now before you flip that this should be in the boost section give me a second to ask my questions!

I understand intercoolers as well as most people do, but that doesn't stop me from wondering.

Do you need a turbo to take advantage of the cooling effects? Do you need the suction from the turbo to pull air through? if you tried to use an intercooler without forced induction would you suffocate the engine?

sorry if these are stupid questions, I've never worked with turbos before, and asking questions is how ya learn!

An intercooler is just a box with tiny tube in it. You won't kill and engine without boost. You should have found that by yourself. How would a turbo car work when it's not in boost if the intercooler choke the car.

Also, if it was really restrictive, people wouldn't use them.

If you are thinking about using it on a non turbo car, forget about. You'll loose power. You can't cool ambient air at 25° with air at 25°.



Gilles
2.3 Ho

1st off turbochargers dont suck air through it, they "push". When air is compressed its heats up. An intercooler/aftercooler is placed between the turbocharger and the throttle body/intake manifold. Its job it to cool the hot compressed air from the turbocharger before it enters the engine.

If you put an intercooler/aftercooler on a N/A engine you will create a restriction in the intake and will most likely lose performance. Also the air that is going into your engine now is cool enough that you will most likely not see a temperature change. The most important thing to remember with any type of cooler trans/radiator/aftercooler is that you cannot get the temperature lower than the outside air temp without cooling assistance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Monday, February 25, 2008 5:18 AM