[swisstyphoon]

Hey everyone,
I wanted to share my custom front ice tank install on my ZL1. What started as a simple upgrade turned into a full project with quite a few unexpected hurdles along the way.
I came across this interesting looking front ice tank on Instagram from a company I follow in Dubai. What caught my attention was the design, the tank bolts in front of the crash bar, which means it doesn't block airflow as much as many of the other front ice tank options available. So this design looked like the ideal solution.
Getting the tank, however, turned out to be an adventure on its own.

Chapter 1 — Shipping Problems & Dubai Pickup

Shipping the tank turned out to be more complicated than expected. Too large for standard postal shipping.
Alternative shipping company they offered had terrible reviews, scamming people for double the import tax and fees, and even loosing packages. So the tank ended up sitting at my friend's house in Dubai for about half a year.
Eventually I told my wife:
"Guess where we’re celebrating our wedding anniversary…"
And that's how we ended up flying to Dubai to pick up an ice tank in person.
It turned out we picked up the tank just in time and got back home only a few days before things escalated and airports started shutting down.
At that point, I thought the hard part was over…
but once back home, the real work started.






Chapter 2 — First Test Fit — Tank Doesn't Fit

Once back home, I did the first test fit.
Unfortunately, the tank did not fit as expected, and it became clear that modifications would be necessary.
So I decided to do it properly and modify the tank.




Chapter 3 — Sandblasting, Cutting & Reshaping

To make the tank fit properly, it required significantly more work than originally expected.
First, the tank had to be sandblasted. After that, we cut the back of the tank open to correct the shape and make it properly follow the contour of the crash bar.
From there, the modifications continued:
Welded on different fittings for the return line, pickup, and drain line. Fabricated a custom pickup screen, because there was none in there at all. Relocated the filler neck, welded the new backing plate on, leak tested the tank, and then had to get it powder coated again. At this point, the project had evolved into a full custom fabrication job. In hindsight, I probably should have just had my local metal fabricator build the tank from scratch — but the end result turned out exactly how I wanted.






Chapter 4 — Pump Choice — CWA150

For the pump I chose the CWA150.
The pump had to be relocated, because the oem mounting location would have been too high. The new pump sits below the tank, allowing gravity-fed pickup and consistent flow.
To mount the pump properly we fabricated custom brackets.
And I found this pump mount to attach it: https://walshmo.com/collections/brac...r-pump-bracket
And also this harness:
https://proservsolutions.com/shop/ol...t4relayharness


Chapter 5 — Re-Routing Flow

During installation I also re-routed the hoses to optimize the flow path. It flows now from the tank -》pump -》supercharger ic bricks -》 aux cooler -》main hx - 》 back to the tank.







Final Result

Very happy with how it turned out, finally!
This definitely turned into a much bigger project than expected, but that's also what makes it unique.

[arpad_m]

You've done some excellent and tenacious work, congratulations. Hope wifey didn't mind the "ancillary" reason for the Dubai vacation

It seems you blocked off more frontal airflow than the crash bar did previously, so there was a tradeoff, but the overall gain was probably worth it. Where can you actually test this cooling setup? Nürburgring?

[Joshinator99]

Nice work. You’ve got your CWA150 in the exact same position I run mine. Been a few years and it’s proven out to be a good spot.

[SOCAL.M6.ZLE]

Great job on the modifications! Interested to know how long the ice lasts in that tank?
Pretty cool spot for the pump also... should have no problem staying cool away from the engine bay heat also. Bravo my friend!

[swisstyphoon]

Thanks guys, really appreciate it!

@arpad_m
I’m lucky my wife is pretty tolerant with all my car stuff. The tradeoff was a spa day in Dubai… which honestly wasn’t bad for me either
The tank is only about ½ inch taller than the crash bar, plus the filler neck, so airflow impact should be minimal. Compared to some other front ice tank setups that block the whole upper half of the radiator..

@Josh
Cool to hear you’re using the same pump location and that it's working well long term.

@Gabe
The tank holds roughly 8–10 liters, I’m confident the ice will be sufficient for the drag, and roll races I have planned. I’ll report back once I get some real-world testing in.