Gaining power from the addition of an intercooler on a turbo engine

obi_waynne

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One problem with a Turbo is the close proximity of the cold intake charge with the hot exhaust temperatures within the turbo. Don't forget that a big air intake heat rise comes from the actual compression of air so even supercharged engine will benefit from an intercooler. If you have ever felt the nozzle on a tyre pump you will realise that when air is compressed it gains heat.

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So having done the Big FMIC may I add a couple of things?
1, if it's not on show, paint it black (check youtube for tests)
2, being black has a better heat transfer effect than silver but don't restrict the airflow.
3, use of an external spray system will improved the performance
4, use of Nitrous Oxide will chill the charge air and add O2 to the combustion
5 use of a water methanol system will also chill the charge air and keep the top end clean and steam clean the exhaust
6, ensure that the rest of the system is tight with no leaks
7 if you are upping the charge pressure (big hybrid turbo) consider a large range M.A.P sensor, i.e 0 to 3 bar
All of this was done to my A4 2.7 Tdi and produced 297bhp and 521lbs/ft of torque
Hope this helps anyone considering this mod, one of the best I ever did
Cheers
 
Well said Carl.
The other thing is that you need to have app the ally pipework with a swaged ?rolled edge and ensure that the hose clamps are tightened behind the rolled edge to prevent hoses blowing off under boost pressures.
Most people fit a pod type filter as a " cold air " inlet behind the hot radiator OR on the path of air exiting it so see if there is a way to get non pre heated air flow to the AC for a better result.
 
yes that's correct, I had a heat shield fitted as well as other things and the beaded ends were done as part of the upgrade, I only ran with 23 psi but the turbo was capable of 40 plus, got a build thread on it somewhere, think it was on audizine
 
there will be different type of gains for diesel and petrol but the intercooler upgrade will give benefits but you cant just fit a huge one because if the intercooler is too big there will be more lag

Other points
Possibly more so with petrol engines as they tend to run higher psi/bar
with petrol set ups
Point one should be make sure there are no leaks
Point two use hard pipes as they wont collapse
Also use decent clamps

just changing to a front mount will give good results as they will cool better.

The point of an intercooler is to keep the air cool so the colder the air is to start with the better so insulated cold boxes are good.

turbos in themselves produce heat so a heat sheild is also desireable
 
The intercooler does not gain Power, how can it. What it does is keep the charge air temps down to stop the ECU limiting Power to save the engine. The same goes for Water/Methanol injection it just maskes an intercooler not up to the job.
Back in the day the RS500 intercooler was the unit to use on a Cossie it coped well at the Power levels that were obtained in the 90's but as Power levels passed 600, 700 & then 800bhp it was way out of its depth & Water/Methanol mix was used it didn't make Power but delayed the point where Power was lost. The Solution in the end was very expensive including moving the front cross member forward 4" then cutting the front bumper away & having an intercooler made to fill the gap. The core of most intercoolers are cheap rubbish or people cant afford to buy them but if you spend money on the core it can be several times more efficient but takes the unit out of Mr. Publics ability to pay. The result a unit that will see - deg under initial
acceleration & will never get close to the +40deg that sees the ECU limiting Power. Water/Methanol injection can then be thrown in the bin.
 
Exactly, I know many people who have bought Chinese intercoolers that claim to be as good as the best but at a fraction of the cost. Have these people never heard of 'you get what you pay for'? I have given up arguing with them and just smile and nod.

My core alone, which is approx 700mm x 200mm (small but as big as we could fit), cost over £300 4 years ago. A properly designed core and pipework will release far more power (as Rod says) and can be smaller thereby reducing lag as well as weight.

Going fast can't be done on the cheap.
 
Heat soak is rarely measured on the Dyno, they do a few short runs and base the stats on these. In this situation they are all going to be roughly in the same ball park.
 
Heat soak is only a small part of the equation. The main issue is how well the intercooler can reduce the intake charge temperature. Even on short runs, a well designed, quality intercooler will perform better than a Chinese superdooper special. If there wasn't a difference, don't you think that the experts would have noted that and be using them instead of spending thousands?
 
Quality costs $$$ I have a PWR tube and fin 600 x 300 x50mm front mount with custom end tanks mounted directly in front of the radiator in place of the air con radiator?. T&F was recommended over B&P for better air flow thru/over the tubes as the Starion has small frontal openings.

http://www.pwr.com.au/products/intercoolers
 
I have a pair of up rated side mounts for the RS, they need the end tanks installing and the proper fittings, brackets to replace the stock I/C's, a job for my fabricator who converted my last car, think will have them done in the Summer when the temps are more bearable in the workshop!
 
Ah, the better one, yes?

Well for better/more external air flow over the tubes for cooling yes. But there is a compromise built into all cores is the amount of internal turbulators that capture /wash out the heat. Too many and there is too much pressure drop across the core and too few and it does not drop the temps as much but will not loose pressurs end to end.
 
I guess that if you want to know how efficient your IC is then one would monitor temps and pressures at both ends of the IC
 
A week home and finally had more than an hours sleep but feel better than I have since leaving hospital but still short winded and finally getting my appetite back and improving which is good.

Hope to be back at work at the local produce store in a week or so .They have said to just do a couple of hours to get back into it at my pace.

Thanks for asking it is appreciated|B
 

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