Author Topic: Air to water intercooler  (Read 3240 times)

Offline z3i

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Air to water intercooler
« on: May 24, 2013, 10:30:17 pm »
Ok, not sure if this has been discussed before, but i was looking at the new M5 engine on a stand the other day, its a V8 twin turbo and has two air to water intercoolers, due to space restrictions

now i was seeing what i could find on ebay and came across this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UNIVERSAL-INTERCOOLER-16-X12-5-X4-5-AIR-TO-WATER-/190601348682?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2c60b9c64a

i dont want a front mount as they look gay, but i cant afford £400 to get a custom standard one like jezza, could i use something like this and tuck it out of sight? would there be any cooling benefits/disadvantages, would it cool as well as a standard intercooler? would the water pump be capable ive just bought another standard one but i have a feeling it will leak through the plastic caps, due to age

ive just got a custom made alloy radiator off phil J thats direct fitment but with bigger core to keep temps down, also have a lower temp thermostat i can fit. what do people think, has anyone else thought about this?
many thanks Taylor
« Last Edit: May 24, 2013, 10:31:54 pm by z3i »

Offline Andy

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2013, 10:34:57 pm »
I'd leave the stock intercooler on there.

Offline z3i

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2013, 10:51:19 pm »
I'd leave the stock intercooler on there.

any reasons why mate? small gains for the work put in? i was reading up a little and tinternet says water is more effective of drawing the heat out of metal than air. you probably know this though. would it not even be worth trying? could there be potentially decent benefits?

Offline GR40

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2013, 11:14:53 pm »
Even though u have a good point about water being more effective, the entire installation of a chargecoooler (that is what they are called) has a big catch! The chargecooling system is both heavier (due to all of the parts necessary and the coolant in it) and needs a pump to regulate the water! It is a  solution mostly used on engine bays with not much space for pipework or rear engined cars that cant effectively fit an intercooler. Last but not least, the chargecooling system still needs a seperate water to air radiator for the coolant to expel heat in order to be effective! I have seen some applications where one radiator is being used for both the engine and the chargecooler so I know it can be effective but not ideal!
« Last Edit: May 24, 2013, 11:19:07 pm by GR40 »

Offline Andy

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2013, 08:08:55 am »
If you use the engine cooling circuit for the water side of the charge cooler, then you're using 85degC water to cool the air. Your air to air matrix as standard might not be so efficient, but ambient air is below 20degC most of the time in the UK, so it doesn't need such high efficiency.

To make the charge cooler work for you, you need another radiator and a separate lower temperature cooling circuit. Makes sense in a high boost drag car where you can pack the system with ice for uber-cooling and use a tiny charger cooler, but for your application it adds complexity and weight that is OTT compared to sticking a front mount on there. All in my opinion of course!

Offline z3i

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2013, 09:12:16 am »
Thanks, makes sense, have to stick to standard then haha
cheers for the helpfull info :)

Offline hayesey

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2013, 10:31:21 am »
what's wrong with a front mount?  You'll not even be able to see it:




Offline z3i

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2013, 11:27:23 am »
Thats a pretty good invisible setup! Must admit
id be happy with something like that tbh
its just all this cutting of cross member and various metal parts to get it to fit  seems a bit bodge and apart from yours they look a bit boy racery like init bruv, and dis cooler givs me 100 extra orses at ma 17 inch wheels!
Did you make the mounts yourself?
thanks for the pictures :)

Offline hayesey

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #8 on: May 28, 2013, 11:49:18 am »
the only thing I had to cut was the bumper iron, it's not even an integral part of the car it just unbolts.  No cutting of any of the car panels required.  

I made all the mounts myself yes.  The radiator also mounts on to the bottom cross bar thing I made.  It's not installed in that first picture which was an initial trial fit of the IC.

Offline z3i

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #9 on: May 28, 2013, 02:15:46 pm »
Looks like i need to get myself a front mount, spray it black at work, get my front end off and have a play
Ideally i need one, my engine is pretty high spec and i want andy to remap it
do you reccomend those ones on ebay for around £90 ish? They look pretty good and are pretty big, just seen cheap when custom ones are over £500
thanks

Offline hayesey

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #10 on: May 28, 2013, 02:46:06 pm »
I'm not sure as I've never bought one.  They do seem a bit too cheap to be true.  Another option is taking a trip to a big scrapyard with a tape measure and look at diesel engined stuff, most of which will have an IC of some sort.

Offline z3i

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #11 on: May 28, 2013, 10:22:27 pm »
I'm not sure as I've never bought one.  They do seem a bit too cheap to be true.  Another option is taking a trip to a big scrapyard with a tape measure and look at diesel engined stuff, most of which will have an IC of some sort.

thats a plan! I hear transit and sprinter vans have alloy end caps, will have a hunt and see what i can find. Cheers mate
taylor

Offline Etches

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #12 on: May 28, 2013, 10:25:08 pm »
I have a few small intercoolers beemer diesel ones which fit nicely with minimum choppage. I bought an ebay spesh one and had it modified to fit for about 130

Offline xandyx

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #13 on: May 28, 2013, 10:37:44 pm »
A friend of mine pulled the screen squirters pointed to the intercooler and when he races 1/4 mile he put some ice in the reservoir. If it works better, maybe, but i as a funny ideia.

Offline z3i

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Re: Air to water intercooler
« Reply #14 on: May 29, 2013, 05:44:45 am »
I have a few small intercoolers beemer diesel ones which fit nicely with minimum choppage. I bought an ebay spesh one and had it modified to fit for about 130

you got any pictures of then"spesh" one :P im back up in june, if its decent ill take it off your hands, all alloy? With caps at the back