Correct on both comments MJ, but hear me out a bit Our turbos ihi variable
Vein ball bearing turbos are quite well equipt and robust so I’d say we are already experiencing a pressure drop of around 2psi and what I’m going to add will probably add that again but this also means I can run lower boost and create the same power so the engine psi to power ratio will be improved and I think significantly , aftermarket chips boost stock turbos up to 17-18psi on the stock intercoolers which would already be struggling at 15psi on a sustained pull on wot so by me adding extra pressure drop and running a lower boost should be equivant to chipping it on the turbo side but the engine won’t see anywhere near the temp
And boost required to make that additional power that’s my goal , and yes there’s greater chance of leaks but I’ll be going newer silicone hoses all round with superior t clamps and trust me when you get an intercooler pipe leak it’s very rarely small
If ever it will blow off completely so it a case of leak or none, small psi leaks are almost exclusively from vacuum hoses gaskets
Or cracked rubber intercooler joins from my experience. Please Don’t shoot me down for style ,choice or modifying I have an issue I just need to tinker with my cars but I’ll show you a couple of pics anyway of my lotus I did including a custom air to air intercooler system
I made in engine bay as it came intercooler less , it was a triple welded core force fed cold air by an electric supercharger from outside and straight onto the intake manifold for extra cooling it netted a drop of 40 degrees Celsius in summer and worked quite well apart from additional lag of course
Before and after pics of what the lotus looked like not my exact car but exact look
Purists will vomit but we are all different and I like to customise my cars for me, since I do all the work myself and keep all stock parts I can always undo it all apart from that rear window which blocked all rear visibility but buyers always decide to keep as is so I’m lucky so far not having to undo it all