Intercoolers

[jetpilot]

This may sound a daft question but is there any particular flow direction on an intercooler. To try and explain, if you have a front mount with the inlet and outlet at the top would it make any differnece if you turn it upside down so they are at the bottom. May sound strange but with an FC there is no way to take the pipework over the top, it has to go down and sort of past the radiator at the bottom. My basic thinking was why make the pipework longer than it has to be.

[Spotlamp]

I honestly don\'t know the answer to this question, but every bit of common sense would suggest it would work as well upside down as it would the right way up... wouldn\'t it?  It\'s probably one of those things where there\'s no logical reason why it wouldn\'t but.....

H

[Glenn Butcher]

You may find that some intercoolers are built to flow a certain way.

However if it is just turned \'upside down\' then the flow will still be the same direction.  If it was turned upside down, then back to front it would be different of course.

Good idea with keeping the pipework as short as possible as it creates extra lag when it is longer.

[petemillis]

If you flow the air through in the opposite direction it will heat it up instead of cool it down. This is what is commonly known as an interheater, and they are very popular in environments where the temperatures are never above zero.

[jetpilot]

Thanks guys, your help is much appreciated. I have heard a lot about getting more lag from long pipework, but, i mean, what are we talking here, a couple of hundred rpm or more. Is there a science behind it at all?

[Glenn Butcher]

Yep - there is a science behind everything!  

Realistically you wouldn\'t notice much difference, if you were running a circuit car where you need the power when you put your foot down it would all add up to increased lag time if you had longer pipework.

Main thing really I feel, is that you want to reduce the intake temperatures and a front mount will help you achieve that.

[jetpilot]

Thanks Glen, i thought as much, it is mainly intake temps i need to keep low and then i can add some more boost.

It would be very interesting to see though, if anyone has changed to a vmount set up and has a before and after dyno sheet.

[Eddie]

I have been following this thread with interest and I have a question, (sorry for the hijack) but our goal is the same.

I have a pritty standard twin turbo setup, decated exhaust, greedy IC hard pipe kit, PFC, apexi filters and I wanted to go for a Front mount or V mount IC.
I am not planning any other major mods but wanted to drop the temps just to help things along.

Firstly anyone fitted an IC from another car? Cosworth/BMW?

if the goal is too drop the intake temp would it not be best
to mount the stock IC unit as a front mount? instead of going for a larger Front mount intercooler? or maybe daisy chain two standard IC\'s together and mount them in front of the rad in the bumper opening? effectivly giving you a front mount with double the standard capacity or am I being stupid

I am not technical at all so sorry if this is a stupid question.


Cheers

[Spotlamp]

Just to add a bit of further info to this thread based on some \'science\' this weekend...  This is based on results from my car running stock IC and Apexi induction.

Went out for a spirited drive on Saturday and Sunday and noticed something interesting about intake temps.  Running about 36 degrees air temp (PFC reading) during normal driving with the car up to full temp.  However, after WOT through the gears I noticed intake temps soaring to around 47 degrees...

This suggests two issues, firstly the IC isn\'t cooling the incoming air efficiently at high RPM & boost, causing the intake temps to rise.  Secondly, the Apexi is sucking in hot air from the engine bay straight into the engine.  I\'m not sure what the ambient temp was on either day but wouldn\'t have thought it was much over 18 degrees.

I\'m not sure what other people think about this, but my gut feel is that I\'d gain more from cold air induction than I would from a massive FMIC.  That said, I know there\'ve been some posts previously about the difference in under hood temps when running a vented bonnet, and that there\'s enough of a difference to make it justifiable, and that I suspect this would also create a reasonable reduction in intake temps...

HTH
H

[petemillis]

Induction kits are just about the least effective performance mod unless they are combined with heatshielding and a suitable cold air feed - effectively creating an airbox around it. It\'s not uncommon to see a significant reduction in power through fitting an induction kit - but they sound good, look good and are relatively cheap which is why people fit them.
More effective is a decent free flowing panel filter in the standard airbox (unless, like I say - you ensure you have heatshielding and cold air feed).
The positioning of most induction kits on RX7s (like immediately behind the radiator) is far from ideal.
Has anyone fitted a CO2 or water spray intercooler cooler? This combined with a decently cool air intake should be fine. It\'s only when you\'re going to seriously massive horsepower and the intercooler becomes a restriction to the airflow that there is any benefit to going to a larger one.