[TurboAra]

Hey guys, I would like to help out the community with this install guide and hopefully you guys like it

Car is a 2013 335i, I choose the VRSF race intercooler due to its size and dense fin pack. I recommend flushing the intercooler out with some water and dry with compressed air to get out as much of manufacturing debris as possible before it goes on the car. Its nice to have a spare set of hands help with raising the intercooler into position since its big hunk of heavy aluminum. I choose to remove the front bumper making the install easy, the thought of removing the bumper is more complicated then actually removing it.

I did the install in a shop so I had access to a lift, it can still very easily be done on the ground,



start off by removing the bottom side cover that is retained by a thousand 8mm bolts



now you should have a good view of the intercooler and charge pipe clips



this is the outlet from turbo, the next image will show you what I did to remove it, I did not have to remove the annoying plastic clip, i simply inserted my screwdriver on the bottom notch and removed it from its position and was able to wiggle the pipe off



clip removed from locked position and hose can now be removed.





same for other side, cars with aftermarket charge pipe will have to loosen both clamps on the pipe to be able to wiggle the pipe loose and out the way







make sure you remove the large clip over the throttle body, disconnect T-map sensor and for cars with a automatic trans, disconnect the breather by pinching the locking tabs together then pull off, my car is capped there so i cant show that step.



now that the hoses are removed and out the way, the intercooler is held in by 2 screws IIRC its T25, after removal, there is some resistance holding the intercooler, just pull down and keep the plastic shroud out the way



here is the intercooler half way removed, get ready for a blast of dust and leaves to the face.



and its out!! here is some front and side shots. the VRSF intercooler is massive!!!


now is a good time to replace the charge pipe seals, make sure lip of seal is pointing towards inside of pipe, (the 2 smaller seals are for the oil cooler, irrelevant to this install)

old seal

turbo side

throttle body side

time to remove the front bumper, start off by peeling off the rubber seal and removing these 8 torx, 2 are smaller then the rest

next step is hard to show but there is 2 8mm screws holding the bumper cover to fender on each side, remove the 3 8mm screws from the fender liner to gain access, then you can easily feel and partially see the screws that need to be removed

this picture is showing where the 2 screws go into the fender

i dident have a good picture here, but there is 3 8mm screws on the bottom and 2 push pin clips on each side that holds the bumper cover to splash shield, remove these screws and now the bumper cover should be free of everything holding it. note: if you have a front license plate, remove that now.

its best to have some extra hands so you don't damage the paint. slide the top past the metal retainers holding the bumper cover, and grab the bumper near the headlight area, pull back the bumper enough to gain access to the fogs and pdc sensor if your car has it, pdc sensor main harness plug should be on passenger side. i used a movers mat from harbor freight to lay the bumper down on.


now its time to remove this plastic shroud to make some room

pry up on these plastic clips on both sides to release the piece and pull downwards, you don't need to be gentle here since this will not be reused.

now its time to put in the new intercooler, its hard to maneuver this thing and put in the screws at the same time, much easier with the help of a friend. i kept the screws loose and clipped in the charge pipe on both pipes then tighten the screws. i had to use a scotch bright pad on the driver side outlet of the intercooler because the charge pipe would not clip on. it dident take much, jus seemed there was some sharp edges from machining process.


the bracket that holds the fan shroud was positioned too low not holding the shroud at all. i was able to bend up on the bracket carefully with a hammer and channel locks.


make sure you loosen both clamps because the position of the outlet changes a bit with the new intercooler, you must reposition the charge pipe and attach to throttle body and retighten clamps.



everything else should be reverse of removal minus the plastic shroud that will not be used, don't forget to plug in the t-map and auto trans breather on charge pipe, make sure you line up the front bumper gap correctly between hood and bumper cover, its a simple adjustment.


finished product, you can def see the intercooler much better now

my car has a few mods including a jb4 and you can feel a big difference in the way the car retains its power throughout the entire power band with the VRSF intercooler. power feels very consistent now and im sure i wont have any heat soaking any day out of the year. im happy with the VRSF intercooler, looks awesome, easy enough to install, this intercooler will definitely shine when the Pure Turbo goes in.

[TurboAra]

goung to try and add a few more photos of reassembly and bumper screws

[GNepal]

Appreciate the detailed DIY. Is this the 7"/7.5 Race version or 6" Race version?