[CrypTech]

I'm becoming a bit obsessed about modding again. I knew it was going to happen. I love working on my cars, and tinkering with things..

The question I would pose, is if a water sprayer would be beneficial to the stock IC we all probably want to replace. The heat soak is real, and until I can save up enough beans, and someone starts producing a FMIC for us, I was considering piecing together a sprayer. Let me know what you guys think. Have any of you considered this as well? Is it worth it and/or cost effective?

 

[Forte5]

Not sure how well it works and I know a few members tried it. Maybe look into an actual Co2 kit. So right before you do a hard run you hit the sprayer and freeze the i.c so you have better power. I was thinking of doing that

 

[Playwithmymind]

I wished I would have bookmarked the page but there was a ausie that put together a water sprayer for the IC and had less than $100 into it. The pump he used was actually a 200 psi pump from a frappe/cappuccino machine. Most important thing is keeping the mist as fine as possible and starting to evaporate before getting to the IC. To answer the question if it works, yes if you have it setup right. Some of the ones i've seen done in the past would make my daughter shake her head and say WTF is he thinking.

 

[Forte5]

You also need the water cold so putting ice into the tank would help to

 

[Dmo1]

There are universal kits out there for under $100. May be something to look into

 

[honhon]

The way I think it may be more beneficial to make a heat shield and put some gold reflective tape on it.

The issue is heatsoak. So why not work on that issue instead of trying to cover it up with a sprayer.

 

[schizorazgriz]

The way I think it may be more beneficial to make a heat shield and put some gold reflective tape on it.

The issue is heatsoak. So why not work on that issue instead of trying to cover it up with a sprayer.

Where would you put the heatshield so that its not affecting the airflow through your intercooler? It might end up being a detriment if it lowers the CFM going through your intercooler. I like the idea of some evaporative cooling from the sprayer. If you can get the jet just right where the water is vaporized by the pressure and can hit a large target area it should really pull some of that heat away from your IC. The CO2 idea makes me wonder how it's going to affect the IC as far as structure. Wouldn't that kind of rapid cooling and heating cause the IC to become brittle over time?

 

[honhon]

I was thinking a top and engine side panel that could make an air box type shield for the Sri intake also.

 

[schizorazgriz]

I was thinking a top and engine side panel that could make an air box type shield for the Sri intake also.

You could make something like that out off 1 inch ductboard insulation and put silver fasson tape on the exposed insulation. That would see some temps go down I think.

Our duct gets wrapped in it when we don't have an inside liner so that the conditioned air stays cold or hot without disipating over distance. It's not super cheap but I can get it for free so I might build an intake box and see how it works

 

[CrypTech]

I was more or less going to use ice water to spray intercooler when it is heat soaked. Something like these guys did, but with a windshield washer pump:

I would use brass fittings for the sprayer, and probably have two.

 

[Forte5]

I was thinking about getting the gold tape and putting it on the hot pipe and on the end tanks of the i.c to see if it would help. I will look into where I can get it to try it out

 

[Playwithmymind]

You would get better results from removing the intake and wrapping it in a thermal blanket. Not to keep heat in but to keep the heat from the radiator and fan from blowing directly on the intake.

 

[Forte5]

I have my intake heat wrapped already along with the inlet tube for the turbo and the cold pipe

 

[6thElementEngineering]

Cooling off the intercooler with water or a CO2 is going to do way more than wrapping your intake system or building shielding.
You all have to remember that we have to get the pressurized air from the turbo compressor as cold as possible. A 1* to 5* degree difference on the intake side will not make much difference since the turbo is compressing and heating the air up even hotter anyway.

Best way to do this? We need to decrease the temperature of the intercooler itself, or increase the heat transfer area, or both.
The intercooler is a heat exchanger and to get colder air out of the intercooler for our need for speed, we have to transfer more energy out.

If you increase the size of the intercooler to the right size (without adding lag or more pressure drop) we can transfer heat out of the pressurized air longer, resulting in lower temperature.
Or, we reduce the temperature of the intercooler core. We can spray it with water or colder air (or CO2) or it could do a lot better on a colder day with colder ambient air.
This is where water-air intercoolers work best, their downfall is more parts and more money to install/implement them.

The larger the temperature difference between the core and the charge air the more heat will be transferred from the charge air.
No amount of shielding or gold tape is going to do what direct contact with cold water or another fluid will do to the intercooler core.

Water sprayers will help some, but they are obviously not ideal. With a FMIC, you take the core farther away from an ambient heat source (the engine) and you increase cooling area (larger core).
If I were you all, I wouldn't go wasting money with a bunch of tape and metal panels that will probably add no temperature benefit to the system at all.

Ice or spray the stock IC, or get a properly designed FMIC or water/air IC. I'd like to build a water/air IC one day, it would be different

 

[Forte5]

I want to do the Co2 when I get a FMIC. only want to do it for when I do hard runs or to chill the i.c right before the race like at the drags or stop light lol.

 

[lephoenix]

I go back and forth on setting up a sprayer.
I could just buy some extra hose and nozzles and connect it where my hatch sprayer is connected since I never use that. But I'm not sure if I would use a sprayer much.

And with the ice thing. I'm sure that would help some. But the major benefit is from converting liquid water to steam. The evaporation process will pull a ton of heat out. Alcohol would actually work better because it's more inclined to evaporate quickly.

I also have a co2 bottle sitting around but I can think of a way to ensure no co2 gets into the intake beyond just running a coil in front of the intercooler.

 

[Forte5]

Co2 won't get into the intake unless you have a SRI setup. I have a CAI thats why I was thinking of running that setup. But once you go to a front mount like I am then there is no worry about it getting into the intake

 

[lephoenix]

Think it would get in the stock intake though? I think it draws air from that general area.

 

[Playwithmymind]

Think it would get in the stock intake though? I think it draws air from that general area.

No, the stock air box gets air from above the IC not behind like a SRI.

 

[2014:1.6lT]

I made a quick ic sprayer set up tonight, costed about $20. I'll test this week. I'm going to use some windshield washer fluid I obtained while I worked at Chevy. It's a lot methanol (and so freaking awesome when we used to light it on fire in the shop)