When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
PWR Intercooler and Koyorad dual pass radiator fitment issue
Hi all. I am working on installing the PWR Intercooler, and there is a fitment issue with the koyorad being too high up and forward, preventing me from installing the carbon duct. I have tried bending the tabs on the bottom bracket, dropping the ac condensor a bit, removing the top rubber bushing from the top radiator mount. I am able to slide the top portion of the duct in, but the bottom of the duct is still blocked by the radiator. Does anyone have any experience/tips on how to make it fit? Or do I need a thinner radiator? PWR intercooler Not fitting radiator preventing duct from fitting bottom bracket bent top bracket rubber bushing removed
Have you tried to mount the stock IC mounting bracket to the carbon fiber duct and bolt it all in place yet? I wonder if the position is actually good and the other smaller duct will slip past the radiator and inset into the bigger carbon fiber duct?
I had the same radiator/intercooler setup and the installation was a breeze. However, I do realize each car is different!
I recently installed one of Marcus’ PWR setups, I was going to make a post about it but I’ll respond here.
Basically, I experienced the same issues that you are encountering. Marcus changed the design of the duct to make it 20mm larger, I presume this happened when he changed the supplier for the CF parts. He mentioned this when I was communicating with him, he informed of the size increase and said that the radiator would need to be lowered about 20mm at the top by resizing or removing the upper radiator mount.
What I found was that with my Fluidyne radiator setup, even with removing the mount entirely the smaller duct would not fit around the upper tank. The Fluidyne has a square shape tank design even more severe than the Koyo, and the extra metal intruded into the area that the small duct needs. It was not even close to fitting. I ultimately relocated the radiator lower by removing the rubber bushings at the bottom and removing the rubber upper mount bushings entirely. The upper mounts are a part of the Fluidyne design, not separate like with OEM, and I needed to notch out the mount tab so that with the radiator lower in the car I could bolt the upper mount in. I was not comfortable going metal to metal (although it would probably be fine, particularly considering my annual mileage is 100’s of miles and not 1,000’s so fatigue isn’t a concern) – but anyway I used industrial size Velcro – the soft side part – to insulate the bottom and top mounts so that there would at least be some insulation and not metal to metal contact. At the top mount, I used longer bolts and only partially tightened them with the bolt secured with an extra nut at the bottom as a lock nut.
However, even with all this and the radiator moved to allow the maximum possible clearance, the smaller section would not fit over the radiator from the top. Also, the small section is supposed to clip over some kind of protruding ball or post, however my 1995 did not have this part and never did as far as I could tell. So even if the part would clear there would not be anything to secure it.
Moving the radiator as I did created almost enough clearance though. What I was able to do was to force the smaller duct up from the bottom (the upper part is narrower than the inlet part), and attach it to the upper duct which was already in place. It was a real tight squeeze but it fit almost perfectly (there is a little flex on one side, so a slight gap where the two ducts come together but very minimal. I secured the smaller duct with stainless lock wire that is wrapped around the “tab” mount and passed up to attach to a point above the duct. It is barely visible and seems to provide good support.
With all this, I can say that although I didn’t like having to modify my radiator mount, anytime aftermarket parts are used there is often some compromise. In this case, the compromise was the fitment in favor of more airflow. The IC does work extremely well, it has an enormous capacity to absorb heat from repeated high boost pulls. When I was doing auto tuning with the PFC Master I was boosting over and over at high RPM to get data in some hard to reach map cells, the air temps that started at around 105F never exceeded 111F after repeated long hard pulls at high RPM. The IC will heat soak at idle like any other SMIC, and it takes a while to cool down. But while driving it does the job very well. I used to have a Blitz SMIC, and I would say that intake temps are at least 20F cooler under similar conditions with much more heat increase resistance.
The other thing is that the new duct has a conventional CF weave pattern just like in your photo, whereas it used to match the pattern on the Autoexe intake. I have this intake too, and I was a bit disappointed to see that the CF did not match. That change part was not mentioned, and the photos online don’t show it. But it is a small issue and overall I am very satisfied with the item and the transaction.
Keep at it, probably if you make the same changes that I did, you can get the duct to fit in the same manner pushing the duct up from the bottom. I think you will never be able to get it in from the top with your current radiator. Or, if you go back to a stock radiator or maybe one of the JDM aftermarket radiators with a OE-style curved upper tank it may work without removing the lower bushings. You will need to modify the upper mount in any case, I think. If anything I explained is unclear pm me your cell and we can chat offline.
