Can a front mounted intercooler be TOO big?...(is the area hidden by the bumper doing anythink)

[Phat VR6 3]

Just thinking again lol. If your using a FMI on a forsed induction VR is there a perfix size for you boost pressure or is it a bigger is better thing?

[Lizard Racing 0]

Each charger type will have different cooling requirements. The bigger the capacity the more air you you need to fill it to maintain boost. The better the cooling efficiency the greater the pressure drop generally.

Turbo will be much more forgiving if its too big, Vortech I wouldn't bother, Rotrex Im working on at the moment. Going to try a Garrett 18 x 10.5 x 3 core and also a precision 24 x 10.5 x 3.5 core.

[Phat VR6 3]

ummm so the anser is yes I guess... Think im going to get a realy big one and then adjust boost to suit lol

Ive got an old wiper jet pump and tank. You think it would be a good idea to set it up so it sprays water over the intercooler? Cheep as chips and would kindof work like a charge cooler in a way

[john555 0]

i had two diffrent coolers on my glanza the first bein a huge blitz one which i holed on the motorway so changed it for a one about half the size and it reduced the lag loads still seemed as quick to drive and it boosted up much more aggressivly

[Bobtrude 0]

The bigger cooler you have the more turbolag u will get. The turbo wil have to pressure more IC before the Air reaches the motor. I would rather use a smaler one but it all depends on how much boost u are aiming for. . . . .

[Phat VR6 3]

Right whats the point in the intercooler been big if most of it is hidden behind the bumper?

The bit behind the bumper isn't getting any airflow there for not doing any cooling just increasing turbo lag... Surly its not doing anythink ??

Am I chatting bollucks or is there somthink in what I say... You might as well only have the intercooler the size of the gap in the bumper?

[nimpy 1]

i think that correct, scoobys have a blade that can be fitted in the bonnet scoop so that the air flows over all the intercooler, so it splits the air going through the scoop, instead of just the back of the intercooler. Hope that makes sense, not explained very well.

[FishWick 21]

Scooby's used to suffer a bad pressure differential in the engine bay.

The pressure of the air coming through the front of the car at certain speeds exceeded the pressure of the air coming through the bonnect scoop, so the intercooler just used to heat up, hence being known as an "interheater". Many scoobs have blown their engines past 120mph because of this.

I think they've corrected that now.

Anyway, ICs behind bumpers a bad thing?

Well, yes and no.

Don't forget the IC is mounted in the bumper and therefore massively colder than metal in the engine bay, so even though hot turbo air may pass through a section of IC that isn't in the air flow, the IC will still absorb the heat because of the temperature differential. And besides, at 100+ mph, you'd be surprised how much air will find it's way over the IC, even when hidden behind the bumper. Don't forget, most OE water radiators are only partially exposed aswell, but still function correctly.

In 90% of cases, the amount of IC that is exposed is enough to the job. Where it isn't, you'll see cars with fully exposed ICs, like the Evo 9s for example as they run very high boost pressures.

It's the age old compromise mate..... form over function,