Alright guys, I just bought a large sheet of aluminum, so its time to finally rig up a decent intercooler setup! Alright, I have a spearco 3x9x27 or somewhere around there intercooler. Currently, my intercooler is sitting right in front of the radiator, and spaced out about an inch or so from it. There's no shroud or anything to direct airflow to or from either the intercooler or radiator. This is th setup I have in (A) of the diagram. I'm somewhat concerned that this is not providing optimal cool air flow to either the radiator or intercooler.

My next idea you can see in (B). It utilizes a scoop or duct that extends to the front air dam, which directs air towards the upper half of the radiator. The intercooler is sitting at an angle behind the radiator, and there's more ducting to direct air from the radiator to the intercooler. Lastly, I'm going to make a drop vent, like a few other members have (steve84gsTII if I got the name right, and a couple of others), to carry the air away from the intercooler. This setup seems to give the intercooler a lot more airflow, but it does use air that's already been heated up by the radiator.

Lastly in (C), i believe this is what is usually called a V-Mount intercooler setup, though I could be wrong. No fancy ductwork, but as you can see, the radiator and intercoolr are both on a slant, making a sideways V where they meet, with aluminum sheet on the sides to trap the air. It seems like this would create sort of a pocket of air, and the air would be forced to either go down through the radiator, or up through the intercooler and then through the hood vent. Another bonus is both the intercooler and radiator are getting fresh air, the neither is getting air heated up by the other one.

So what do you think guys? What should I go with? Any other suggestions for the setup? It may seem like a lot of hassle for not too much gain, but I'm trying to cool things down as much as possible to keep the beast cool and happy, and running well for a long time to some.

 

C) Would be a pretty cool setup. I can't say I have seen one like that before. Would the radiator stick out to far to hit the fan? I think that would be your only concern.

 

V-mount would be cool... but the effectiveness of the radiator will drop in that situation. Also space becomes a concern, not to mention re-routing the rest of the cooling system, changing the location of the Rad fill neck, external pressurized tanks, etc...
Option B is going to be the worst for your cooling, because it only utilizes part of your radiator... (huge drop in cooling capacity).
Option A is probably the easiest, and will give decent performance for both rad and intercooler. Just be sure to seal well around the outside of the radiator (so no air leaks past the radiator) and you should be good... ...also you may want to duct the intercooler (from the front of the car, to the radiator) to improve airflow through it (ie. so its not just flowing AROUND the intercooler, then through the rad...)

As an aside, a properly located 'drop vent' or other vented hood is going to improve the airflow through the rad/intercooler regardless of their orientation

 

I have C.

A is the easiest and is still functional.

 

Hmm, Z-Beater, I have to say, I like the look of your setup. But I think I may go with A, and just make sure that I seal around the radiator/intercooler assembly properly. Does anyone think that the benefits of a V-mount setup are great enough to outweigh the ease of a typical setup as in A?

 

RotaryExtreme makes V-Mount kits for FDs, and claim cooler Intake Air Temps AND cooler water temps. RE, awhile back, offered up a challenge that he would install his SMALL V-mount on a car that has a LARGE SMIC, and he was guaranteeing cooler ait temperatures, and at a minimum, equal water temps. Everyone who has one, is absolutely in love with them, and swear by them as THE intercooler setup to have for track days.

I don't have one personally, so no personal experience with them. The only people who have had negative comments towards V-Mount (aside from cost) have been those who sell the SMIC kits.

That being said, I vote for the V-Mount