First Official- "reduced engine power" warning

[Mracer88]

So, last week, I had my car dyno'd, and the numbers produced were lower than I thought, but not by much. Later that evening on a medium heat restart, "I got my 1st reduced engine power" It went away within 1-2 minutes of driving and the car felt fine. I felt very minimal power loss after that. A few days later i got the same warning, and then i decided to pull the code. Code was 20a201. Low coolant warning. I checked the coolant that was fine. I check the charge cooler, and it was very low. I spoke with my BMW tech and he said to add water for now and monitor it. I plugged my computer and used the BM3 dashboard and the car start feeling better, and i got a max boast spike of 33psi running an e30 mix. call feels alive now.
Question at hand tho, any rec's on the best charge cooler upgrade?? They range in price alot, i was recommended to go with the CTS charge cooler. I dont see the difference between the different brands other than mostly cost. all have the same design. I just know that the vrsf cooler has potential fitment issues, and to steer clear of that one. Any help of advise would be appreciated..

[mike@x-ph.com]

I have been using the CSF cooler on my M4 for years, top-notch quality (i also had to change my stock top mount after it started leaking).

We also offer CTS Turbo, Wagner, Agency Power, Mishimoto, and Phoenix

[Curare86]

Mishimoto is probably the nicest finished unit for dollar value. Performance wise are mostly all equivalent. Id personally steer clear of CSF out of principle after they were called out on their history of misleading the public and their response pretty much said go F yourselves, we getting rich off sales so dont care if we lied to make money.

[llvsixaxisvll]

I would go with Mishimoto. The Kies Morotsports review of the CSF charge cooler is... interesting. Resulted in slight power loss on his dyno fwiw.

[Mracer88]

I also found, the cts charge cooler, which is half the price. I dont see the need to spend 1200$ on a part that is basically the exact same design, for less money. I was just informed that the vsrf charge cooler has been know to have fitment issues.

Originally Posted by llvsixaxisvll

I would go with Mishimoto. The Kies Morotsports review of the CSF charge cooler is... interesting. Resulted in slight power loss on his dyno fwiw.

[DanMpower]

I would get the Wagner if you want to spend the $, if not, definitely get the Mishimoto, it would be perfect if they made the branding more subtle instead of spelling out "M I S H I M O T O" all huge on the charge cooler, other than that it looks the best and has data to back up their claims.

[Mracer88]

I ordered a CTS charger, just waiting for delivery. Ill get back with a review of the product and talk about my experience with the install

[Wanted_M]

I'm interested in CTS's HX, please post IC pics and you opinion on quality and fitment. I may opt for both as I had some of their parts on my Audi.

[Mracer88]

So the cts cooler is on a 5 week delay, so i changed my order and now have the agency power cooler on the way instead. I'll keep you all posted on all aspects as it unfold. Thanks to mike@x-ph.com for his help navigating me thru this and all his help. Much appreciated.

[Mracer88]

So I got my agency power charge cooler. Install was pretty straight forward, some bumps in the road but nothing to be discouraged from. Im overall very happy with the product, and the service from mike@x-ph.com, who got me a cooler asap. It didnt come with any hardware which is my only grip, but I handled that down at the local hardware store. I also had it powder coated from silver to black. fit and finish was in my opinion, very good. I dont see a big need to spend big money for a different brand which in turn wont have a significant difference except in appearance. I cant comment yet on the difference in feel, but it does feel like there could be more power, that or the lower temp are making the turbos work better. Overall Im a very happy guy, and no more worries about a leaking charge cooler.. Id recommend the agency power charge cooler to anyone looking not to spend an arm and a leg.

[Conti.]

Originally Posted by Mracer88

So I got my agency power charge cooler. Install was pretty straight forward, some bumps in the road but nothing to be discouraged from. Im overall very happy with the product, and the service from mike@x-ph.com, who got me a cooler asap. It didnt come with any hardware which is my only grip, but I handled that down at the local hardware store. I also had it powder coated from silver to black. fit and finish was in my opinion, very good. I dont see a big need to spend big money for a different brand which in turn wont have a significant difference except in appearance. I cant comment yet on the difference in feel, but it does feel like there could be more power, that or the lower temp are making the turbos work better. Overall Im a very happy guy, and no more worries about a leaking charge cooler.. Id recommend the agency power charge cooler to anyone looking not to spend an arm and a leg.

Any update on the performance of the cooler? How was the fitment/quality, any pics? I've been looking at one since it's on sale right now. However, I'm a little worried the quality being meh especially compared to the Mishimoto one. Also, from what I've seen others post that didn't receive hardware, if you email AP they should send some not that it matter since you already insatlled it.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Mracer88

So I got my agency power charge cooler. Install was pretty straight forward, some bumps in the road but nothing to be discouraged from. Im overall very happy with the product, and the service from mike@x-ph.com, who got me a cooler asap. It didnt come with any hardware which is my only grip, but I handled that down at the local hardware store. I also had it powder coated from silver to black. fit and finish was in my opinion, very good. I dont see a big need to spend big money for a different brand which in turn wont have a significant difference except in appearance. I cant comment yet on the difference in feel, but it does feel like there could be more power, that or the lower temp are making the turbos work better. Overall Im a very happy guy, and no more worries about a leaking charge cooler.. Id recommend the agency power charge cooler to anyone looking not to spend an arm and a leg.

Congrats and thank you for your understanding

You got one of the last Agency Power coolers remaining, other than the missing hardware, its a quality product

[Mike.]

Originally Posted by Conti.

Any update on the performance of the cooler? How was the fitment/quality, any pics? I've been looking at one since it's on sale right now. However, I'm a little worried the quality being meh especially compared to the Mishimoto one. Also, from what I've seen others post that didn't receive hardware, if you email AP they should send some not that it matter since you already insatlled it.

I have this, so far so good. Logs look good. Had it since Feb.