As installed now. You can see the lock wire to the right of the hood latch:
I recently installed one of Marcus’ PWR setups, I was going to make a post about it but I’ll respond here.
Basically, I experienced the same issues that are encountering. Marcus changed the design of the duct to make it 20mm larger, I presume this happened when he changed the supplier for the CF parts. He mentioned this when I was communicating with him, he informed of the size increase and said that the radiator would need to be lowered about 20mm at the top by resizing or removing the upper radiator mount.
What I found was that with my Fluidyne radiator setup, even with removing the mount entirely the smaller duct would not fit around the upper tank. The Fluidyne has a square shape tank design even more severe than the Koyo, and the extra metal intruded into the area that the small duct needs. It was not even close to fitting. I ultimately relocated the radiator lower by removing the rubber bushings at the bottom and removing the rubber upper mount bushings entirely. The upper mounts are a part of the Fluidyne design, not separate like with OEM, and I needed to notch out the mount tab so that with the radiator lower in the car I could bolt the upper mount in. I was not comfortable going metal to metal (although it would probably be fine, particularly considering my annual mileage is 100’s of miles and not 1,000’s so fatigue isn’t a concern) – but anyway I used industrial size Velcro – the soft side part – to insulate the bottom and top mounts so that there would at least be some insulation and not metal to metal contact. At the top mount, I used longer bolts and only partially tightened them with the bolt secured with an extra nut at the bottom as a lock nut.
However, even with all this and the radiator moved to allow the maximum possible clearance, the smaller section would not fit over the radiator from the top. Also, the small section is supposed to clip over some kind of protruding ball or post, however my 1995 did not have this part and never did as far as I could tell. So even if the part would clear there would not be anything to secure it.
Moving the radiator as I did created almost enough clearance though. What I was able to do was to force the smaller duct up from the bottom (the upper part is narrower than the inlet part), and attach it to the upper duct which was already in place. It was a real tight squeeze but it fit almost perfectly (there is a little flex on one side, so a slight gap where the two ducts come together but very minimal. I secured the smaller duct with stainless lock wire that is wrapped around the “tab” mount and passed up to attach to a point above the duct. It is barely visible and seems to provide good support.
With all this, I can say that although I didn’t like having to modify my radiator mount, anytime aftermarket parts are used there is often some compromise. In this case, the compromise was the fitment in favor of more airflow. The IC does work extremely well, it has an enormous capacity to absorb heat from repeated high boost pulls. When I was doing auto tuning with the PFC Master I was boosting over and over at high RPM to get data in some hard to reach map cells, the air temps that started at around 105F never exceeded 111F after repeated long hard pulls at high RPM. The IC will heat soak at idle like any other SMIC, and it takes a while to cool down. But while driving it does the job very well. I used to have a Blitz SMIC, and I would say that intake temps are at least 20F cooler under similar conditions with much more heat increase resistance.
The other thing is that the new duct has a conventional CF weave pattern just like in your photo, whereas it used to match the pattern on the Autoexe intake. I have this intake too, and I was a bit disappointed to see that the CF did not match. That change part was not mentioned, and the photos online don’t show it. But it is a small issue and overall I am very satisfied with the item and the transaction.
Keep at it, probably if you make the same changes that I did, you can get the duct to fit in the same manner pushing the duct up from the bottom. I think you will never be able to get it in from the top with your current radiator. Or, if you go back to a stock radiator or maybe one of the JDM aftermarket radiators with a OE-style curved upper tank it may work without removing the lower bushings. You will need to modify the upper mount in any case, I think. If anything I explained is unclear pm me your cell and we can chat offline.
As installed now. You can see the lock wire to the right of the hood latch:
Thank you! Let me try installing the bottom duct first. I have the zenki bumper, and the black plastic trim on the bumper is in the way. I may have to remove the bumper to get it in there!
Have you tried to mount the stock IC mounting bracket to the carbon fiber duct and bolt it all in place yet? I wonder if the position is actually good and the other smaller duct will slip past the radiator and inset into the bigger carbon fiber duct?
I had the same radiator/intercooler setup and the installation was a breeze. However, I do realize each car is different!
It doesn’t line up. I test fitted the intercooler as well. Not enough clearance even for the intercooler to go in.
Just remembered I needed to trim the air guide a little as well. I think that is what you are referring to. You shouldn’t need to remove the bumper but then of course things would be more accessible.
