Current best intercooler for track use?

[Backmarker]

Hey folks,

I will be joining the TSCC event at VIR in May. Have done a lot of track driving, instructing, and racing back in ECHC H1 back in the day but this will be the first time with the CTR on track…and first time being back on track after a solidly long layoff (kids keep ya busy...).

I am not worried at all about making a lot of power or even keeping track of lap times. I will most likely be running Jester’s track tune for stock(ish) cars. What I am worried about is keeping the oil temp and intake temps cool enough that I can focus on knocking the rust off my driving and not worrying about watching the gauges.

It seems like the verdict on best intercooler for track work is still out (my goal for that is keeping IAT down for as long as possible under track conditions). Folks seem to agree in principle that tube and fin (HKS, in development RV6, etc.) should be better but I have not seen any actual data yet backing that up. So based on that I had a couple of questions for the tuners and track rats:

1) if you had to pick an intercooler now, what would you pick? Not cost sensitive, but I would rather not buy one and then have to replace it later.

2) My other option is keep the intercooler stock for now until a winner on intercoolers emerges. How much of a hot mess would it be to run the stock intercooler for the May VIR event? Assuming reasonable weather in May for Va.

Rest of the car set up for May:
- R-compound tires… still deciding
- PWR race radiator
- Hel oil cooler
- TSP Downpipe
- Turbo / DP Blanket
- Hondata / Jester conservative track tune
- Paragon R5/R3
- SRF Brake Fluid

I also have a Hondata Flexfuel but may not get that installed in time.

if it matters for intercooler selection - over the longer term I plan on picking up a bit more power but again with conservative power goals. I am more focused on broad torque curve and efficiency (keeping everythingcool) versus chasing HP numbers.

Down the road I will likely add:

- Kuro / Kuro +
- Full race fuel pump
- camber adjustment

I appreciate any and all advice! Thanks in advance!

- Phillip

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[Rhorn]

Tons of good info here

https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/all-the-available-aftermarket-fmics-are-bad.55908/

 

[optronix]

Tons of good info here

https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/all-the-available-aftermarket-fmics-are-bad.55908/

But is there though?

I went through all 13 pages of that thread (still waking up...), and my takeaway is that all the information you need is in the title of the thread.

Seriously, I've seen anecdotally more people overheating WITH intercoolers on track than without. I don't have enough personal data to come to any conclusion as I've only been out to one ~80 degree F October day and had no issues- but are people really running into significant overheating issues with stock setups? If so I haven't heard of any.

Also, what's the deal with so many people focusing on making more power if they intend to spend a good amount of time at the track? I do not share that philosophy. The car already has good power, and I don't feel like any amount of mods are going to make it keep up with a stock ZL1 on a straight, so why even bother overwhelming the front wheels and adding more things to go wrong and ruin your track day?

One guy in that thread was bragging about making so much power he could only do one lap.

So I know it's an unpopular concept, but maybe the best answer is to leave it the hell alone if you want longevity? Are people just assuming that they need an intercooler upgrade?

 

[Tougefl5]

There's no best. Canflex is not very time consuming for install. Might as well get tuned on e85. Run the stock intercooler till you can't you don't know what temperatures will be.
Get your fuel system in order first because that's your biggest costs. Hpfp, injectors and canflex install 1 day. Turbo, dp , radiator and intercooler 1 day install. Minimal downtime whole time you can be enjoying your car and seat time.
Pretty sure you can get a package deal for the build with two step performance or Axion Industries and save money and time.

 

[Cueyo]

But is there though?

I went through all 13 pages of that thread (still waking up...), and my takeaway is that all the information you need is in the title of the thread.

Seriously, I've seen anecdotally more people overheating WITH intercoolers on track than without. I don't have enough personal data to come to any conclusion as I've only been out to one ~80 degree F October day and had no issues- but are people really running into significant overheating issues with stock setups? If so I haven't heard of any.

Also, what's the deal with so many people focusing on making more power if they intend to spend a good amount of time at the track? I do not share that philosophy. The car already has good power, and I don't feel like any amount of mods are going to make it keep up with a stock ZL1 on a straight, so why even bother overwhelming the front wheels and adding more things to go wrong and ruin your track day?

One guy in that thread was bragging about making so much power he could only do one lap.

