Has anyone used one? Any success?

 

There is a guy on the other board (TeamFC3S.org) that is using one, but I forget his name.

I will be using one late this summer (either that or ripping out the whole turbo driveline from my 'vert)... just havn't decided yet.

 

The reason why i don't want to use a FMIC is because of the cooling problems that may arise, and because i wanna be different lol Plus, all that plumbing is going to cost crazy money. Might as well try something innovative :P

 

Well, If I keep the 13BT in, then I will be going to a W/A intercooler, just to get rid of all the pipeing (I have a FMIC now). I gotta pull pipeing just to change plugs. and its just so much crap running here and there.

The Sparco water to air that I am thinking will fit exactly where the stock cooler goes, but almost half the size. Then two hydro lines to infront of the rad and a small additional rad and pump and I am set.

 

You just described my plan to a t! Great minds think alike, eh?

 

Z-tech in Orlando used to install them. The ones I saw were very compact & efficient. Back then they were popular in Supra's & Z's. They had a pile of pistons in the corner from one guy who kept dreaming he could run >20 PSI.

 

I have a Cartech air-to-water intercooler, it was made by Corky Bell, so you would think it is a good way to go.

I don't know what kind of boost you can push through it, it is physically pretty small, maybe 10"x12".

I was actually thinking the reverse of you guys, and going to an air-to-air unit.

 

ummmm.... sorry for the newbness, but what's a water to air ic? what are the benefits?

 

The intercoolers we have are air to air. They have air going through them and use the outside air to cool them. A water/air intercooler has the passages for air surrounded by a water jacket. Since water transfers heat better than air, this kind of setup will more efficiently cool the compressed air running through the IC. The downside is that the longer the car is run, the hotter this water is going to get, reducing its effectiveness. So it would work great for a drag car or auto crosser since you could flush the system between runs, but probably wouldn't be a good idea for a daily driver or distance racer.

 

Yearrgh, what the hell are you talking about? A water air intercooler entails coolant transfer between the core and a small radiator mounted in the front. If that radiator has ample airflow, then it will cool better than any FMIC can. Stopped, racing, or driving in reverse. Why would it matter how long the car is ran?

 

You're right I didn't mention the small radiator up front, however if you feel you're coolant radiator right after you start the car its quite cold, but after a long period of hard driving it will be hot as hell. The same for the radiator for the water/air IC. Since water transfers heat better than air, it does a great job of sucking the heat out of the air in the intercooler. However, since air doesn't accept the transfer of heat nearly as well as water, the transfer of heat from the coolant to air in the radiator will be slower than the transfer from air to coolant in the IC.

 

So you're telling me that air to air is more efficient? I feel that your theory is all wrong. Think of a water to air intercooler as a remotely mounted fmic with no need to do the plumbing. The only difference is that with an air/air intercooler, the air is cooled by air right away...

in a water/air intercooler, the warm water is cooled by the small radiator, and then gets transferred back to the core, and cools the incoming air charge.

The reason why the rad is really hot after running it for a long time is because the car gets hot!!! its supposed to! the intercooler's coolant has nothing to do with the engine's coolant. Two different chambers, two different temperatures.

a water/air intercooler is just a flexible method of a fmic.

 

if heat is really that much of a problem you could get an extra windshield washer resevior and pump, hook it up to a thermostatic switch to come on when the intercooler radiator got to a certain temp and have it spray on the intercooler radiator, thus dropping the temperature.

 

I'm not saying air to air is more efficient, and I know the two cooling systems are seperate. What I'm saying, is that the water/air will start out more effecient than air to air, but as it builds up heat in the system it's effectiveness will be reduced. Just like the engine coolant, the IC coolant will get hot, especially if its sitting on the engine and with our under-hood temps....
The radiator for the IC coolant will of course provide some cooling, but it will be unable to keep up with the heat put in by the IC, especially under long periods of hard driving.

 

yep.. great for drag racing. add ice between runs. ok for street as it'll cool down when you are not boosting. never use it on a road race.

the more water you have in the system the better. a good system will have a big tank in the back with a few gallons of water. and pipes to the front. conect the small rad, IC, and tank. with a pump somewhere in the middle.

 

Brain D. Cain (BDC) uses a custom Air to Water IC.

You can find him on both this forum and the fc3s forums...

 

not for 1-2 years he hasn't.. old one sprung a leak

he's taking way too long to make a new one... I keep buging him about it. he's just using a stock one right now.

 

Read this article on intercoolers. It explains how intercoolers work and why water/air intercoolers are great for road cars and drag cars and air/air intercoolers are better for track cars.