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There is no question: heat is the enemy of high performance, and there are dozens of ways that excessive heat saps horsepower and reliability from a hard-working engine. That’s why Speedriven has developed a line of ultra-efficient intercoolers that deliver airflow and cooling that are superior to anything else in the Mercedes-Benz aftermarket.
The key to the Speedriven intercoolers’ objective superiority? That stems from the fact that their upgraded intercoolers are just that: intercoolers.
“Most of the other Mercedes-Benz tuners take advantage of the fact that their customers don’t always understand the difference between an intercooler and a heat exchanger,” says Jo Borrás, head of sales at Speedriven. “What you’ll usually see is either an additional heat exchanger or a bigger heat exchanger mounted to the front of the car along with a water pump that’s also bigger than what the car comes with from the factory …”
TYPICAL "INTERCOOLER UPGRADE" PACKAGE
“… and that’s a fine product,” continues Jo. “That kind of package works as advertised in the sense that it helps to reduce intake temperatures and reduces the time it takes to get an engine’s temperatures back to a ‘normal’ range after a dyno pull or a quarter-mile pass. One thing these packages don’t do, however, is provide the customer with an upgraded intercooler.”
For its part, the Speedriven intercooler upgrade PKG features a set of two replacement intercoolers that completely replace the small, bare-aluminum factory units. In addition to being larger, the Speedriven intercoolers feature more “straight shot” intake plumbing and more efficient cores, which allow greater airflow to the engine and, as a consequence, enable the engine to make more power even as it runs cooler.
“Our product follows a totally different philosophy than the other guys,” says Jo. “They’re offering something that’s an add-on, and calling it an upgrade. To me, that’s like putting ketchup on a cheap steak and selling ketchup as a ‘beef upgrade’. Nothing against ketchup, but I’d rather have a better piece of meat. That’s what these Speedriven coolers are. They’re a better piece of meat.”
As for that “ketchup” the other guys are selling?
“Any of these aftermarket heat exchangers will compliment our intercoolers,” explains Jo. “That’s why we also offer an auxiliary heat exchanger for the guys that are really pushing the envelope and want to get the absolute maximum out of the car, though, but we call it what it is: an auxiliary heat exchanger.”
SPEEDRIVEN HEAT EXCHANGER PKG
The Speedriven top-mounted intercooler upgrade package retails for $5000, and includes 2 intercoolers, intake plenum, 2 “Scorpion” air intakes, 4 K&N air filters, a Pierburg-style pump with re-machined head, and all the hardware, brackets, and plumbing necessary to install the package. The package also includes the ECU and TCU software necessary to make the hardware compatible with the Mercedes electronics. Speedriven’s auxiliary heat exchanger package retails for $1000, and includes a larger heat exchanger and pump (as shown, above), as well as all the hardware, brackets, and plumbing necessary to install the package.
Contact Speedriven at 847.485,8126 or email us at info@speedriven.com for more information, or to ask questions about fitment and installation.
Of course - I found this picture quite easily in retrospect.
In this picture, the lower coolant port is presumably the outlet, and the upper port is the inlet - so the outlet side of the IC is bled from the top, and avoids air locks (unlike the stock IC's).
But had you considered what you could do by having a vertical partition instead? With the water ports in the right place, you could make the dual coolant passes sequential, instead of parallel. That means all the charge air would flow through one pass of coolant, and then it would all flow through the second pass.
That's not a realistic opportunity with an FMIC, for example.
02-24-2016, 04:21 PM
