Thread: ZZP new 2.5 intercooler

Anyone see the new core design zzp put out a few days ago?

ZZP 3800 Intercooler Core Stage 2.5 - YouTube

Ordered one a couple days ago..still waiting on shipping info.

I had had been looking at getting a stage 2 FSIC for a Gen 5 setup, but held off because I was going to try to make a SSIC for a Gen 3 that I had laying around work. Glad I waited, I’ll post up some pictures once I get my hands on it!

Looks like it should be better than the previous versions. From an aesthetic standpoint, I like that it follows the shape of the blower.

Still no shipping, ordered 4 days ago on the 1st of Dec...

It’s funny I saw your post about waiting for the wires last year!

Good news however, I got a tracking number this evening. Says it will be here Monday night.

I’ll be sure to post up pics and my first impression right away.

I’m glad ZZP is still doing some stuff for the 3800. It’s getting harder to find stuff these days, especially anything new.

Well guys, I came home this afternoon to this!



Proceeded to open up and see what this thing really looks like.













Brought it inside and after the kids were asleep I mocked it up on a LIM and Gen 5.





Then came time to take this thing apart and see what’s going on inside.

Here is the bottom portion on top of the LIM. The Gen 5 LIM and intercooler outlet line up exactly. No need to port the LIM to match the intercooler any longer. Also, all the PCV holes line up and go directly through the entire intercooler.



Here is the core.





Only identification I could find on the core.



Upper intercooler section on top of the blower. Lines up perfectly with the outlet.



So, up to this point, A+. Time to put it back together and I quickly realized the o-ring design might be more difficult to use than the old rtv design. The picture below is of the o-ring that goes completely around the core. The lower half has a groove that the o-ring sits in. The upper half does not have a grove, it compresses together. Notice the grey rtv in the corners? During assembly, I’m guessing you have to use something to hold these corners in place because once you start to compress the two halves the inlet and outlet of the core begin to push this o-ring downward and it pops out of the groove.



I played with the o-ring for 30 minutes or so trying to get it to align and stay in place while I tightened the 6 bolts holding to two halves together. At one point I felt certain I had everything lined up, as I tightened I heard a grinding/tearing sound like a piece of dirt was between the halves. I decided to take it back apart and unfortunately the o-ring was cut right where the rtv was used to hold it in place.



You can see the entire o-ring in this picture. I took a measurement and it appears to bean 8” O-ring with a 3/32” thickness. McMaster Carr carries them, but it made me pause and wonder if the o-ring design is really that much better than rtv. Only time will tell I guess, but I wonder if ZZP will be selling replacement o-rings.

All in all, I have to say this is a quality piece from my initial observations. The machining is top notch. Everything is smooth and detailed. I had an old SSIC and can say the workmanship on this intercooler is multitudes better. As far as the functionality changes, I like that a machined LIM is no longer needed to make the PCV work and that the core cutout dimensions have been changed to align directly with the blower outlet and LIM inlet.

I am in the middle of building up an E85, VS, Gen 5 build and can’t wait to get this installed. I’ll provide updates regarding the o-ring situation once I get a replacement and ply around with it some.

Great to see this. Someone needed to step up since Ed quit making his.

Just measured it, 2.25”

Thanks for posting those pics/review for us! I have the old stage 2 currently on my car and was going to swap in either this new core or the phenolic one from Ed when I do the heads and cam.