Are Intercoolers Really Worth It?

[BigAL]

I was just looking at some pics of Larson's S10 and noticed he doesn't run an Intercooler, so are intercoolers overrated and is it really worth running one?

[squirrel]

probably depends on how much boost you need to run to get the job done. Also, what fuel you run. Not too much boost, on alky, you can get by without.

[DanStokes]

That car doesn't run all that long on the track and I suspect it might not warm up all that much, especially given Squirrel's excellent points. I know I was at the point that more boost did not equal more HP as the heat generated in the turbo offset the boost. I'm currently installing the intercooler so we'll see if that theory works. I suspect it's anther one of those "your experience may differ" deals.

Dan

[CDMBill]

Kinda like real estate, but here it's application, application, application. You'll notice the OEM's inter cool everything as they are looking at constant load and all manner of driving situations. That said, even Some new cars like the Z06 can only go one or two hot laps on a road course before going into power reduction/ limp home mode. Some of the new 2015-2017 Drag Week rules are designed to reign in the purpose built weapons like Larry's brilliantly executed S10. If you want to make boosted power while driving the car, you're likely looking at an inter cooler.

[TheSilverBuick]

He doesn't even run a radiator when going down the track because alcohol runs so cool.

[DanStokes]

Kinda like real estate, but here it's application, application, application. You'll notice the OEM's inter cool everything as they are looking at constant load and all manner of driving situations. That said, even Some new cars like the Z06 can only go one or two hot laps on a road course before going into power reduction/ limp home mode. Some of the new 2015-2017 Drag Week rules are designed to reign in the purpose built weapons like Larry's brilliantly executed S10. If you want to make boosted power while driving the car, you're likely looking at an inter cooler.

Also worth noting (for us Diesel guys) that pretty much ALL production Diesels these days run intercoolers. Believe me when I say that there isn't a single screw on a modern vehicle that isn't necessary so they wouldn't go to the expense and WEIGHT (a HUGE deal these days) of an intercooler if it wasn't considered necessary. And as turbos show up on more and more cars, intercoolers are coming along for the ride.

So I'd say YES!

Dan

[Barry Donovan]

He doesn't even run a radiator when going down the track because alcohol runs so cool.

the other extreme to intercool is not enough heat. Like a two stroke cruising the north atlantic ocean.

For street, they must have that big plenum mixing just right, to dropped boost and regular fuel. Where anything expands in a destination, it has time to do what it has to do.

Very smart setup.

I have one question... is it a big block with traditional non-siamese? That is another way to get away with less focus on keeping air cool. Alloys etc. Liquid is heavier than gas (air), it can own it.

[squirrel]

I was toying around with putting a turbo on my 55, but with no intercooler. Because it would not need enough boost to justify the intercooler. Because the engine is so big.

Most production applications are quite the opposite...they want to use a tiny engine, and get some power out of it.

Since I know the guy who asked the question, and he likes bigger engines, my guess is that it's not an easy question for him to answer.

[Barry Donovan]

I was toying around with putting a turbo on my 55, but with no intercooler. Because it would not need enough boost to justify the intercooler. Because the engine is so big.

Most production applications are quite the opposite...they want to use a tiny engine, and get some power out of it.

Since I know the guy who asked the question, and he likes bigger engines, my guess is that it's not an easy question for him to answer.

The boxer I play with is an ice box.Non-siamese liquid cooled. The mains are so slippery the oil does not even break down. It just got some headgasket wax out this past week.. engine built in january. Factory versions could take 10psi..no intercool.
one port per cylinder, slow plenum... like a mini big block.

I'd be right at home with the big engines. It is not about the size, it is about the design. Larsons setup is like looking at prophetic. The facts are all right there for a long time.
Ford has some small block that would not need intercool..some argue the 305 chevy has non-siamese as well. Chevy did not do much for the little blocks way back when. Most would need intercool.

I will be putting one together, old boxer turbo. Cams fixed to modern. I mathed 18psi as nothing.

[TheSilverBuick]

For me, running without an intercooler of some sort is a matter of either running 10psi or less or straight alcohol/methanol.

[squirrel]

yup....and if you are talking about your little OHC six, you probably want well over 10 psi. The other car...if you did put a turbo on it, 10 psi would probably get you more power than the rest of the car could handle.

[TheSilverBuick]

yup....and if you are talking about your little OHC six, you probably want well over 10 psi. The other car...if you did put a turbo on it, 10 psi would probably get you more power than the rest of the car could handle.

I expect to need around 20psi (assuming I can keep a head gasket in it...) and the other will drive over it's crankshaft by 10psi,

[Deaf Bob]

Running E-85 in the derby car noticabily kept it cool.. (more alky, more fuel)
One driver has the pre intercooled Ford F-250's with thr 7.3 diesel, compared to 2 other 7.3's climbing the same hills to derbys.. The non intercooled one has to stop a few min and let his exhaust cool down.. While the intercooled ones can keep going..

Like Squirrel says.. Manuf tend to boost smaller motors. Take the bikes. 600 cc as starting points.. Later some (Kaw? Or Suki?) turbo'd their bigger bikes
Another case in point was Buick, turbo'd the 231 instead of the 252 v-6.. So the hot ticket was to use 252 short blocks and turbo them

Short runs generally do not need intercoolers.. I'd wonder about Bonneville cars. They might?

[DanStokes]

Even 1 mile LSR cars benefit from intercoolers. I don't know about those running alcohol - I'll ask around at the September meet.

Dan

[Bob Holmes]

Intercoolers = good.

The cooler you make the intake charge the denser it is. That's always good. I even ran one when I was running E85 on the racetrack.

As has been pointed out above, the only time I'd think about not running one is if I was running an engine on methanol or nitro.