SpeedFactory SS-850 Side Inlet Intercooler 600-850HP

SpeedFactory SS-850 Side Inlet Intercooler 600-850HP

Your turbo K24 or B18 is making real power and the front of the car is full. Radiator, A/C condenser if you kept it, and now you need a front mount that doesn't force the charge piping into the crank pulley. The SpeedFactory SS-850 Side Inlet/Outlet Universal Front Mount Intercooler runs a 24x12x3 bar and plate core with the inlet and outlet exiting the sides of the end tanks instead of projecting rearward, which changes how the piping has to route through an already crowded EG, EK, or DC2 engine bay.

What It Is and Why It Works

The core is 24 inches wide, 12 inches tall, and 3 inches thick, bar and plate rather than tube and fin, with a staggered fin arrangement to hold pressure drop down. Bar and plate takes repeated boost cycling better than tube and fin, which is why it shows up on cars that see back-to-back pulls instead of one clean dyno graph.

Here's the part worth understanding before you spend money: this is the same core SpeedFactory puts in the DBD-850 Dual Backdoor. Same 24x12x3 dimensions, same 600-850 horsepower rating per manufacturer, same construction. If you're trying to work out which one cools better, that's the wrong question. They cool the same. What you're actually choosing is packaging.

The side inlet configuration puts both 3 inch ports out the sides of the tanks. That keeps the intercooler from needing clearance behind it for the piping to turn, which is why SpeedFactory positions this one for installs where space is tight. The trade is width. End tanks that exit sideways make the unit wider overall, and the numbers back that up: the SS-850 measures 36.5 inches inlet to inlet, while the backdoor version is 32.5 inches end to end on the same core. Four inches is the difference between clearing your core support and cutting more of it than you wanted to.

The end tanks are hand formed from H-3 5052 aluminum and fully TIG welded rather than cast. Both ports are bead rolled tube ends, so silicone couplers and T-bolt clamps actually grip instead of walking off under boost. The 8mm x 1.25 aluminum mounting bungs come welded on, so you're building brackets to the bungs rather than drilling an intercooler you just bought.

Specs

SS-850 or DBD-850

These two are the same money and the same cooling. Pick on geometry.

If your constraint is depth behind the core, the side inlet layout is the easier install. If your constraint is width across the opening, the backdoor unit is four inches narrower and that's usually the deciding number on an EG or EK. Measure the opening and the space behind it before you order either one.

Fitment

SpeedFactory lists this as a universal application, which is accurate and worth taking literally. Nothing here bolts to your chassis. On an EF, EG, EK, DC2, EP3, or DC5, plan on trimming the bumper support and fabricating mounting brackets to the bungs. This is a core, not a kit.

What to Know Before You Buy

You get the intercooler and nothing else. No charge piping, no couplers, no clamps, no brackets. On a scratch turbo build the intercooler is usually the smallest line item in getting boost from the compressor to the throttle body, so budget accordingly.

Be honest about the power number before picking a tier. If you're at 400 to 500 wheel on a street K20, the 300-500HP SpeedFactory unit does the job and blocks less air to your radiator. The 600-850 band suits a built K24, a sleeved B-series, or an E85 setup on a decent frame turbo. Ratings like this are flow guidelines rather than hard ceilings, so if you're at 580 and still climbing, this is the right shelf.

One thing to know if you're also replacing the radiator: SpeedFactory only packages the intercooler and tucked radiator combo around the backdoor cores, not this port style. If the combo is what you want, you're choosing a backdoor unit by default.

Vibrant Vanjen flanges can be welded on in place of the standard bead rolled ends for faster, more secure connections at high boost, but that has to be arranged before the unit gets built. Call or email us first if you want it done.

Last thing, and it catches people every time: a 3 inch core sitting in front of your radiator will push coolant temps up if your fan shrouding and ducting are marginal. Sort that out while the front end is already apart rather than chasing a hot engine later.