I did a lot of research on our s/c setup with the air to water ic. i have always worked with a/a intercoolers, and so I had to learn some new things. I have heard that some people have put in a cold water reservoir in the trunk and routed the a/w ic there so that the intake temps are SUPER low. Has anyone else heard of this or know anything about this? I think this would be a sick mod....especially combined with the stage 1 and stage 2 kit, intake and exhaust

 

can't say I have heard, but I would be interested in learning about this.

 

Rusty I think you are thinking of water to air IC's, which are only good at the strip. You must fill them with cold water and ice, and some guys even use dry ice for even more of a cooling effect. Eventually the ice melts and the water warms and the cooling effect is lost, so as Im sure you can imagine it is not a good option for a street car. Also, I havent seen them mounted in the trunk. Seeing as how this type of IC is primarily used on on track cars that dont have passenger seats, the resevoir and IC unit is usually mounted in the cockpit where the passenger seat would be.
Hope this clears that up for you

 

don't our cars have water to air (or air to water) intercoolers? aren't they the same (a/w w/a)? if that option is too extreme then for street use, what upgrade options are available for our intercoolers?

 

I could be wrong but I thought air to water and water to air were different. Regardless, the one you are thinking of, which is the same one I explained, are the same. At the moment I do not believe there is anything you can upgrade in the intercooler system for the LSJ. Only thing I could think of would be some kind of higher capacity tubing and the radiator for the IC coolant, but thats it. The LSJ might not even need an upgraded IC system at the moment. Has anyone done any hardcore testing of the IC in the LSJ to test output temps and what not?

 

i am currenty building the resverve tank for mine. it will be placed be hind the front bumper. i did the exact same thing to my alero with great results. the tank will hold an addtional 2 gallons plus the 2 quarts the system already holds. the only option i won't have will being able to add ice.

 

I think any HP gains would be nulled out by the weight...

If you want to do that, just before a Drag race, hit the Water to Air intercooler radiator with a CO2 Fire Extinguisher. It will Freeze the coolant in the system and give you colder intake temp for your run...


No F-ing around with Coolant
No F-ing around with the warranty


EDIT: Ok, the word Freeze above was a bad term, "Make Cooler"

 

I suggest you read the GM Perf division 300 HP LSJ build up. With some mods to the intercooler you can increase it's effectivness quite a bit acorrding to GM Perf Division. They go into little detail however.

Basically if you pass the water through the intercooler twice before returning it to the radiator it works better than the singe pass system.

 

Why not run water wetter, double drive the pump and put a fan on the IC radiator...

 

Well I can't run water wetter right now cause it's getting below freezing, good idea tho.

The IC radiator is inbetween the A/C condenser and the Engine Radiator and there is electric fans on both.

The increasing the pump idea is a good one.

Right not my intake temps are only 30 degrees over ambient, not sure how much cooler I can get them.

 

NX Fogger

Co2 Fogger

 

If you put a higher flow pump, wouldn't that give the coolant less time to cool in the radiator?

 

Yes, but the coolant would cycle twice as fast as well, Put a second cooler in line there and it's solved..

 

Are there going to be an FMIC's coming out any time?

 

That would be some interesting Plumbing.

 

Ours is a FMIC. If your talking a air-air box IC, like the EVO, you would have to do some very interesting plumbing. For all the trouble it would be to convert just the IC, it would be easier to go turbo or centrifigal S/C to get the a/a FMIC.

 

No its not. Your "FMIC" is nothing but a radiator for the IC coolant. The only intercooler on the SS/SC is in the intake manifold.
And screw that AC condensor bullshit. If I owned an SS I would quickly change that around and put the IC radiator in front of the AC condensor. Typical GM, stupid asshats

 

Oops. I get confused with the w/a having an Intercooler and Aftercooler. My mistake.

 

thanks for all the information guys. i am still learning about how our intercoolers work...its still new to me. anyway, my last question now is does anybody know how efficient it is? what i want to know is if i get the stage 1 and stage 2 kits, add a cai, and exhaust, will the air intake temps still be cooled enough for a quarter mile pass? or will it heat soak? any information on this would be appreciated. thanks!

 

It should be. If not buy some dry ice and make a box to hold it on the IC's heat exchanger. (it's the middle radiator in the front)

 

The best and cheapest thing to do will be to move your heat exchanger for the IC to the front of the AC condenser. That way you will get more airflow through the heat exchanger and get better cooling for the fluid going to the manifold. I havn't really looked into how easy it would be to switch around but I can't see it being that hard.

 

I've been thinking about doing exactly this- any idea what it would involve? Anybody???