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Intercooler location

Joined
13 April 2014
Messages
261
Location
Tacoma, Washington
So I'm far from an expert on turbo science but I have noticed that more than one of the "kits" I have been looking for has the intercooler mounted behind the left rear tire. This doesn't seem like the best spot due to the debris pummeling or clogging the unit itself. I have seen other setups where the cooler is top mounted on the engine (with a snorkel) or in the front of the car. How do the turbo guys decide where the cooler goes? Is there a distance rule that should be followed? I'm in the turbo market and just want to be informed. Thanks in advance.
 
Most likely the intercooler you see in the left rear is an A2W. If it's not I'm not sure you'll be able to get enough airflow from just one side of the car. I ran a huge A2A before switching and it took up the bottom center section of my car. The measurements were somewhere along 2 inches thick, and a few feet wide and long...

Choosing a turbo kit depends on a few things though...

Budget
Power Goals
Usage for tracking or street driving
 
Is there a distance rule that should be followed? I'm in the turbo market and just want to be informed. Thanks in advance.

I am a little biased in this so take it for what it is worth:

The closer the intercooler can be to the intake valve the better, As the charged air moves from the heat source (turbo) to the intake it will start to loose some of its heat along the way to the charge piping itself. This is assuming the charge pipe is a cooler temp than the outlet of the turbo itself. Once the air is cooled by any intercooler it will likely be cooler then the rest of the intake or throttle body and it will start to draw heat from those warmer parts. If you get the cooling source as close to the intake as possible or inside the intake then the cooled charge has less time to re-heat on its way to the valve. Also hot air travels faster then cool air and with our cars generally the packaging of the system requires a fairly long charge side piping, the hotter air will move faster through the system then a cooled charge air will. You also have to think about the pressure drop across the core of the intercooler itself, if the pressure drop happens three feet before the throttle body instead of right at the throttle body or after the throttle body then there is a potential for a slightly slower throttle response.

This is what I designed and have been running for the past 5 years with some serious track miles on it. This year alone since Feb I already have over 1000 track miles on my car and the season is just getting started. I average between 2500-3000 track miles a year for the past 5 years.
http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...esting/page3?p=1588965&viewfull=1#post1588965

Dave
 
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