highest midrange powergain of 25 hp!
- Highest torque gain of 52 Nm!
- Greater core volume: 5657cm3 (3052cm3), 85 % bigger!
- Air flow at 0,025bar/0,36psi pressure drop: 298 CFM (256 CFM), 16 % higher!
- Lower post intercooler air temperature at same conditions: 39°C (48°C), 9°C lower!*
- Fits all cars in the list below!
* Measured at 240km/h during full-throttle acceleration 0-240km/h at an airstrip. Both tests were performed same day under the same conditions.