CSF Race Intercooler for BMW S58 "Level-Up" Charge Air Cooler Manifold - Custom Finish

KEY FEATURES

• Reduced Intake Air Temperatures (IATs) compared to OEM
• Less pressure drop compared to OEM core
• Ultra strong CNC Billet construction replaces weak plastic tanks with crimped-on gasket sealing core
• High performance bar/plate intercooler core by PWR pressure tested to 120psi
• KYLEX thermal spacer for the best resistance to heat soak of the manifold.
• Perimeter pad machined into top of intake manifold for up to 3 additional sensors
• Rear of the intake manifold has been clearance for easy access to the engine oil filter
• CNC front wire harness bracket for OEM fitment and slotted easy installation
• Upper crank case ventilation adapter and Lower crank case ventilation adapter
• Integrated port injection with fuel rail (provided with block-off bungs if not running port injection)
• Integrated nitrous ports (provided with block-off bungs if not running nitrous)
• Integrated hose stand-offs for proper routing of EVAP hoses across manifold
• Integrated coolant reservoir mounting locations on rear of manifold for perfect fitment
• Various wire harness provisions for perfect routing of wiring harness around manifold
• Integrated bleeder screw
• OEM teeth on intake manifold flange for secure seating of gaskets
• Machined coolant hose quick connects
• Removable machined engine cover pin for perfect fitment with engine cover
• Raw Billet Aluminum Finish
• All necessary brackets, hardware, and instructions to install

CORE DESIGN

The CSF S58 "Level-Up" Charge-Air Cooler Manifold delivers the ultimate cooling solution for BMW owners looking for the best performance and long-term reliability on the street or track.

DESIGN & ENGINEERING

For development, CSF tapped into CSF’s unique and growing strategic partnership with PWR, who specializes in super-high performance, low volume motorsports cooling manufacturing. PWR supplies all the cooling for the F1 Grid, many teams in WRC, MotoGP, and NASCAR to name a few. They’ve become the perfect engineering and manufacturing partner for CSF over the past 3 years to help bring limited production items like this manifold to the performance aftermarket. All made in the USA, entirely built in-house with proper leak-testing procedures and product documentation on every single manifold before it ships.

Both CSF and PWR are certified, tier-1 OEM cooling system manufacturers. This is why it works; There is an immense level of respect between both companies as partners. Both acknowledge the successes of each other’s companies in CSF’s respective markets globally; PWR being the leader in competitive professional motorsports, military, aero space, and super high performance OEM cooling. CSF being a leader in the high-performance aftermarket, OEM, Agricultural, and Industrial segments. CSF boths understand the nitty gritty nuances of heat transfer technology and manufacturing, all the way to the granular level of micron thicknesses in core specifications and how it all works. Not just with testing in CSF’s in-house wind-tunnels and computer simulations, but also validating in real-world racing and performance driving conditions.

CUSTOM-SPEC, AIR-TO-WATER, CHARGE-AIR-COOLER, BAR/PLATE CORE

The CSF by PWR bar/plate intercooler core is far superior to not only the OEM extruded tube/fin core, but also without a doubt, will outperform any competitor in the performance aftermarket by a long shot. Let’s first discuss the competitive advantages of the CSF by PWR core, and then we’ll pick apart the competition using their own published information.

THE CSF BY PWR ADVANTAGE

PWR manufactures this core in-house at its tier-1 OEM manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, USA. Each core is built by hand to aero-space level specifications and tolerances. What separates the core technology of PWR from the rest of the world is its ability to source and use extremely lightweight and thin materials in its cores. This allows for the absolute highest level of thermal transfer between the charge-air, and the water used as the medium to absorb the heat out of the charge air from the turbo. When combining the higher efficiency of the core design with an increase in core volume of ~25%, the result is the best-in-class cooling solution for the BMW S58 engine. This is not an opinion, it’s science and math. The logs in CSF’s testing section prove all of this.

CORE CONSTRUCTION

Because of the delicate and thin material used in the manufacturing of these cores, they’re painstakingly slow to build. An experienced factory technician can build only about five of these a day. The cost of labor for the core building is the main factor for the high price of this manifold. A qualified technician who has the skill set to build these types of cores correctly, efficiently, and consistently is not cheap. Furthermore, because of the thinness of the materials used in these cores, it takes an exceptional and experienced welder to be able to weld these cores to the aluminum end tanks properly.

