MDR Industries Billet Front Mount Intercooler for 2023+ Honda Civic Type R/Type S [FL5/DE5]

MDR is pleased to announce our very own Billet Intercooler Upgrade for the 2023+ Honda Civic Type-R FL5. Our intercooler is made in the USA, with machined Billet 6061-T6 aluminum end tanks and a 5.50” core to replace the factory’s plastic end tanks and 2.5” core. 

Throughout our testing period, we calculated heat transfers for different types of fins, with different fin heights, and fin densities to determine the best combination internal and external fin to achieve the highest heat transfer effectiveness, with the lowest pressure drop. We then designed our cores with the most effective fin combinations, which in this case we determined was the bar and plate aluminum core design. 

The bar and plate core allows the utilization of the entire envelope space, without larger than core sized end plates as compared to the factory tube and fin. Bar and plate cores are designed to withstand high pressure and high vibration applications. Braze sheets seal the entire row as compared to the 0.125” wide sealing surface of the end plate to the extruded tube on tube and fin cores. 

• Core size – 5.50” thick x  7.02” stack up height x 28.0” wide
  •  Surface area – 196.56 in2 / 25.17% increase 
  •  Volume – 1,081.08 in3 / 175.38% increase 
•  Average pressure drop – 0.85 psi 
•  Average temperature drop (Entire 3rd Run) – 151.15 deg. F 
  • Max Inlet Temp. - 318.9 deg. F
  • Outlet Temp. - 85.8 deg. F (233.1 deg. F of Drop)
  • Pressure Drop -  1.12 psi

After months of testing, street driving, several dyno sessions at different phases, and datalogging, our prototype has exceeded our expectations, both in cooling and performance gains. Dynos were conducted pre-installation with the factory intercooler and compared with the prototype unit. 

Results and side-by-side comparisons are noted in the graphs to the right.

• Factory Intercooler 
  • 302.40 HP / 334.16 ft-lbs Torque @ 28.03 psi
•  MDR Intercooler 
  • 331.34 HP / 352.10 ft-lbs Torque @ 27.54 psi