can any car have an intercooler?

[u571]

please explain to me about intercoolers, all i know is that turbo cars have them and they improve performance by cooling air so it can expand more in the pistons.

[imported_BretFraz]

http://www.spearcointercoolers.com/

[imported_Erik Mejia]

By physics, cooler air is more dense, and contains more oxygen......



If we have more oxygen, we can add even more fuel.....



And, we raise even more the boost pressures......any gas heats up on compression, after such amount of boost, the air charge will heat up so much that it will melt your pistons.....so that´s the use of the intercooler, it is used so that the air charge temperature is reduced, and higher boost pressure is achieved....



All turbo cars have an intercooler (gas), but typical performance mods for them include a front mount intercooler (that shiny radiator you see) which allows for higher flow, and higher temperature drop, allowing for higher boost pressures......

[shaf]

Are you wondering if any non-turbo car has any use for an intercooler? Only turbocharged (not supercharged which is a different animal) cars can use an intercooler to reduce intake charge temperatures. This is because turbos use the very hot exhaust gas to power the turbo`s compressor.

[TortoiseAWD]

Originally posted by 4DSC

Are you wondering if any non-turbo car has any use for an intercooler? Only turbocharged (not supercharged which is a different animal) cars can use an intercooler to reduce intake charge temperatures. This is because turbos use the very hot exhaust gas to power the turbo`s compressor.

Actually, there`s no reason why a supercharged engine couldn`t be intercooled, as well. Supercharging and turbocharging are different sides of the same coin: forced induction. Both use a compressor fan to suck more air through the intake than would be provided in a naturally aspirated vehicle. The difference? The supercharger compressor is typically belt-driven, while the compressor on a turbocharger is attached to a turbine that is driven by exhaust gases. Both systems of forced induction heat the intake charge and can benefit from intercooling, but most supercharger setups only supply low-pressure boost, and intercooling is often not included because of the additional plumbing required.



The heating of the intake charge in a turbocharger is due to the compression of the intake gases, not because of the hot exhaust that powers the turbine . . . superchargers heat the air in the same manner, just typically not as much because of the low-pressure application.



That said, not all turbos have intercoolers (you can run a low-boost application with a small turbo, and as long as intake temps don`t get too high, there`s no need for one), and some superchargers do utilize intercoolers(you can run high boost with the right kind of supercharger, and then intercooling becomes beneficial).



Tort

[imported_Erik Mejia]

May I add that it depends on the type of supercharger, if it is a Eaton type one (jackson racing for instance) you cannot intercool it since it is one part with the intake manifold.....



If you are running a regular supercharger such as a vortech, then yes, you can intercool it, but typically water to air intercoolers are used, as there isnt enough space in the engine compartment for the tubing a front mounted intercooler needs....

[shaf]

Hmm, I`m glad the people on my other forum aren`t reading this. They`d tear me a new one! :p



I stand corrected.

[caddyman]

Any car can have an intercooler. But if the car is not forced induction, then the benifits will not be anywhere near an engine that is forced induction. Normally aspirated engines can benifit from intercoolers, but only forced induction engines real see the better part of the benifit.

[imported_Erik Mejia]

NA cars will not benefit at all, what´s even worse, they´ll run even worse.....



NA cars run at best with direct air intakes (piping + filter) and what´s even better, cold air intakes, in which the filter sucks air from outside the engine compartment, sucking cold air through an ceramic coated pipe....



NA cars need an intake as restricted as possible, but not to large as to slow the velocity of the air (higher diameter= more flow, but less speed) (same rule applies to exhaust, not always bigger is better).

[samiam513]

Originally posted by Mugenman

May I add that it depends on the type of supercharger, if it is a Eaton type one (jackson racing for instance) you cannot intercool it since it is one part with the intake manifold.....

Eaton is a brand. Not a type. They type eaton makes is roots.



http://automotive.eaton.com/product/...rchargers.html

[imported_Erik Mejia]

Yeah I know, but it is the most common one now, it is OEM equipment for jaguar and mercedes, and it´s the one used in jackson racing´s kit......

[caddyman]

the scew type is uslayy more reliable then the centrifugal type superchagers, thats whay it is the most commonly used on factory aplications!

[dvsman]

Actually, the reliability factor just depends on the specific manufacturer not the type of supercharger. The difference between types of superchargers is the amount of parasitic losses it may have.



I.E. the percentage of horsepower gained from the SC vs. the amount of horsepower used by the additional drive pulley to spin the supercharger.



And Eaton (roots type) is the most commonly used in OEM applications, not screw type.



As to Eaton, you can intercool it. You just have to raise the supercharger off of the intake manifold and slide the intercooler in between the SC and the manifold.



The reason most people don`t do this is because in OEM applications is because of hood clearance. Most stock Eaton applications are very tight as is and there is no additional room to raise the SC to mount the intercooler.



The guys that I know who have done this have either had to limit the intercooler size (and thus its effectiveness) or use aftermarket hoods.



FWIW,



DVSman :wavey