Converting an Intercooler: A Step-by-Step Guide
When it comes to modifying your car's engine, one of the most common upgrades is installing a high-performance intercooler. In this guide, we'll walk through the process of converting a standard inner cooler to a backdoor setup, which allows for easier installation and better airflow.
The Problem with Standard Intercoolers
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Standard inner coolers come equipped with both inlets on the sides, but this can create a problem when trying to connect piping to the intercooler. The existing couplers stick too far out, causing interference with other components such as downpipes and exhaust systems. To solve this issue, we need to convert the side inlet to a backdoor setup.
Converting to a Backdoor Setup
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To convert the intercooler to a backdoor setup, we need to weld up the existing side panel and attach a coupler to the back of the intercooler. This allows us to connect piping directly to the back of the intercooler without any obstructions.
Using a Hole Saw
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The next step is to create a hole in the side panel where the coupler will be attached. We use a hole saw to make a precise cut, followed by some drilling to remove excess material. This allows us to slide the coupler through and attach it securely to the back of the intercooler.
Sliding the Coupler Through
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Once we've made the hole, we carefully slide the coupler through and secure it in place with welding. We also need to cut off any excess material around the hole to ensure a smooth finish.
Adding Support Tabs
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To support the weight of the intercooler and piping system, we add some support tabs to the side panel. These tabs provide extra stability and prevent the coupler from shifting or coming loose over time.
Mounting the Fan
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After completing the backdoor conversion, we need to mount a fan on the radiator to help improve airflow and cooling efficiency. This is an essential step in ensuring that the intercooler system functions properly.
Connecting Intercooler Piping
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With the coupler attached to the back of the intercooler, it's time to connect piping to the system. We use flexible hoses and adaptors to create a custom connection that fits our specific needs.
Installing the Wideband Gauge
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The next step is to install the wideband gauge, which allows us to monitor the engine's fuel-to-air ratio in real-time. This information is essential for tuning the engine's performance and optimizing its output.
Setting Up the ECU
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To take full advantage of our modified intercooler system, we need to set up our Engine Control Unit (ECU) accordingly. We use a conversion harness to convert the Honda ECU data from OBD-1 to OBD-0 format, allowing us to connect it to our laptop and software.
Running the Calibration
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With our ECU set up and ready to go, we're now able to run a calibration on the engine. We use a tuning program to load stock base maps, which provide a starting point for optimizing engine performance.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ensee if he's hungry today Oh all gone alright so here's what I got going for the intercooler so originally this intercooler had both the inlets on the sides like this like most standard inner coolers are but I converted this side right here to a backdoor so now the coupler can stick onto the back of it instead of coming off the side like this and so I had to do that is because when it was originally like this I would have had to use like either 2 to 90 degree couplers like this one to make a 180 then to get it back to there or using just like a 180 piece of intercooler piping either way but both of those ways stick too far out this way and it would hit on the down pipe right here and there's there's nowhere to go so I needed to keep it all it's tucked in as I could so I just went ahead and converted this to a back door right here that's all welded up all the way around so now a 90 can just go on top of that so now it's all nice and tight right behind the intercooler and I'll show how I made that real quick who told me that you don't want your public so I just took a whole saw we went straight all the way through and then this piece right here was still on like that after we hole saw it and then we just cut this off and then what we're going to do is slide this and right through here and then I'll put a cap on the backside of it and I also need to cut a notch out on the inside of it as well so air can flow into the intercooler alright so thanks to Hayden I got this piece all made for my intercooler there was a is the only piece we had laying around it has slit in it so that's why there's a weld going right through there so how we got this there's just a MP stacked on there right now it's not all all the way welded up yet and that's piece will just slide in like that and then you just got to weld all the way around and weld around here and we'll be good to go all right these are the little tabs I got I'm gonna use these just to weld right here to this bar intercooler will just rest on these guys right here I'm just going to take my angle grinder and grind a little spot off - well - alright now I'm going to get this tab tacked on right there I got both those little tabs just tacked on there right now just to make sure everything is all lined up intercoolers just resting on them right now but those are looking pretty good so I'm gonna go ahead and finish welding them all the way up I got the tabs all the way welded up now I just got to drill a couple holes and then I can bolt the intercooler up this drill is a piece of finally got the intercooler mounted this just bolted on right there on the bottom so for the intercooler piping how I'm going to do this this is just going to 90 into here and then from there it will go under this radiator hose I just need a 90 just to connect these two together then this piece I didn't actually have to change it all so I still got my bluff valve and all that's already hooked up still and on this side I got just a 90 right there going up into the turbo right there don't have any clamps on it yeah I'm also going to clock the turbo a little more this way to just kind of help get it away from the exhaust right there it's like almost touching it but not quite but uh yeah having this back door on the intercooler helped a lot with the room because now the pipe is I mean there's only like a couple inches right here and before if I have the outlet still on the other side it would have been like way over here I don't know it would have been much harder so I'm glad I did that it came out really good so here's the wideband I got for WAGO I did not cheap out I went ahead and just got a Am for it there's probably one of the most common wide bands you'll find what you'll get with these kits these are like 160 bucks online what you'll get is a gauge you'll get a sensor and some wiring and that's pretty much it and you'll also get a bone this goes like in the exhaust art you have one right there the sensor threads into that it's pretty much like an o2 sensor but just a lot more accurate and you know exactly how rich or lean your motor is going to be so I'm gonna go ahead and get this kind of installed I'm probably not going to like get the gauge mounted yet but at least get it like in the car so and get it all working get it reading just so it's in there these two wires right here or how the wideband and gauge will get its power and uh right now I got my stereo pulled out I got this adapter like a long time ago from Walmart when I put this radio in and uh it fits like different year civic so this is like the plug for one year and then this is the plug for the other year and since I'm not using this plug right here I'm just going to cut the positive and ground wire off this and then use those to power the wideband we have power alright got my hon data right here with these ECU's you can pretty much do anything you want to the motor I mean this makes it fully tunable you can change all the fuel maps you can set up launch controls you can do a lot of cool things with these so yeah I'm going to get this guy in on my WAGO the stock ECU is right under this carpet right there it's under this plate right here gotta just unscrew some things and get it plugged in I got my old ECU right here on the home data this is just a conversion harness to convert the Hahn data from obd 1 to OB d 0 gotta grab a couple things out of my hatch I'm gonna get my laptop that has the this has s manager on there that's the program that runs the Hahn data that need to get my cable off the Honda in here this is so I can hook it to the laptop this is just a USB cable these are actually just printer cables that's what the hon dad is used all right I got the Honda L plugged in I got s manager running on my laptop I'm gonna go ahead and flip the key to on go from just went from offline to online right there ECU is connected so now I'm going to go to new calibration do not save the old calibration all right so now these are all the stock base maps that this program comes with all right I'm gonna try this one right here d16 stock P 28 and see what this one does right here so click on that go ahead and go to ok and now I'm going to upload that to the Hahn data loading all right that's uploaded all right let's see if it starts nope it did not like that one so messing with the fuel I did get it to run it runs like so I'm going to need to play with it a little more but I'll get to that later I need to put my dash back together figure out where I'm gonna put this wideband for right now but yeah alright so I'm going to call it on this video hopefully I'll get it running better in the next one not sure how far I'll get it but let's get in there I mean all I got to do now is put clamps on all the intercooler piping mount the fan still for the radiator still gotta pull a couple AC lines out and make a waste gate dump and then from there just get a tune on it so yeah\n"
