Forge Motorsport FMINT17.N Intercooler for Renault Megane Mk4 RS 280 300

The Forge FMINT17 is an uprated intercooler for the Renault Megane Mk4 RS.
Forge's highly skilled team and fabrication department designed an intercooler that fits in the original space without the need for vehicle modification, while incorporating higher capacity end tanks for optimal performance.
The end tanks were a fundamental part of the design for this intercooler, opting for a classic and proven sheet metal construction, folded in such a way to achieve a fast-flowing, shallow design with minimal backpressure. Its light weight was also a key element in the design: manufacturing a high-performance intercooler as light as possible; this factor also significantly influenced the choice of the intercooler core.

Once the end tank was designed, they specified several different constructions for the intercooler core before starting rigorous dyno testing. The research and data collected pointed toward the use of a tube and fin core construction. This UK-manufactured component performed flawlessly and, once again, was the best option for minimizing weight. The stepped core design has 41% more capacity than the original intercooler, and the final product achieved a gain of 8 HP with an increase of 12 Nm of torque between 1900 and 2500 rpm, and 20 Nm between 5500 and 6000 rpm. This makes the Megane feel and pull stronger in the upper end of the rev range, and, combined with a vehicle equipped with uprated ECU software, like the development vehicle, the package transforms the 1.8T engine into the engine this Megane R.S. deserves.

The FMINT17 features an anti-corrosion powder coating that not only helps protect this intercooler from adverse environments but also improves its thermal properties. Like all products manufactured by Forge Motorsport, this intercooler comes with Forge's lifetime warranty.

Why test different cores? At Forge Motorsport, when developing an intercooler, they test different cores for each application. For example, a bar and plate core, a tube and fin core, along with different fin pitches and heights (e.g., 22 fins per inch or 17 fins per inch), in addition to modifying the internal fin pitches/shapes and density within the tube to fine-tune the pressure drop produced by the intercooler.
Pressure drop is not always negative, as tests and research on various projects have shown. This is because the velocity of the pressurized air is reduced by the pressure drop within the intercooler, which allows the air to cool for longer as it passes through the non-pressurized face of the core, which is open to the atmosphere. Excessive pressure drop can, of course, be problematic on high-performance engines, as when the intercooler reaches its maximum efficiency, the turbocharger has to work much harder to force air through the core. This, in turn, generates higher intake air temperatures (IAT) because the turbocharger produces more heat from being under greater stress.

The absence of pressure drop can also be inefficient, as the intercooler does not reduce the intake temperature, which leads to higher intake air temperatures.

Dyno Results

The tests were performed on Litchfield’s Maha dyno, manufactured by the same company that currently supplies BMW M Sport and Mercedes-Benz with all their engine calibration and dyno testing services. They also took the opportunity to use the Performance Remap Gloucester dyno to compare results and ensure maximum data accuracy.

The stepped core design has 41% more capacity than the original intercooler, and the final product achieved a gain of 8 HP with an increase of 12 Nm of torque between 1900 and 2500 rpm, and 20 Nm between 5500 and 6000 rpm.
Key features:

Handcrafted

Lightweight - Tube and fin core

Stepped core design

41% capacity increase over the original intercooler

8 HP increase

Up to 20 Nm increase

Compatible vehicles:

Renault Megane Mk4 RS 280 (from 2017)

Renault Megane Mk4 RS 280 Cup (from 2017)

Renault Megane Mk4 RS 300 Trophy (from 2018)