DO88 BMW F8X M2C M3 M4 Performance Intercooler

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

DO88 started this development with the goal of developing a new performance intercooler designed to eliminate the OE intercoolers weaknesses and of course offer a great performance increase. During all testing DO88 carried out of the development of their entire BMW F8X M2C/M3/M4 product range DO88 saw 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 their intercooler DO88 did a detailed 3D-scan of the M3 Competition engine bay. In their Solidworks CAD-software they tried out several design concepts for their charge air cooler using the 3D-scan generated model.

The final design concept was decided after several CFD simulations in the Solidworks Flow Simulation software. In this software they can simulate air flow and measure pressure drop and air distribution over the core. DO88 decided not to include internal air guides since several of the simulations showed they did more harm than good. The air flow is distributed perfectly over the core with their tank design without internal air guides that many claim is good. But in many cases, these causes turbulence and disruptions in the airflow.

The DO88 final design resulted in a bar-and-plate core with TIG-welded aluminum cast end tanks. This offers peace of mind for any high boost tunes. DO88 managed to utilize a massive core, 85% lager than OEM and a 16% decrease in the charge air pressure drop and still maintaining a drop-in installation. Decreasing the charge pressure drop over the intercooler has several benefits such as the turbos needs to work less to achieve target boost, lower temperature, and improves throttle response. DO88 have the equipment to calculate the pressure drop in their CFD calculation software and also real-world tests in their Superflow SF-1020 flow bench. On the water coolant side, DO88 changed to a dual pass flow structure which allows the coolant to flow across the core twice before exiting the intercooler, instead of the OE single pass structure.

DO88 uses a high density offset cooling fin on both the air and water side. Several tests were performed to find optimum balance in-between the air and water fins to get the maximum amount of heat transfer. This gives their intercooler a huge increase in active cooling area compared to OE.

Naturally, this being a DO88 performance product, they have executed thorough and continuous tests developing this intercooler to ensure best performance. Not one compromise has been made.

All this hard work result 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 track, on street, on strip, this charge air cooler will be your true companion!