What is the general consensus for best intercooler for the money?

I have a touch of KR on my 3.3" pulley even after a tune on the dyno. I think a fair amount of timing was taken out and fuel added to be able to run the pulley safely.

That said I'd like to install an intercooler to get rid of the KR, and perhaps drop the pulley size. I told myself I'd quit modding after the last few items (headers, rockers, etc.) but I don't want to give anything up (pulley size) to run KR free.

What do you guys suggest? I don't really want to spend more than $1,000 if possible.

Oh and whatever it is must fit under a '00 Bonneville hood

Instead of talking abotu dropping pulley size. Why not increase it, which will allow you to add timing (equals power) and have a cooler charge going into the cylinder?

On an intercooler, I like the older WBS designs that kept the pcv intact. But the newer ones aren't so bad.

A full sized IC core will get very tight under that hood. You may need to cut a notch or two to get it to fit right. The SSIC will fit no problem.

The 3.3" pulley with the timing I have was the best combination for power I could achieve on the dyno. Running a 3.4" pulley didn't yield much in the way of advancing the timing, and it actually resulted in less power.

That said, I don't mind spending the money on an intercooler. I'm happy with the power where it'* at, so my goal isn't to drop a pulley size, but the ability to do so is not a bad side effect! I'm really doing it for the cooler charge and safety against KR, and so I won't have to go up in pulley size in the summertime.

Dan, I'm not familiar with the intercooler setups for these cars. Can you point me to a link where I can see / purchase the SSIC?

Also who makes the best bang for the buck full sized intercooler kit? I suppose I could get crafty with the hood if necessary.

ZZP sells a short stack IC core, SSIC. It'* about a inch thick. Small but does work well. You can also use your stock fuel rails with injector spacers. A full size core you will need fuel rails, like modified, or PRJ. And that will add to the cost. YMMOT04 has a full sized core on his Bonneville, and if I remember right, he had to cut a notch in the inside of the hood.

Dan and I packed a full size IC under the hood of my 03' SSEi. It was a tight squeeze though, had to remove the lining under the hood and cut a notch in the bottom layer of the hood where the pulley sits and also where the Boost Bypass valve sits. I also highly recommend a reservoir kit for the IC, a flow detect kit, and a shutoff switch for the pump.

Flow detect kit: https://www.gmforum.com/showthread.p...ht=flow+detect

Also, see this thread. I recommend doing this when it is warmer than 30* out, I just remember an hour into the ride home with the heat on full blast and the heated seats cranked I was just starting to dethaw!

https://www.gmforum.com/showthread.p...ht=flow+detect

Oh my god, that was so cold. I thought I had blocked that from my memory.

Thanks guys for the help.. I think I will wait until the cold weather passes, which has seemed to help the few degrees of KR I was getting.

So around tax time I will tackle this, hoping to do the full size IC.. But so far the car is plenty quick, so the SSIC might be a possibility.