Some people have asked about the flow characteristics of some of the intercoolers that are being used a lot, mostly the Treadstone ones. So I made some quick models from pictures I saw (so, no the results are not totally accurate, just for the concept and comparison. Remember there are no turbulators in the tubes so the pressures will be different and the flow results may be different.) here are some quick test.
From what I can tell the cast endtanks that blend smoothly into the inlet and outlets are a big plus. I would stay away from the square edge cut and weld like I bought. The sharp corner on the cut and weld ones seem to be contributing to the recirculation flow, the smooth cast tanks do seem to have a problem. Again this is only from my rough testing, don’t take this as a rule.
So I wanted to look at core sizing, and the fact that everybody runs huge intecoolers rated for 1200-1400 CFM when there only pushing 700 – which is good for probably 450hp.
I am showing below the following: 793 CFM 550hp flow 20psi boost. The plot is velocity from 0-1000 inches per second and I am only showing the range above and below this to help identify where the flow is going. From the picture you can see how little of the core is actually being used. I am not saying air is not flowing, it’s just going way slower than the front half.
Click on the pics to enlarge"
My modified version 6x18.5x3.5
Treadstone 6x18.5x3.5
Treadstone 6x25x3.5
Now same test at ridiculous flow 1200 CFM for both 18.5 long cores and 1492 for the 25†core (what the max flow is rated at)
You can see better use of the core and more uniform velocity when the flow is closer to its suggested rating.
So what does this mean? My best guess is that we are using intercoolers that are bigger than necessary. What is bad about this -
I would like to know your opinions about intercoolers that are way bigger than the flow they need. What are the plusses and what are the minuses?