Darkside uprated intercooler for TD5

I've just stumbled across an uprated intercooler from Darkside Developments and wondered if anyone had any experience with it. On the face of it, it has the potential to be an absolute bargain

https://www.darksidedevelopments.co...-intercooler-for-land-rover-defender-td5.html

Cheers

The original item has the same part number as my tdci, it shares the same intercooler as the TD5. The one in your linky is 20mm thicker than stock - if you have air con and the intercooler is sandwiched between the aircon and engine cooling rads, it might not fit in. Worth a check before you chuck 240 sovs away.

Wimblowdriver said:

The original item has the same part number as my tdci, it shares the same intercooler as the TD5. The one in your linky is 20mm thicker than stock - if you have air con and the intercooler is sandwiched between the aircon and engine cooling rads, it might not fit in. Worth a check before you chuck 240 sovs away.

Click to expand...

No aircon here - it'll certainly fit. I'm hoping someone else has taken the plunge first...

BulletBrindle said:

No aircon here - it'll certainly fit. I'm hoping someone else has taken the plunge first...

Click to expand...

Many moons ago I fitted an uprated fat ic to my td5 disco, first long hill and the viscous fan came on due to the fatter ic limiting air flow to the main rad, this was new to me as I had not heard the fan run in anger in the previous years of owning the car, from then on it became a regular feature.
Car was manual, but did have a/c, and from memory it was a tight fit.

Been looking to put an up rated inter cooler into my TD5 defender, so would be interested to hear if anyone has any experience of these, did you end up going for one?

tomhop said:

Been looking to put an up rated inter cooler into my TD5 defender, so would be interested to hear if anyone has any experience of these, did you end up going for one?

Click to expand...

I've not done anything yet. I'm in no rush, and am not 100% sure if I'll bother upgrading it at all anyway.

BulletBrindle said:

I've not done anything yet. I'm in no rush, and am not 100% sure if I'll bother upgrading it at all anyway.

Click to expand...

I am toying with the idea of a stage 2 remap so would need one for that.

Big intercoolers make a big difference. I find td5s pretty gutless and weak with a stock one.

But will changing the intercooler make much of a difference, if the engine is otherwise standard?

lightning said:

But will changing the intercooler make much of a difference, if the engine is otherwise standard?

Click to expand...

I will eventually get a remap done so it will need to be done at some point, I have read quite a few posts now from other vehicle forums and everyone seems to be saying the same thing “spend a little more and get a reputable manufacturer’s one” no one seems to have had any bad experiences with them but a lot of suspect they are rebranded Chinese made ones

tomhop said:

I will eventually get a remap done so it will need to be done at some point, I have read quite a few posts now from other vehicle forums and everyone seems to be saying the same thing “spend a little more and get a reputable manufacturer’s one” no one seems to have had any bad experiences with them but a lot of suspect they are rebranded Chinese made ones

Click to expand...

At half the price of an intercooler from a better known brand, it is fairly tempting.

I've got a stage 1 Alive remap on the truck currently, and it goes pretty well already, which is why I'm still on the fence. There's no way I'd bother to pay close to £500 for an updated intercooler plus whatever it would be for a stage 2 remap...

Very annoying where all this "stage" nonsense came from.

Anyone thats any good will map your car to your needs, your mods and how you drive.

Remap alone, makes any td5 like it should be from factory. More drivable, better torque and just better.

After that youve got intercoolers, exhaust, air intakes, turbos. If youre feeling flush heads, studs and even injectors. Adding or subtracting any of that will change torque and HP.

Plus most tuners will tweak maps if you fit an IC after the initial map, costd only change when its a turbo or other large hardware changes.

Fitting a bigger IC without a map to suit will make a difference, mainly keeping intake temps lower and a touch of low end torque. However mapped to suit much more low end torque and the same lower intake temps. Around 170 - 190bhp dependant.

My last 110 was around 220hp and 550nm of torque with a standard air box and a leaking intercooler.

Bigger intake + new intercooler was about 250 and 570. Not much of a gain but you get the idea.

Im all for buy the best you can afford and buy the best there is. That has proven its self time and time again for me, latest being my 110 saving my life in a severe accident. Due to high quality, genuine parts not crap.

I cant comment on these ICs they look decent and what look like cast end tanks, so heavy likely with a Turkish or Chinese core.

