Quote:
Originally Posted by Zsteve
Thanks for the info. I guess Im looking for temps above ambient at idle, hard driving etc.
Good to see the SC is in its ifficiency range too, thanks.
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It's impossible to answer that question with a solid number or a percentage for any intercooler setup, air to air or air to water, because there are so many different variables. What RPM? What is the ambient temperature? How much boost? and more...
At idle, there isn't much if any difference in air temperature because you're not compressing the air. During the supercharging process the heat is created by the compression of the air molecules. If you're not boosting, you're not compressing the air molecules, so the air temperature will remain close to if not the same as ambient. I know that we were data logging this during our testing and I saw a graph that perfectly explains what I'm trying to say. I do not want to bother our engineer's this week as they are finalizing the instructions and CARB papers and I dont want to distract them but when things slow down a little I will see if I can get that graph.
Keep in mind that water is four times more efficient at cooling than air. Water dissipates heat 4 times faster than air and an air to water intercooler is actively circulating the coolant through its own system to constantly cool the air temperature. An air to air intercooler relies on the vehicle moving in order to cool. An air to water intercooler works exactly like your engine's cooling system. It doesn't matter if the car is moving or not, it's still going to circulate that coolant, the coolant will continue to pull heat out of the air and the front mount heat exchanger will continue to work like a radiator and dissipate that heat back out and cool the water that returns back to the intercooler inside the manifold.
Air to water intercoolers have been around for quite awhile. Here is a short list of some vehicle's made by the major OE's that use air to water intercooling systems:
Ford:
GT supercare
GT500 Mustang
Lightning
Chevy:
Corvette ZR-1
Toyota:
Tundra TRD supercharger
Here is a little write-up on air to water intercooling from Vortech:
http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/...talog_pg42.pdf