So I know it's an unpopular concept, but maybe the best answer is to leave it the hell alone if you want longevity? Are people just assuming that they need an intercooler upgrade?

I think the only real-ish answer I picked up from the thread was that tube and fin is better than other designs because it supposedly lets air pass through it to the radiator.

My issue with that is the same principle applies to the stock radiator and intercooler. The purpose of aftermarket parts is either to be cheap, or be better than stock, which would imply that if the parts are better than stock and you're pushing significantly more power, that maybe you need supporting mods to help with the heat issues.

It could also be the case that if you can only do one "hot lap", that there's something else wrong...

 

[svvitch]

I'm slow so my temps are lower. Someone much faster drove my car, and oil and water were both 5-10 degrees hotter with a single lap. I am hoping I'll be faster this year, so new radiator and intercooler planned.

 

[svvitch]

For tires,

I think the only real-ish answer I picked up from the thread was that tube and fin is better than other designs because it supposedly lets air pass through it to the radiator.

My issue with that is the same principle applies to the stock radiator and intercooler. The purpose of aftermarket parts is either to be cheap, or be better than stock, which would imply that if the parts are better than stock and you're pushing significantly more power, that maybe you need supporting mods to help with the heat issues.

It could also be the case that if you can only do one "hot lap", that there's something else wrong...

tube and fin = faster heat dissipation, faster heat soak = track use (once it heat soaks, much quicker at cooling down)
bar and plate = slower heat dissipation, slower heat soak = drag, street, time between pulls (doesn't heat soak as fast, but takes much longer to cool back down)

Me = non auto engineer, but realize it's all part of a system and everyone has different goals.

 

[RedlineAddict]

Are there overheating concerns work this car on the track? I'm looking at getting a used FL5 and would probably be taking it to VIR frequently.

 

[optronix]

I'm slow so my temps are lower. Someone much faster drove my car, and oil and water were both 5-10 degrees hotter with a single lap. I am hoping I'll be faster this year, so new radiator and intercooler planned.

But did it overheat???

I swear, the only anecdotal evidence I've seen with the stock setup is stuff like this. People eyeing the gauges and getting concerned... but so far I have not seen one documented incident where the car actually overheated on track.

To be clear, I'm not saying the stock setup is perfect, or even good- I'm saying that I see tons of people on these forums trying to solve a problem that may not even exist, and in many cases actually exacerbating or even creating the problem they're trying to solve.

Also this-

tube and fin = faster heat dissipation, faster heat soak = track use (once it heat soaks, much quicker at cooling down)
bar and plate = slower heat dissipation, slower heat soak = drag, street, time between pulls (doesn't heat soak as fast, but takes much longer to cool back down)

Me = non auto engineer, but realize it's all part of a system and everyone has different goals.

^This is pretty much the average post in all 13 pages of that other intercooler thread. "It depends", "bar and plate/tube and fin", "there isn't any real answer".

This only reinforces my hypothesis that it's all a huge waste of time and nobody actually needs an intercooler.

Are there overheating concerns work this car on the track? I'm looking at getting a used FL5 and would probably be taking it to VIR frequently.

That's a great question, and one I think we'd all like to know. The real question though, is can anyone actually answer this very basic question-

"Does the stock FL5/DE5 suffer from overheating issues on track?"

And if so, a follow up- "under what specific circumstances is it happening?"

 

[svvitch]

It's part of a system. The stock intercooler, operating on the street as designed is fine. On track, it heat soaks, timing is pulled, power is reduced. How is this a hypothesis? Tuning shows this. I don't need to datalog and prove it to myself, other stock setup cars have. I can rely on their data. My car is the same.

Also, I'm not waiting for my engine to go boom before saying gee, I'm glad that happened so now I know I really need to do something to resolve 235+ degree water temps or 300+ degree oil temps (calculated or not).

 

[Cueyo]

But did it overheat???

I swear, the only anecdotal evidence I've seen with the stock setup is stuff like this. People eyeing the gauges and getting concerned... but so far I have not seen one documented incident where the car actually overheated on track.

To be clear, I'm not saying the stock setup is perfect, or even good- I'm saying that I see tons of people on these forums trying to solve a problem that may not even exist, and in many cases actually exacerbating or even creating the problem they're trying to solve.