So yes it will work as an intercooler should but I wouldnt use one with hybrid or VNT, I also wouldn't use it if you do a bit of overlanding etc.. It may well fail. I have personally been through 3 Allisport intercoolers in 6 years, now gone for an Empire one which is pressure tested to a higher load.

If its got a lifetime warranty then great. If not I expect youll be buying another one a couple years later....

lightning said:

But will changing the intercooler make much of a difference, if the engine is otherwise standard?

Click to expand...

No it won't. Not noticeably. Lrm did a dyno of a before and after with and without remap etc and it made hardly any difference at all without the remap, although they said it was probably better for the engine. i.e reduced egt temps

tomhop said:

Been looking to put an up rated inter cooler into my TD5 defender, so would be interested to hear if anyone has any experience of these, did you end up going for one?

Click to expand...

Since fitting mine I can certainly feel a big difference on a nice damp cool morning.
I bought mine after I had a remap and much chatter about how it was the next big thing (fairly expensive) upgrade to do.
Td5s can run high egts when remapped and underload, the bigger ic helps to keep these in check.
However, when it's generally muggy and warm the difference is honestly negligible. You're still pulling in warm air at the end of the day.
I'm not running big power, around 160bhp, mainly my remap is focused on torque as its essentially a work vehicle and reliability comes first to me, so maybe it would have a bigger impact if I was running big power and hybrid turbos etc.
I'd say it was still worth it, but the single biggest difference you will see will be getting a remap, then follow on with a bigger IC.

Gottschalk said:

Since fitting mine I can certainly feel a big difference on a nice damp cool morning.
I bought mine after I had a remap and much chatter about how it was the next big thing (fairly expensive) upgrade to do.
Td5s can run high egts when remapped and underload, the bigger ic helps to keep these in check.
However, when it's generally muggy and warm the difference is honestly negligible. You're still pulling in warm air at the end of the day.
I'm not running big power, around 160bhp, mainly my remap is focused on torque as its essentially a work vehicle and reliability comes first to me, so maybe it would have a bigger impact if I was running big power and hybrid turbos etc.
I'd say it was still worth it, but the single biggest difference you will see will be getting a remap, then follow on with a bigger IC.

Click to expand...

So would you get a remap done first and then fit an uprated intercooler at a later date?

tomhop said:

So would you get a remap done first and then fit an uprated intercooler at a later date?

Click to expand...

Personally, yes I would.
Basically, in very simple terms a remap is making the injector inject more diesel at any given throttle opening, the bigger IC allows more cool dense air to mix with extra diesel your remap is supplying so sort of balancing the mix better, hence why many report the disappearance of black smoke after fitting a bigger ic and tweaking the boost accordingly.
I ran my landy without a bigger IC and with a remap for 5 years, and the difference is like night and day after the map. I drive pretty sensibly and am not that impressed with revving the nuts of Landies, I'm more interested in big torque for slow offloading and hauling big gear around on trailers.
If you want the landy as a toy and will drive it flat out, get a big IC straight away, if you just want to make it better, a stage at a time, remap, then when you want to, big IC will be absolutely fine. I know a few guys that have run huge remaps with no intercooler upgrade and they have no problems at all. (One has clocked over 170k with his strong map and no ic upgrade, infact his original ic is mostly blocked with oil , but it does show what they'll put up with!)

Not interested in turning it into a race car just a bit more usable, better power for pulling of especially with a trailer etc, and if I need to overtake a bit of extra power to get past in a safe time.

tomhop said:

Not interested in turning it into a race car just a bit more usable, better power for pulling of especially with a trailer etc, and if I need to overtake a bit of extra power to get past in a safe time.

Click to expand...

Then a remap is a smart move, I did it on both of my TD5’s and, as previously mentioned by others, it makes the TD5 behave the way it should have from factory. Better pickup, better mpg, just more willing and enjoyable as a result.

slomofo said:

Then a remap is a smart move, I did it on both of my TD5’s and, as previously mentioned by others, it makes the TD5 behave the way it should have from factory. Better pickup, better mpg, just more willing and enjoyable as a result.

Click to expand...

Which one did you go for stage 1 or 2? I am totally confused what to go for half the people you speak to say the cost is the same go for stage 2 (190 ish bhp) it’s the same price and isn’t too silly and the rest say just do a stage 1 (160 ish bhp) it’s fruity enough without running at too high a temp. too much choice!

Have a chat with twinwoods 4x4, he is a member on here