555bug wrote:hey speedster..the benifit of the water cooled intercooler on a vw based car is that (obviously) water can absorbe loads of heat energy in relation to its volume..you can pass this water through a small motorbike intercooler although it actually make little to no difference 😉 as with my application getting sufficent air flow through a bar and fin cooler is often not possiable (although I think I have a way around this)..anyway back to the topic..Ummm yup the only drawback of a h2o cooler is that after a few hard runs the cooling system is heat soaked so its actually warming the inlet air..anyway you really have to look at your application..if your racing then you need constant cooling as you'll spend a great deal of time at WOT, if drag racing then you're only looking at >15sec at constant WOT or on the road with occasional spurts.
I dont know what you are saying here. How does the subaru cooling system work. Do they have a seperate water system (pump and radiator) for the intercooler or is it the same engine cooling water used in the intercooler? And the way I read it you dont cool the intercooler water at all?
I have used both water-to-air and air-to-air in both road cars and race cars. In the race car the water was crap. USELESS! Cos I'd have a "run" and every thing would be fine. Switch the engine off while waiting for the next run, and the whole time the water is soaking up heat. Then when the time come for the next run there wasnt enough time for it to cool down, and of course sitting in the pits there is no airflow. Spent money boxing in my air to air then cut it off again.
On a road car things are different. Air to air was good enough, but water is better. You're never on the gas long enough for things to get too hot, and there's a constant airflow past the radiator keeping things cool. You must have this water circulating through a radiator though. My kombi was overheating when my pump wasnt working. The hot intake air was killing it. I guess this wouldnt be as big problem with a subaru engine though.
If you have enough room for a radiator to cool engine water you should have enough room for something to cool intercooler water. mount them in the same place. Im using a corolla radiator (from wreckers) mounted flat to the underside of my kombi. Its got no scoops or fans forcing air through it yet it is cold all the time. Never even gets slightly warm. So I'm guessing that something from a diahatsu or 121 which are half the size and only about 1/2" thick would be up to the task.
I'm still yelling "BOOOOO" at using non VW engines though. Even if I have compromised my own principles by adding a water pump. :jesus <- jesus knows I'm still air cooled at heart.
