intercooler efficiency vs flow?

[jking29]

I would like to know what some of the brain trust on here thought about intercooler efficiency vs flow through the intercooler. Is it better to have maximum flow through the intercooler with little pressure drop or have a little more pressure drop and get cooler air? Please give me your reasoning on why you believe it to be true. Thanks

 

[kenamond]

There's a good article here. It looks like you can't just pick one or the other. The end result is getting more air into the cylinders without it being too hot which depends on both the pressure and temperature of the air. If you know the specs of various intercoolers and your turbo, you could probably run the numbers in that article and determine which intercooler would be best.

 

[jking29]

Thanks. It told me a lot of what I wanted to know.