Lotus Exige S Upgraded Intercooler

In order to improve upon the original air to air intercooler on this vehicle. we looked at both chargecooler (water/ air) and improved intercooler (air/air) options. It soon became apparent that we had to agree with the engineers at Lotus Cars, with the intercooler being the better option, due to the significant increase in weight of the chargecooler system.

Our intercooler is a direct replacement for the Lotus Exige S supercharged. In line with the Lotus Sport intercooler that is available to upgrade the 218bhp Exige S to the same specification as the Cup 240 /260 models, we have increased the dimensions of the intercooler. We did not feel however that this alone gave sufficient improvement. The most significant hindrance to the intercooler is the relatively low volume of air that passes through the core via the roof scoop ducting. After trying various options we found a significant improvement in utilising a different core design that gave an improvement in thermal transfer efficiency at low flow rates whilst also reducing the pressure drop in comparison to the OEM intercooler.

Due to the location of the intercooler above the engine and the low airflow through the core, the OEM unit has a poor recovery time after becoming "heat soaked ". Again we have been able to improve on the recovery time with our core design. This product is simple to install and includes all the mounting hardware required.

On our test vehicle, running the Lotus OEM software, we were pleased to see average temperature reductions of up to 17°C. The reduction of the charge air temperature caused a subsequent increase in the charge air density and resulted in increasing the power output of the engine, when compared to the original intercooler. Each intercooler kit is supplied with four replacement silicone hose couplers. These are of four ply re-inforced construction.

This intercooler is not suitable for vehicles fitted with the single strut supported engine cover.