We've found the best intercooler upgrade for your X3!
C&R is an industry leader in cooling solutions dating back to the 80s. They supply much of Indy Car, Formula 1, Nascar, V8 Supercar, and many Off Road series. With roots in Australian off-road competition and Safari competitions they know exactly what we demand.
The best intercooler on the market today tested by us on the dyno and on track at pro level short course is now available from Dirt Monkey Performance. C&R implemented a core they developed for Formula 1 to use on the Can-Am X3 platform as natural airflow is sacrificed for packaging (intercooler top mounted horizontal in rear of car). A tube and fin core design offers lightweight, efficient heat transfer.
We have tested the best bar and plate core from Garrett in a much larger footprint (12"x10"x4.5"), which requires mounting the core higher in the bed and modifying the intake cover. Not a perfect bolt on affair, but this angle does promote more airflow over and through the core. The C&R core measures at 10x10x2.67 which conveniently mounts in the stock location without modification. In testing we did mount the intercooler at a more steep angle to help natural airflow.
- C&R intercooler weight: 6.6lbs (uses factory shroud and fan)
- 4.5" Bar & Plate intercooler weight (with shroud): 18.6lbs
Testing on the dyno; all pulls are made with fan override switch, from 7mph to 75mph: (temperatures are measured in Fahrenheit)
- OEM intercooler with 2019 fan: 20-22* temp gain
- Garrett intercooler with 2018 fan: No temp gain
- C&R intercooler with 2019 fan: 0-2* temp gain
- OEM intercooler: untested
- Garrett intercooler: starts at 83* and equalizes/heat soaked between 173-192*
- C&R intercooler: starts at 86* and when equalizes/heat soaked between 145-163*