Quote:
Originally Posted by JB-370z
Is the intercooler going to be big or small???
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I'm not sure if I understand this question and if it relates to the aesthetics of a larger intercooler or the efficiency? I will do my best to answer both examples.
When you see a large intercooler on most turbo cars it is because most turbo cars use air to air intercoolers and therefore they require a larger intercooler. The air is compressed through the turbo where it heats up due to the compression, then to cool it back down the air is blown through the intercooler where air travels over the intercooler thus cooling it down. Because of the volume of air traveling through the intercooler you must use a larger intercooler so that you do not restrict the airflow.
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0085_large.jpg
http://www.da-motorsport.com/projele...i/P8300042.jpg
http://beesandgoats.com/boostfaq/turbo_diagram.jpg
An air to water intercooler system does not require as large of an intercooler because you are only trying to keep the liquid inside the intercooler at a lower temperature. There is not a large volume of air traveling through it going into the engine so it does not really matter how large it is. As long as the coolers you are using maintain a low enough coolant temperature, you're good. I have literally watched our engineers do dozens of dyno pulls on supercharged cars before and immediately pull the cap off the water reservoir and stick their finger in the coolant and it is still very cold.
Basically an air to water intercooler circulates the coolant in a fashion very similar to that of your engine coolant. It travels through the radiator aka heat exchanger then travels into the intake plenum aka intake manifold and through the intercooler which is a secondary cooler inside the plenum, and back to the heat exchanger out by the radiator. So rather than using outside air to cool the air as it travels through the intercooler, you are blowing the compressed air through your water cooled intercooler. Because you don't have a large volume of air coming through the pipes and through the intercoolers you do not need such large diameter piping or intercoolers. I hope that makes sense.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/sandiego.tib/SK...00/Diagram.jpg
This picture is a simple way of explaining an air to water system. You can see the smaller diameter water lines going through the radiator and into the manifold. Inside that manifold there will be an additional cooler which cools the air before it goes into the cylinders.
So basically if your question is in reference to the efficiency/performance of the intercooler, we will be using an intercooler that is specifically designed for this application and will be more than capable of removing the heat from the compressed air. If your question is in reference to see a cool looking (let's be honest, big intercoolers are pretty cool) air to air intercooler sitting in your front fascia, then no. We will not have one that large because we will not need one that large.