Intercooler Intake Temperature Testing

[pboglio]

I wanted to share some results I had with my current Intercooler in terms of temperature data.

Setup is an ADFX FMIC (24"x10"x3") core, 2.5" pipes, EVOIII 16g, semi-cold air pickup, phenolic spacers on T-body and intake manifold. I'm using the HKS IAT sensor, a voltmeter, and DSMLink V3. The IC core is an extruded fin (i.e. like a computer CPU heatsink).

Results on this pull:
Air filter intake temp: ~79-80*F
IAT temps (post-intercooler): ~100*F
Air Flow: 40.1 lb max @ 6500 rpms
Gear: 2nd thru 4th WOT pull (64 % throttle)
Boost: 25 psi falling to 20 psi
Fuel: 93 octane pump gas
DSMLink power estimate: 376 crank h.p.

Another pull:
Air filter intake temp: ~59-60*F
IAT temps (post-intercooler): ~86*F
Air Flow: 35 lb max Gear (37% throttle):
Gear: repeated 4th thru 5th gear pulls
Ignition Timing: 8.5 thru 11*
Boost: 25 psi falling to 20 psi
Fuel: 93 octane pump gas
DSMLink power estimate: 349 crank h.p.

I am fighting some nasty boost creep, hence no 100% WOT pulls, and some ridiculous knock due to a leaking water pump seal.

The run at 59*F ambient required heavy heat soaking and repeated 4th gear pulls to get the post I.C. temps anywhere near 86*F, actually I ran out of road attempting it. The 2nd pull on a 80*F day, as soon as I topped out at 4th gear I could tell the I.C. temps where still climbing fast at about 120 mph in 5th gear. This one I think would have climbed further had I attempted a long top speed run. Given that no testing is perfect, I never saw above 27*F above ambient on my I.C. setup. Based on a few calculations, that places this I.C. at about 90% efficiency.

In daily driving, I would heat soak the I.C. to about 80*F in traffic on a 60*F day, then do a WOT blast. Surprisingly, the vehicle speed and airflow thru the throttlebody & temp sensor would at first drop intake temps pretty fast, then climb back up to about 86*F at the throttlebody. So heatsoaking while sitting in traffic has no affect on WOT post Intercooler temps.

In conclusion, this definitely isn't an intercooler I would use in a road racing scenario. On the other hand, in a stop light drag race I think it is pretty darned good. I will be upgrading to squeeze every last bit out of my EVOIII 16g.

 

[mschlanglv]

...and some ridiculous knock due to a leaking water pump seal.

Very cool to see actual data on IATs, but I am also interested in the above statement. Could you elaborate on the connection you are drawing?

 

[pboglio]

The water pump seal is allowing the coolant to push past. I'm also having a coolant overflow issue on the overflow tank, so its looking like either they are related, or the headgasket seal is going as well. Motor is getting yanked anyhow but figured I'd baseline the I.C. before upgrading. The low ignition timing is doing very little to eliminate knock and is absolutely crushing power output to boot.

 

[1990AWD]

I'd say that pretty darn good. Thanks for the info. For comparrison, my intake temps were 90-110*F at the filter and upwards of 200*F after a pull on the smic. I just installed a fmic, and am going to try to draw in cooler air at the filter, and hopefully the temps should go down a lot.

 

[MY1GDSM]

Just curious for referance where is your post IC AIT located exactly?

 

[pboglio]

Just curious for referance where is your post IC AIT is located exactly?

Its located at the Throttle body elbow. The HKS IAT response time isn't super fast as this is a thermistor with some decent mass, but by the end of 4th gear it does pretty much show whats going on. I'd like to switch up to a fast response thermocouple as I can't tell if the response lag is coming from the temp sensor or the intercooler itself.