Air to water intercoolers

[kond]

Just want to hear some reviews on Air to Water intercoolers (Pros and cons)

[nzdarin]

I've got a PWR 6x10.
For. Shorter intake length so less lag. More efficient. Work better t slow speed.
Against. Cost and complexity.

I have a radiator on the deck with it's own fan and also the trans cooler. Keeps it out of the way, but not reall practical for a DD.

[Tapage]

it depends on aplications .. trail low speed cooling .. water coled, intercooler with sized with water injections and eletric fan to cool it .. also it's a option ..

[Patroler]

Depending on the vehicle a water/air setup may be easier to set up with regard to piping (only have to get 2 fexible water lines to the front rather than 2 intake pipes 2+" ? The price of the made up "Kits" seem pretty exorbitant though, ive thought of welding tanks above and below a top mount cooler ( patrol, gtir or anything that fits well) with fittings for water in and out, make my own header tank (3 or 4" stainless tube with caps) then just get a pump and s/h motor bike rad?

Wonder how an air/air cooler would go if you enclosed either side with a shallow alu box and pumped water through it???

[Andrew_C]

There is a lot of stuff on air/water on autospeed.com

[tweak'e]

Depending on the vehicle a water/air setup may be easier to set up with regard to piping (only have to get 2 fexible water lines to the front rather than 2 intake pipes 2+" ? The price of the made up "Kits" seem pretty exorbitant though, ive thought of welding tanks above and below a top mount cooler ( patrol, gtir or anything that fits well) with fittings for water in and out, make my own header tank (3 or 4" stainless tube with caps) then just get a pump and s/h motor bike rad?

Wonder how an air/air cooler would go if you enclosed either side with a shallow alu box and pumped water through it???

there is a lot of design work for a good water/air. just welding tanks around air/air isn't very good. the metal core is very thin and can easily get holes in it. not a problem with air/air but fatal with water/air.
also the size of the core is not optimal and results in a less efficient intercooler. sizing is critical for max performance.

water/air are more expensive
really need to be custom made for max performance (especially without a body lift)
poorer cooling at high speeds than an air/air
but far far better cooling at low speeds than an air/air.
control system for the pump can be tricky, watch out for going too cold and warning system for overheat/pump failure.

good info on www.are.com.au

[KiwiBacon]

control system for the pump can be tricky, watch out for going too cold and warning system for overheat/pump failure.

I wired in my pump to the engine heat switch.
No intercooling till the engine hit operating temp (faster warmup), after that they stayed on till shutdown.

Basic, but it worked well.
An EGT gauge is all you need for a warning lamp. They'll be running 50 deg or so hotter if your intercooler stops working.

[hammey]

I wired in my pump to the engine heat switch.
No intercooling till the engine hit operating temp (faster warmup), after that they stayed on till shutdown.

Nice.......

Im in the process of building one myself, quick question...

What brand of pumps are you guys running and where did you get them..

cheers smitty

[KiwiBacon]

I wired in my pump to the engine heat switch.
No intercooling till the engine hit operating temp (faster warmup), after that they stayed on till shutdown.

Nice.......

Im in the process of building one myself, quick question...

What brand of pumps are you guys running and where did you get them..

cheers smitty

I got a subaru water/air intercooler pump from the wreckers.
An auto sparkie found a really nice similar size 12v pump he tried to sell me, would be about $250. Can't remember the brand.

My first attempt actually used a washing machine pump (hoover twin tub) which was belt driven off the water pump snout.
Lasted about 5,000km before the bushing wore, let air in and it wouldn't stay primed.
Poor thing was running at 3x engine speed though, approx 7500rpm at cruise.

[bluemq]

I got a suburu water / air intercooler sitting here if anyone wants to buy it.

Comes with the water pump; radiator, brackets and some of the piping.

PM me if you are interested - I am in Brisbane.

[baddboy]

Davies Craig or Bosch make water pumps to suit. They are supplied with all the kits. I just changed to Bosch after Davies craig crapped itself after about 12 months.

[hammey]

thanks for the info guys, its appreciated

KiwiBacon........ you continue to amaze me

[andrew e]

i got a complete w to a system from sss automotive in girraween for $250. came with a subaru IC, small radiator with thermo fan, and a 12v inline pump (like a smaller version of a davie craig).

After stuffing around for weeks where to put the Subaru IC, as it is a really awkward shape with the inlet and outlet on top of each other, i took it back and swapped it for a toyota supra one. This had twin inputs (off twin turbo) but was a much flatter design. i still had to cut off the front feet and lower the front 15mm, and cut a massive hole in my bonnet, but it fits well. I plummed a mechanical temp gauge in the waterline to let me know the water temp, and max it has got is 50 Degrees post radiator. The thermo and pump are hooked up through a relay and come on with my ignition.

Does it work? guess so, the pipes in are hot and the pipes out are cold ive never run the turbo without the IC. The reason i went for w to a is room.








Andy

[Tapage]

Dude .. tha't nice .. !

Did you have more detailed pics of your setup !