hey guys i was thinking about running an Air to water intercooler in place on the front mount i have now. i was gonna move the battery to the back and run a nice air to water set-up. trying to get IAT's down below ambient... do you guys think thats a wise desicion or what?

 

Do you want you IAT's below ambient throughout a run or just while cruising. If it's while cruising, then an A2A will get you very close to that. If you want below ambient throughout a run, then A2W is the only way, but you must chill the water. I've been messing with this for quite some time now and it works. Make sure you use a large reservoir. If you can chill all the water in your reservoir and it only makes 1 or 2 passes through the IC then your IAT's will be lower and more steady/consistent. Finding the right size for you is an easy calculation.

The easiest thing would just be to chill your water at the track with ice. For everyday use, the factory AC system works like a charm, but it doesn't cool the cab off as much as I'd like. I'm going to be messing with another self contained system this summer that should be a little more user friendly.

 

I have been thikning of ways to relocate my IC because i don't like it being a virtual skid plate! LoL To go to a normal front mount i would have to cut up my bumper or cut stuff up to go infront of the radiator.

My only thing with A2W is having to rely on an eletric water pump, its a point of possible failure. A2A is simple and effective, i can't complain about IAT's since i get about 15-30* over ambient most all of the time. How much $$$ are most A2W set ups average?

 

I was a bit apprehensive about the A2W as well, but I am very happy with the outcome, seeing decent IAT's now. A couple +'s for the A2W that I have found is....

With a good size reservoir, it takes a considerable amount of time for the IATs to rise. I have a 3 gallon reservoir and I can run a full 1/4 mile WOT and the IATs will not rise even 1*, as a matter of fact, they will fall about 2* total due to my heat exchanger being right in the front grill. You can verify this with the log i posted up a few weeks back in the tuning section.

You can drop some ice in the reservoir and get below ambient temps for a few WOT runs.

There are some draw backs like heat soak and what not, but i find that the non-internal intercoolers will offer quite a bit LESS in the way of heat soak. My intercooler sits on top of the manifold (not under it) and tends to not get heat soaked as badly. After driving a few miles without stopping, i can get my IATs within 20* above ambient which isnt bad for an A2W. However, if I have stopped at a red light or just idling for more than 10 minutes or so, they can go up as much as 40* over ambient. With the large heat exchanger they drop back down very quickly though. Good luck!