The temperature control and steadiness required by the welder to not blow through a cladding sheet that is only .3mm thick is on another level when it comes to being an experienced fabricator. Experienced Welders who can do this reliably are extremely expensive in the USA labor market. What you’re paying for is not just the actual product, but the labor and skill that is required to make such an exceptional product. I hope that my explanation on all of this really helps people understand why this product is so expensive.

CORE KEY FEATURES

• Both air-side & water-side thickness of the fin is .08mm, ~50% of the thickness of a conventional bar/plate core.
• Air side bar w/ cladding is 5.35mm tall. Compared to ~7.5mm tall of a conventional bar/plate core, ~30% shorter allowing for more rows of both water and air to be built into the core design for more surface area contact, resulting in better heat dissipation
• Cladding sheet from PWR is .3mm thick, ~50% of the thickness of a conventional bar/plate core.
• Fins per inch: Air side 28 FPI, ~100% more than the conventional bar/plate core, typically 15 FPI. Uses a rolled fin measuring 2.43mm tall. A rolled fin has more surface area contact against the water-side cladding sheets at the apex of each point where it’s brazed together compared to a serpentine style fin (think zig zag design)
• Fins per inch: Water side 26 FPI (vs. conventional bar/plate core ~18 FPI). The inside turbulator is LOT Style (lance-off-turbulator) with a 2.00mm Fin height. This type of turbulator scatters the water molecules inside the core for more surface area contact against the air-side cladding sheets.
• Side end plates are only 1.5mm each, and the extrusions used at the end of each row are ultra-lightweight and pocketed. These extrusions are only 3mm wide on both the water and air side of the core, maximizing the amount of core volume which is used for heat transfer. Just enough to weld tanks on by a very experienced and talented welder.

WHY BAR/PLATE VS. TUBE/FIN

Along with the performance benefits listed above, there are two main reasons why a bar/plate core was selected to be used for this application:

• Bar/plate cores have a much higher burst pressure rating and can take the stress of boost spikes much better than tube/fin core. CSF has done its best to "future-proof" this manifold and expect the platform to gravitate and push to boost pressures of 45+ PSI, and eventually will get to 60+ PSI. Tube/Fin cores are not meant for this type of boost pressure
• Tube/Fin cores have a header plate design that requires a certain amount of area around the tubes for the plate that is welded to the tanks to extend outwards from vs. a Bar/Plate design which is built all the way to the edge of both the water side and air side of the core. In an application like the BMW S58 engine that is limited by the available space for proper installation of the manifold (with no modifications), CSF & PWR wanted to maximize all of the available area in the core section of the manifold for heat transfer to achieve the best possible performance with low pressure drop characteristics.

COUNTER-FLOW DESIGN

When it comes to achieving the best thermal transfer efficiency in a charge-air-cooler, the preferred method is a counter-flow designed core: In the counter-flow arrangement, the water and air enter at opposite ends, flow in opposite directions, and leave at opposite ends.

CSF dons’t want to give all of CSF’s secrets away, but there is a tremendous amount of science and experience that has gone into the water-flow structure of the inlet & outlet "quick-connect" fittings and water inlet tube of the CSF manifold. The shape of the machined part increases the velocity of the water entering the core, and allows the water to travel in two different directions against the charge air that is entering from the throttle body.

THE CNC BILLET MANIFOLD DESIGN

CSF has more experience in designing BMW Charge Air Coolers than any other aftermarket company. Between CSF’s coolers for the S55, S63, and B58 CSF has sold thousands of coolers. Each one of those products went through rigorous design, testing, and revisions during and sometimes after release. The CSF #8200 B58 "Super" Manifold is still a best seller and CSF has taken everything CSF learned from that manifold and applied it to the S58.

The CSF manifold is machined from the highest quality billet aluminum and TIG welded to form a solid one piece manifold. There are multiple benefits to this construction method.

LARGER PLENUM

CSF has the largest plenum volume The joining of sections on any part can take up some space. Depending on the joining method, the required space will vary. In the case of the CSF Radiator, TIG Welding the billet aluminum sections together offers the strongest and most space efficient method. If you look inside the plenum and runners you can see the smooth transitions between each piece that maintains the smoothest airflow and the largest volume possible.

CSF Manifold

OEM Manifold

While looking at the factory plastic manifold, you can see the space taken up by the gasketed joins and strengthening lattice work. In the CSF Billet design, this wasted space is used to increase the plenum volume and optimize airflow.

SPECIFICATIONS

SPECIFICATIONS

SPECIFICATIONS

REPLACES OEM PART NUMBERS

17518092584, 17518053321

WARRANTY

Limited warranty, 2 years, covering CSF High-Performance Cooling Systems under normal use and service (original purchaser).