intercoolers

[Guest polarity]

can someone explain to me how an intercooler and turbo work.. I know its a dumb question but how does a turbo actually boost the car and why does the intercooler make it better?

 

I have NO knowledge about turbos or turbo setup..

 

Billy

[Tim240z]

Well, far from being an expert, I'll give it a stab:

In very simplistic terms, the turbo has two wheels (fans), connected bt a shaft. Exhaust gasses spin one wheel, which in turn spins the other, which takes atmospheric air, compresses it and forces it into the intake manifold.

Remember, in a Normally Aspirated (N/A) engine, the combustion chambers fill by the vaccuum caused by the piston moving down the chamber.

The compression of the air causes it to get very hot. The intercooler cools the air, making it denser and allowing more ignition timing (hot air causes detonation, all else being equal).

 

Hope that helps and that I'm talking crap. There are some VERY turbo savvy members on this board, hopefully theyu will chime in.

Tim

[Mudge]

To add to the above, an intercooler will allow more boost as well as timing, pretty much either/or depending. When you have cool air you can play with timing more, if its HOT air then you are going to be closer to detonating. Traditionally 2º is retarded for every pound of boost, alot of this is due to heat and just plain old compression increase from pressurized air.

 

Intercooler will cost some boost as well, but of course you can make up for it somewhat. I dont know hardly a thing about this stuff either, but intercoolers should have some efficiency rating(s) information to help you make a decision.

[CruxGNZ]

For all of your "how does that crap work?" needs, simply go here http://www.howstuffworks.com

 

For info on how a turbo works, go here http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turbo.htm

 

!M!