No intercooler. What do you think?

First the STS kits. The main reason these were invented (by what I have seen) is space. Anyone that has looked underneath the hood of a LT or a LS F-body knows there is NO space for a bolt on turbo kit. Any kit made for those cars is a PAIN to install and or fabricate. The kit is NOT ideal, we all know this. However something that people fail to realize is that heat is not theh main contributing factor to spooling a turbo, exhaust flow is. The heat does contribute alot to spool but it is secondary. The STS uses a differnt A/R ratio to make up for the lack of the heat expansion, thats why they have excellent spool characteristics.
As far as most of the STS kits not having intercoolers. There are two main reasons for this, again this is by my research of the system. First is the dramatically reduced temps to begin with, the exhaust system nor the underhood temps are adding to the temperature of the charged air. This alone is a major factor in not needing an intercooler. The second reason is just the sheer length of the piping. All that length serves as the intercooler of the system. It does the same thing as an air to air intercooler.

All of the people saying you can run X psi on your system need to be careful. Psi is NOT the characteristic that should be used. A small turbo will only flow say 100 cfm at 5 psi, a medium one might flow 200 and a big one could flow around 300 cfm. Now they all would make 5 psi, but where 100 cfm would be fine on a stock engine. 200 would be pushing it. 300 would be blowing stuff up. Tell us your turbo and we can make a more educated guess. Comparing different cars doesn't help either. Turbo Dodges can make alot of power with the stock turbo. However they come with beefier rods, pistons, better heads, etc, etc. The engine was designed to be turbo'd from the factory, it was designed to run without an intercooler. Running X psi on that engine means nothing to a 200 six.

Also to the guy that mentioned a buddy running 8's non intercooled, ask I'm sure hes running something other than gasoline as fuel.

As far as intercooling goes it is quite simple. You should always intercool with a turbo, you also can almost never get too big of a intercooler. Yes it is very possible to make big power on a non intercooled setup. It is also very possible to get such a massive intercooler that it will hurt you. The reason that someone should always run an intercooler is simple. Lower intake temperatures means more power. If you lower the intake temperatures with an intercooler you can safely run more boost and make more power yet. A decently made intercooler with only have 1-2 psi drop across it, possibly less. There are lots of cars that come stock with intercoolers. Volvo's, Evo's, Wrx's, Srt-4's, and DSM's are just a few. (anyone tell I'm also an import guy? ) Out of those Evo's and Srt's both have front mounts that are very effective. An Srt front mount can be had here for anywhere between 80 and 150 dollars. The main thing with those intercoolers is to just find the best deal. Evo intercoolers can be had for less simply because the outlets are put at a kinda goofy angle. If your just looking for a cheap intercooler both of these are excellent choices.

There are many companies out there also if your looking to buy a new front mount intercooler, you can choose exactly what size you want with the exact outlet size and directions you want. Most of these can be had fairly cheaply too.

If you would like I can try to get you some links to cheaper front mount intercoolers.

Any more information just ask and I would love to help out.

Todd

There are some misconceptions running in this thread that I would like to try and deal with.First the STS kits. The main reason these were invented (by what I have seen) is space. Anyone that has looked underneath the hood of a LT or a LS F-body knows there is NO space for a bolt on turbo kit. Any kit made for those cars is a PAIN to install and or fabricate. The kit is NOT ideal, we all know this. However something that people fail to realize is that heat is not theh main contributing factor to spooling a turbo, exhaust flow is. The heat does contribute alot to spool but it is secondary. The STS uses a differnt A/R ratio to make up for the lack of the heat expansion, thats why they have excellent spool characteristics.As far as most of the STS kits not having intercoolers. There are two main reasons for this, again this is by my research of the system. First is the dramatically reduced temps to begin with, the exhaust system nor the underhood temps are adding to the temperature of the charged air. This alone is a major factor in not needing an intercooler. The second reason is just the sheer length of the piping. All that length serves as the intercooler of the system. It does the same thing as an air to air intercooler.All of the people saying you can run X psi on your system need to be careful. Psi is NOT the characteristic that should be used. A small turbo will only flow say 100 cfm at 5 psi, a medium one might flow 200 and a big one could flow around 300 cfm. Now they all would make 5 psi, but where 100 cfm would be fine on a stock engine. 200 would be pushing it. 300 would be blowing stuff up. Tell us your turbo and we can make a more educated guess. Comparing different cars doesn't help either. Turbo Dodges can make alot of power with the stock turbo. However they come with beefier rods, pistons, better heads, etc, etc. The engine was designed to be turbo'd from the factory, it was designed to run without an intercooler. Running X psi on that engine means nothing to a 200 six.Also to the guy that mentioned a buddy running 8's non intercooled, ask I'm sure hes running something other than gasoline as fuel.As far as intercooling goes it is quite simple. You should always intercool with a turbo, you also can almost never get too big of a intercooler. Yes it is very possible to make big power on a non intercooled setup. It is also very possible to get such a massive intercooler that it will hurt you. The reason that someone should always run an intercooler is simple. Lower intake temperatures means more power. If you lower the intake temperatures with an intercooler you can safely run more boost and make more power yet. A decently made intercooler with only have 1-2 psi drop across it, possibly less. There are lots of cars that come stock with intercoolers. Volvo's, Evo's, Wrx's, Srt-4's, and DSM's are just a few. (anyone tell I'm also an import guy?) Out of those Evo's and Srt's both have front mounts that are very effective. An Srt front mount can be had here for anywhere between 80 and 150 dollars. The main thing with those intercoolers is to just find the best deal. Evo intercoolers can be had for less simply because the outlets are put at a kinda goofy angle. If your just looking for a cheap intercooler both of these are excellent choices.There are many companies out there also if your looking to buy a new front mount intercooler, you can choose exactly what size you want with the exact outlet size and directions you want. Most of these can be had fairly cheaply too.If you would like I can try to get you some links to cheaper front mount intercoolers.Any more information just ask and I would love to help out.Todd