Mod Description
These silicone pipes replace the rigid plastic pipes to and from the intercooler.Mod Details
PremiumNo Difficulty
Mod ID620
Creditevilution
For
Linkhttps://www.evilution.co.uk/mod/mocal-ic-pipes-review.htm Copy to ClipboardReview
I have been interested in fitting and reviewing these for quite a while now, well, ever since the Janspeed stainless steel intercooler pipes went up to over £100. After hearing both good and bad stories about these silicone pipes I bought a set to try.
Pipe Construction
Looking at the cross section you can just about see the Mocal 3 ply construction (right). Compare this with a Forge motorsport silicone hose (left) and you can see that the Mocal silicone lay-up is either shoddy or rushed as the layers aren’t equal.
Although silicone is impervious to most things, it doesn’t handle oil very well. Due to the fact that there is burnt oil vapour in the intercooler pipes (from the crank case breather) means the silicone pipe rapidly discolours turning a dark shade of the original.
This could be circumvented by using a flurolining on the inside but would cost more.
These silicone pipes have a:
- Maximum pressure of 19.5 Bar
- Working pressure of 3.6 Bar
- Maximum working temperature of 180C
So you can that they are theoretically suitable for the job.
Fitting
Fitting the lower pipe is more awkward than hard, you have to remove the rear panels and the crash bar to access the turbo outlet. A top quality jubilee clip should be used to stop the pipe from coming off. Over tightening the jubilee clips can also split the pipes. Be careful.
A glaringly obvious problem arose when I fitted the upper of the two pipes.
That’s right, the leg that connects to the intercooler is an inch too short. When the pipe is in place and the top part is lined up square…
…the bottom part is barely over the intercooler neck.
This isn’t a major problem, the top jubilee clip can be fitted and the pipe pushed into place. This would make it fit but would mean the pipe was already slightly deflected. Bad times.
Performance
There didn’t seem to be any loss of performance so I don’t believe they deflect or inflate. Performance increased as you’d expect as they are smoother and wider bore than standard.