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My aftermarket AST interferes with the upper pipe of my Blitz SMIC; with everything pushed as far to the side as possible, I still have to bend the bracket to get clearance with the upper connector pipe.
Just wondering what others are doing to resolve this.
Make a bracket or eliminate the ast entirely. It really serves no purpose once you properly bleed the air out of the coolant system. I almost never run them unless a customer really wants one and never have an issue.
What you have done is fine. I bent mine a little bit also. What is that ring around your intercooler coupler? It seems like you would have more room if the coupler had no ring.
A new bracket wont do you much good if you are using a stock battery box.
Just make a flat bracket that holds the AST off to the side more. Undo the L bracket if you can and put the replacement on in its place. Take a trip to the local Home Depot.
It looks like you could unbolt the bracket, flip it (so the tab is closer to the end of the intercooler) and then bend it out toward the battery a bit and it will fit much better. It should help move the AST about another inch from the coupler.
What you have done is fine. I bent mine a little bit also. What is that ring around your intercooler coupler? It seems like you would have more room if the coupler had no ring.
A new bracket wont do you much good if you are using a stock battery box.
The upper coupler has a flex joint to take stress off the IC and inlet, I have always used this method for my cars when upgrading the piping. For sure it takes up clearance though. My battery is mounted in the bin currently although I have toyed with the idea of relocating it back to the stock position.
Originally Posted by ItalynStylion
It looks like you could unbolt the bracket, flip it (so the tab is closer to the end of the intercooler) and then bend it out toward the battery a bit and it will fit much better. It should help move the AST about another inch from the coupler.
I tried that initially, but with the stock lower mount there is nothing to support the AST. I guess I can make an extension bracket for the bottom and space it over as others have suggested.
The upper coupler has a flex joint to take stress off the IC and inlet, I have always used this method for my cars when upgrading the piping. For sure it takes up clearance though. My battery is mounted in the bin currently although I have toyed with the idea of relocating it back to the stock position.
An intercooler coupler in that location is long enough, and flexible enough that it doesnt need a flex joint. If you want a little more room, change the coupler. I would say you are fine as it is right now.
Agree, you could probably use a different coupler and get some room. But I also agree that properly deleting the AST is an option. I'm typically not one to remove stuff , but with my PFS things were really tight too. Deleting with the S5 filler neck I've had absolutely no issues over the last 6 or 7 yrs. I change coolant every spring and it used to take me marginally longer to burp the system afterward. But after getting a Lisle funnel even that's history. Cleans things up a bit too. Wished I'd done it sooner.
