Seen this on evilbay, figured it was a good choice, only thing that has me thinking is the dual 2.5" inlets and single 3" outlet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...157925171&rd=1

 

That looks like a nice piece, they give you a lot of specs, like pressure drops across it based on pressure in it. But the 600-700HP rating is a little small, (i'm guessing?) for what you want.
I don't think the intake piping is what's limiting it though, I think the core just doesn't flow enough.
Were you thinking dual 3" in, 3.5" single output? Is this in the geometry you wanted?

 

i think it'll be fine for the 2 turbos i have, if not, i'll just add nitrous

 

Well I thought you were at a hefty power level already, I didn't think you'd consider 600HP much of an upgrade?
If you're shooting for that power range, then that intercooler would be PERFECT, IMHO.

 

can't seem to find a bigger off the shelf intercooler that isn't $800+

 

Yea
I think the common thing is to make your own. Do you have a TIG? Or a mig that you can convert to AL?

 

this one is still a similar size to the people that weld 3 saab intercoolers together, so i might as well save the hassle and just pick it up since buying 3 intercoolers from a junkyard might get pricey plus dealing with welding. I think I'll be happy with how it turns out, if not I can spray a 100 shot at it if needed.

 

That ebay one will work good for ya. Like you said similar size to the ones people make outa 3 saab one. I don oif you got the e-mail or not but a buddy has one that was made from 3 saab ones he wants to sell. I can get pictures if you want.

I might even have some already because I was gonna use it but desided to go Single and not twin turbos.

 

The core dimensions are not bad. It is the end tank design that limits flow. It will work, but it would flow a lot more if you fixed the end tank layout. That IC will have more of a PSI drop problem than a IAT rise problem. Just run two map sensors. One before the IC and one after it to see if it really is a problem. It "looks" like a 700 FWHP aftercooler with a reasonable PSI drop. I bet it would squeak out 800 HP and still be usable assuming the end tanks can hold the pressure.

The SAAB ICs have internal finned tubes and good cooling. If I remember correctly they are 2.5" wide at the core so a 3 core SAAB setup would flow less if the internal tube/bar/fin setup was the same.

 

how would you "fix" the end tank issue? Make it taller or do you think this won't be an issue with 2 factory GN turbos?

 

The outlet end tank tends to want to make the air circulate and hold back the air closest to the outlet. The way to fix it is to have the outlet air come out at the center of the IC or make the end tank bigger than it is now and still come out on one side.

I wouldn't worry about it with two GN turbos. If you want to get really picky later on you could go with a side-to-side flow IC but then you have to run one pipe across the frame to the IC which is a lot of work with decent sized pipe. The hump hose couplers & clamps for engine flex gets more expensive.