Also this-



^This is pretty much the average post in all 13 pages of that other intercooler thread. "It depends", "bar and plate/tube and fin", "there isn't any real answer".

This only reinforces my hypothesis that it's all a huge waste of time and nobody actually needs an intercooler.



That's a great question, and one I think we'd all like to know. The real question though, is can anyone actually answer this very basic question-

"Does the stock FL5/DE5 suffer from overheating issues on track?"

And if so, a follow up- "under what specific circumstances is it happening?"

A lot of the issues with people saying the car overheats also have to do with expectations I think. The FL5 is a track focused daily, not a purely track car, at least from my understanding. In that regard I would assume Hondas testing was also done with that in mind. Overheating for one of us is likely within Hondas expected tolerances. It's clear that they saw the fk8 was overheating, and I remember they talked about the changes they made to help with that in the FL5.

Anecdotally, I remember purchasing a gaming laptop from Acer years back and saw that the temperatures were around 100C on the GPU. For me, that's high, 75C is what I consider healthy, for Acer they said 105C is their expected max. Funnily enough, the laptop burned out years later operating at 90C regularly (popped capacitors on the mobo)

 

[RedlineAddict]

Here's a tl;dr from an LLM. I'm glad I got a random email digest from here about this. I'm looking to get the CTR as a second car for HPDE events and wanted something batteries-included. It looks like if ambient temps are warm or you are driving it hard, you're going to want to figure out heat mitigation:

The FL5 Honda Civic Type-R, the latest iteration of Honda's iconic hot hatch as of March 05, 2025, has garnered some attention regarding its performance on track days, particularly with respect to overheating. Based on available community feedback and anecdotal evidence from track enthusiasts, the FL5 does not entirely escape the heat management challenges that plagued its predecessor, the FK8, though Honda made efforts to improve cooling for this model.

The FL5 features an updated cooling system, including a larger grille, improved airflow design, and a more efficient radiator setup compared to the FK8. Honda touted these enhancements as addressing the overheating issues that were well-documented in the FK8 during aggressive track use. However, real-world experiences suggest that while the FL5 is better equipped to handle heat than its predecessor, it can still encounter overheating problems under certain conditions on a typical track day.

Reports from track day participants, particularly on forums like CivicXI and Reddit’s r/Civic_Type_R, indicate that the FL5 can overheat when pushed hard, especially in hot ambient conditions (e.g., 80–100°F) or during extended sessions (20–30 minutes) on demanding circuits. For instance, some users have noted the car pulling power—likely due to the ECU entering a protective mode—when coolant or oil temperatures climb too high, with water temps reported as high as 280°F in extreme cases. The integrated exhaust manifold design of the K20C1 engine, which routes hot exhaust gases through the head, remains a fundamental contributor to heat buildup, a trait carried over from earlier Type-R models. This design, while beneficial for emissions and warm-up efficiency, makes heat dissipation challenging during sustained high-performance driving.

That said, the FL5’s overheating reputation isn’t universal. Many owners report successful track days without issues, particularly in cooler weather or with shorter sessions, suggesting that the problem isn’t as pervasive as it was with the FK8. Stock FL5s seem to hold up better than tuned ones, where added power exacerbates heat generation. Modifications like aftermarket radiators (e.g., PWR Track Spec), oil coolers (e.g., HEL Performance), and vented hoods are commonly recommended by the community to mitigate overheating, indicating that while the FL5 is an improvement, it’s not bulletproof out of the box for all track scenarios.

In summary, the FL5 Civic Type-R has a mixed reputation for overheating on a typical track day. It’s less prone to heat issues than the FK8 due to Honda’s upgrades, but it hasn’t fully shed the K20C1’s heat management limitations. For casual lapping or moderate climates, it often performs fine stock, but for advanced drivers, hot days, or aggressive sessions, cooling upgrades are still advisable to maintain consistent performance. The car’s track-day reliability depends heavily on conditions, driving style, and preparation—hardly a death knell, but a caveat worth noting for serious track enthusiasts.

 

[Cueyo]

Haha, you can really tell it pulled it's info from civicxi with how unsure it is of actual performance and temperatures, basically what everyone here was saying

 

[PointByPatrol]

PRL and PWR seem to be the best "for now"

 

[Tougefl5]

What's this tell you

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