Just remembered I needed to trim the air guide a little as well. I think that is what you are referring to. You shouldn’t need to remove the bumper but then of course things would be more accessible.
yep, air guide is in the way. I tried not to trim anything, not removing the bumper seems like a cleaner option.
Thank you! Let me try installing the bottom duct first. I have the zenki bumper, and the black plastic trim on the bumper is in the way. I may have to remove the bumper to get it in there!
Clean install by the way! I think Marcus is using your car in his ad
If your duct has the square style weave like the AutoExe intake then that is the case. I think the original design just fit directly with no issues. Personally I would have preferred if the design had not changed, it worked great as it was and the weave pattern matched. But that’s not an option. It’s still a great piece of kit, I am happy to have it, but it just requires a lot more work to install which is offset by some degree of increased cooling capacity with the slightly larger duct inlet.
A little OT but for anyone thinking about getting one I can say that for me the transaction was very smooth, good communications, the product was shipped very quickly, and was packaged very well.
The new PWR intercooler with the 60mm intake duct will not fit. Only the old 45mm duct will fit. I ended up fitting the PWR radiator and it still was not a perfect fit. It was very tight and the oem bracket hole did not line up with the duct holes.
The new PWR intercooler with the 60mm intake duct will not fit. Only the old 45mm duct will fit. I ended up fitting the PWR radiator and it still was not a perfect fit. It was very tight and the oem bracket hole did not line up with the duct holes.
what did you do at the end? Drill new holes and fill up the old ones?
I currently haven't done anything with the holes. The duct is wedged in so tight its not going anywhere. But will continue to monitor everything for movement/alignment. Car is getting tuned tommorow.
That's rough with the new change in the duct. I think the N-Flo is possibly the most widely used upgraded radiator at least in the States. I know its thicker than some of the others but that puts a damper on this kit if you already have an upgraded thicker radiator because then you have to buy another one and Fluidyne doesn't make one any longer which would have been my first choice.
I currently haven't done anything with the holes. The duct is wedged in so tight its not going anywhere. But will continue to monitor everything for movement/alignment. Car is getting tuned tommorow.
I removed my radiator, and now I have all the space I need, but it still won't fit. Does your upper duct sit flush with the bracket? just the holes that don't align? For me, not only does the holes not aligned, it also won't sit flush with the bracket, and there is 1-2 finger gaps between the duct and the bracket. if I try to pull the duct up, the intercooler will be sitting too far inward, and won't sit right. I think the duct is very poorly designed, it looks like the duct will have to be loosely attached to the lower duct and intercooler.
Last edited by bladekevin22; Nov 11, 2025 at 09:28 PM.
I checked my setup, the upper duct is bolted to the bracket and is flush with a good fit. Hard to see in this photo, but the front bolt point is flush with the duct. My part has the different weave though, it might be that the supplier changed when he moved back to the auto exe pattern weave.
Interesting that you were able to get the lower duct in with the upper mount installed, no way could I do that and get the lower duct to squeeze in. The Fluidyne mounts are welded to the tanks so also no chance they are upside down either.
I went and saw Marcus and he told me that my radiator mounts were upside down. I didn’t know as they were in the same position that the Koyo radiator had them in previously so that’s been rectified and also fitted the rubber mounts now the radiator sits lower and it’s correct position. With that I’m now able to bolt the shroud to the bracket and everything fits a lot better now. Still not perfect and still a squeeze but better. The small duct is still a pain in the ***, though I will probably just wedge it in there and make my own fixings (Zip ties).
I also have way better clearance on the radiator fan shroud.
looking good. I took my bumper and radiator off already, and it’s still not fitting quite right. I can maybe force it to fit like yours, with only one hole bolted
I have RX8 fans on my FD, did not have any issues with IC fitment even with all the OE radiator mounts in place. Only problem was clearance with the duct. Even the upper duct fit fine since it is just above the radiator tank. But then the tank obstructed fitment of the lower duct into the upper necessitating removal of the upper mounts, removal of the lower bushings, etc…
This is with a Fluidyne radiator however. I guess I should feel fortunate that I picked one up back in the day.
I had some trouble with fitment several years ago with my Koyo and RX8 fans. What I did is remove the fan shroud and use a small Drexel tool to remove about 1/2" of the lip that sits on the radiator all the way around the entire shroud. This lowers the entire shroud the same 1/2" and added the clearance I needed. This has no effect on cooling, and the fan blades still have plenty of clearance from the radiator fins.
Mike
