Aviation Consumer 231/252, August 2019

[Jeff Shapiro]

Article from Aviation Consumer Magazine
August 2019

Perhaps the most desirable mod for a 231 that makes it more like a 252 is an intercooler. One system— the Turboplus—has been highly recommended by M20K owners and it comes from Turboplus Aircraft Systems in Gig Harbor, Washington. Turboplus says it was the first company to bring intercooling for GA singles and twins in the early 1980s and there are thousands of Turboplus intercoolers and induction systems in use today.

The company says its M20K intercooler kit can yield a max speed of 241 MPH at 24,000 feet, and 170 knots true airspeed at 10,000 feet and 65 percent power, with the added benefit of lower cylinder head temperatures. The STC’d kit for the Mooney M20K is $5995 and the estimated installation labor is around 18 hours.

“My conclusion is that the Turboplus intercooler provides much improved intake manifold cooling and an increase of 3 inches in available manifold pressure at altitudes above the 13,500-foot critical altitude, while providing significant performance benefits across the board to the hot-running, non-intercooled engine in the 231 M20K,” reader Geoff Lee said of the system. He’s documented the installation in a well-written tech guide that’s available at themooneyflyer.com/issues/2019-MayTMF.pdf . That’s a link to The Mooney Flyer www.themooneyflyer.com , the official magazine of the Mooney community.

Edited September 5, 2019 by Jeff Shapiro
photo display

[JimB]

That sure is purdy... Wish my IO-360 looked liked that when I take the cowlings off. If it did I would leave take them off any time it's parked. 

[231LV]

I have the Turboplus intercooler and it is an absolutely "must have" for the 231 but I have never seen the speeds they quote...I can get 175 KTAS at 18k feet.....at 10k feet...maybe 150KTAS...

[Jeff Shapiro]

The speeds quoted are either from the FAA certification flight test or customer letters as seen on our Turboplus website Mooney page. I'm very happy to hear you agree the Turboplus intercooler is a must have for the M20K 231.