FL5 Intercooler Reference Thread

siwelnosaj

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Shared this on the Facebook groups so I figured I should share here as well.

More real world track evidence showing the WOT Performance cooling parts in action!
Customer in Puerto Rico was able to run full 20 minute sessions in 88°F temps with his FL5 civic Type R, tuned to 520 whp by Ramon Ortiz Del Valle (RTuned).

Max coolant temp of 206°F. Intercooler charge temps at full throttle remained steady at 111°F throughout the 20 minute session.

He's using all of the WOT Performance parts:
- Triple Pass Radiator w/Transmission Cooler
- Dual Oil Cooler Kit
- Microtube Intercooler
- Cooling Plate

Track tested solutions

 

Nikw91

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11th Gen Honda Civic FL5 Intercooler Reference Thread D25F8234-2B52-4F6B-A38F-54AB0199332E
I

With my bumper off yesterday I noticed that my Intercooler is a lot bigger then the hole in the bumper for fresh air to flow in.

I see a lot of Intercoolers that are even bigger dimensions also.

Is there any benefit to the parts of the intercooler not directly in the air flow? I would assume it’s a lot less efficient in those outside areas.

Would a smaller intercooler that fills up the hole with less excess be more efficient?
 

iTurn

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Thanks...What about heat soak (e.g., sitting at a traffic light) and thermal recovery? The updated PRL intercooler would fare much better in that situation.
This is how I view it. In my opinion, it has seemingly made the PRL B&P intercooler redundant. Chalk the increased price up to the weight loss, people have paid more $$$$ for less weight reduction (I'm comparing to the PRL B&P, not the stocker.).
 


apl360

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Shared this on the Facebook groups so I figured I should share here as well.

More real world track evidence showing the WOT Performance cooling parts in action!
Customer in Puerto Rico was able to run full 20 minute sessions in 88°F temps with his FL5 civic Type R, tuned to 520 whp by Ramon Ortiz Del Valle (RTuned).

Max coolant temp of 206°F. Intercooler charge temps at full throttle remained steady at 111°F throughout the 20 minute session.

He's using all of the WOT Performance parts:
- Triple Pass Radiator w/Transmission Cooler
- Dual Oil Cooler Kit
- Microtube Intercooler
- Cooling Plate

Track tested solutions

So I’m Cuban. And growing up we’d always get into friendly banter with the Puerto Rican homies and them with us. We’d argue over who had their flag first and who switched the colors. (Puerto Ricans actually got it first and Cuba just flipped the colors). Is now a bad time to accuse your customer of stealing our flag?
 

apl360

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Shared this on the Facebook groups so I figured I should share here as well.

More real world track evidence showing the WOT Performance cooling parts in action!
Customer in Puerto Rico was able to run full 20 minute sessions in 88°F temps with his FL5 civic Type R, tuned to 520 whp by Ramon Ortiz Del Valle (RTuned).

Max coolant temp of 206°F. Intercooler charge temps at full throttle remained steady at 111°F throughout the 20 minute session.

He's using all of the WOT Performance parts:
- Triple Pass Radiator w/Transmission Cooler
- Dual Oil Cooler Kit
- Microtube Intercooler
- Cooling Plate

Track tested solutions

Also. Super respectable runs. Especially on a “pos turbo 4 banger”

very jealous. Dudes definitely having fun!
 


Nikw91

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Congrats...Received in a few weeks after ordering instead of having to wait until a May 2026 ETA. Any initial thoughts/comments after switching from the PRL B&P to the HKS T&F?


Thank you! Have a few things to say.

PRL’s intercoolers finish and overall quality are top notch. The nice big welds, the big billet end tanks give a slight noise increase and it’s a big strong unit that can handle debris.

The bad, the PRL gave the car about a 200-300 rpm boost lag because of its size. Also I could barely see through it, the PLATES are HUGE, the FINS are SMALL which for sure affected airflow to the radiator.

HKS has pretty thin welds, the intercooler seems like a Frankenstein build, the end tanks stick out about a half inch on either side of core, the fins are thin and stick out a couple millimeters from the core.

The good, you can see straight through the HKS Intercooler, the fins are a lot taller and wider space, the bars are thinner. The end tanks are also noticeably smaller and the spool is similar to OEM.

I will know more tomorrow on my 100 mile round trip to work and back whether temps are down noticeably.

Here are screenshots of videos in the same spot.

11th Gen Honda Civic FL5 Intercooler Reference Thread IMG_9818

11th Gen Honda Civic FL5 Intercooler Reference Thread IMG_9765
 
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blueroadster

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Thank you! Have a few things to say.

PRL’s intercoolers finish and overall quality are top notch. The nice big welds, the big billet end tanks give a slight noise increase and it’s a big strong unit that can handle debris.

The bad, the PRL gave the car about a 200-300 rpm boost lag because of its size. Also I could barely see through it, the PLATES are HUGE, the FINS are SMALL which for sure affected airflow to the radiator.

HKS has pretty thin welds, the intercooler seems like a Frankenstein build, the end tanks stick out about a half inch on either side of core, the fins are thin and stick out a couple millimeters from the core.

The good, you can see straight through the HKS Intercooler, the fins are a lot taller and wider space, the bars are thinner. The end tanks are also noticeably smaller and the spool is similar to OEM.

I will know more tomorrow on my 100 mile round trip to work and back whether temps are down noticeably.

Here are screenshots of videos in the same spot.

IMG_9818.webp

IMG_9765.webp
Interesting and thank you for sharing. The end tank size obviously does not match with the core itself...Is it a legitimate HKS part that you received?

Reference video of the HKS intercooler:
 
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