anyone here using anything besides air to cool their intercoolers?

and does anyone know what's attached to the fmic in this pic from smp's fc? looks like some kind of sprayer or a ps cooler to me.

 

yep thats a sprayer, im gonna go sprayer eventually on my front mount, good horsepower and an easy setup.

 

So does it spray water onto it or something?

 

usually i think its super cold nitrous or C02 i guess would work

 

It's either C02 or Nitrous.

Pretty much you are releasing a pressurized gas so the quick expansion cools what ever its near(air and the intercooler).

You can also do Alcohol or water injection into your intake.
This reduces knock/detonation and allows more boost while dropping intake temps pretty well.

I would prefer water/alcohol because the systems are better IMO while the IC sprayers might not be as precise.

 

I've always wondered how expensive a setup like that is. Can you do that with the stock ic? Seems like it would be easier and maybe cheaper than running a front mount and more effective, but if that were the case I guess everyone would be doing it.

 

Around $300 for a good setup with a boost switch and stuff.

If set on a boost switch you can then tune fuel out because the gas isn't needed as a detonation buffer any more.

 

Things required for a c02 sprayer.

1. bottle
2. line
3. solenoid
4. metal tubing with holes in it
5. adapters, wires, and everything else that make **** work
oh and c02 of course.

 

Or you can go the cheap way and do the wind shield washer sprayer with ice in the bottle.

! unhook the lines going to your sprayers for the wind shield
2get some cheap sprayer nossles at advance
3 mount them infront of for FMIC or on top for a TMIC
4 drain windshield wiper fuild and fill with ice cold water and ice
5 turn on and have fun

on road coruses use sparingly and for the drag just hold it down.

I have seen this used on S13s all the time. But the C02 is alot colder. But I have heard of IC cracking from the sudden cold shot and repeated use.

Alex Saunders

 

hey i had a really strange idea....
i donno if this would work or not,
you take your stock IC, or any IC and cover the ends completly and submerge it in water and then freeze it, so basicly hte outside and fins of the IC is a giant block of ice you store it in a cooler or somthing, then you swap it on really fast right before you do a 1/4 mile run, or a dyno. would work well with a top mount as its just two hose clamps it u dont bolt it down!

that would keep the IC cold for a couple runs probably or several dyno pulls

 

i'm just looking for ways to optimize the top half of a large fmic without hacking up my front bumper. what is everyone else doing?

 

Some people have ice trays on the IC.

Some people leave a bag of ice on the IC while they are waiting for the next run . . .

 

I was gonna go the cheap route with the c02. Just a bottle, line, sprayer and a manual ****. ill just spray for a few seconds before a run.

they used to sell complete kits on ebay for like $50. As for the ice thing it should work. My father tells me they used to put strap blocks of ice to their manifolds and run their fuel lines around cans filled with ice for denser air and fuel.

 

AS for optimizing the top half of the fmic does anyone crdible have an opinion about those slits people cut into the front bumper? Does it help at all is ti worth it?

 

Remember what water does when freezes expands big time, as soon as the ice melts intercooler would be done, and have many air leaks, or put it this way what happens to a soda can when you put it in the frezzer, the metal doesnt stand a chance

 

Well that's why you'd have to apply a mist of water and keep freezing over and over until you get a buildup. And uhh... I hear outer space is pretty cold, is there any way I can use that?

 

I put ice on my IC in between drag runs. Helps with the heat soak so you get a more consistant run.

I wish I did that during my dyno runs. The heatsoak started to drop hp as I did more pulls(place had a horrible fan system).

 

yeah i worry it would crack the intercooler...

the soda can theory doesnt quite relate entirely!,

as a closed soda can is under pressure and when it freezes it blows up because its under pressure in a sealed containor ..
freezing water around the outside of the intercooler isnt in a sealed containor so it should be able to expand differently.....

a better test of this would be to take a glass fill it half way with water and freeze it, see if the glass shatters or the water just expands upwards!

 

Yeah I would assume that the water would then expand out through the slots in the fiuns and stuff.

You could always just agitate the water a couple times during the freezing process to help dislodge any which may get trapped.

Essentially your kind of making a temporarily Air to water IC.

 

You guys should visit Autospeed. They did a test though that shows probably minimal benefits from using water. They had to set it up to where water was sprayed long before boost hits because spraying in conjunction with boost threshold showed no gains. Even when they timed it correctly there wasn't hardly any benefit.

You'll probably have better results if you try to optimize the air to be colder before it hits the turbo.

I know there have been previous discussions on this somewhere on one of the forums.

 

That's why i prefer Alcohol/water injection.

It's a proven method.

 

gotta let the engine warm up andthe ice would melt but if you had two intercoolers... now were talking lol

 

I don't know what you were reading but I'm very familiar with all of the AutoSpeed articles on intercooler sprayers and they don't say anything like that at all. If you set it up properly and control it properly there's a significant drop in intake temp.