Car Basics - What is an intercooler
?
For the full version of this
article complete with photos, please visit ;
www.carbasics.co.uk
ARTICLE
Basically
it is a radiator found on turbo-charged and super-charged cars.
Intercoolers are fitted to both petrol and diesel cars.
It's purpose is to reduce the temperature
of the air going into the engine.
Intercoolers are als referred to as charge
coolers.
Why does my car need an intercooler ?
Turbochargers and superchargers compress the air being fed to the engine.
When air is compressed it heats up and this makes it less dense, meaning
that for a set volume there will be
less air available for the engine and
hence less power.
Your intercooler will cool this compressed air and
therefore the engine will have more power.
This is why intercoolers are not found on
non-turbo or non-supercharged vehicles. These vehicles are using cool
external air,
filtered and sent straight into the engine. The air has
nothing done to it, it is not compressed and therefore not heated up.
Where are intercoolers mounted ?
They are normally mounted at the front of the car behind the front bumper or
grille so that they are in the path of cool air.
However, the Subaru Impreza has its intercooler mounted underneath the
bonnet and relies on a bonnet scoop to force air over it when moving.
How does an
intercooler work ?
It works in exactly the same way as your cars water radiator.
The heated air is fed through the intercooler and it passes over vanes which
are cooled by the external air passing over the vanes.
So your intercooler
system is external air (passes over vanes) cooling down internal air (passes
through vanes),
an air-to-air heat exchanger where the hot and cold air
never actually touch.
Compare this with your water radiator in your engines
cooling system which is a water-to-air heat exchanger.
The hot water passes
through vanes inside the radiator and the vanes help to remove heat from the
water
as the cool external air passes over the outside of the vanes.
Here is a photo showing the internal vanes of
an intercooler
Will an uprated intercooler give me more power ?
Yes it will, however most road cars are restricted by space as to the size
of intercooler that can be fitted.
Vehicles running large amounts of turbo
boost often have different bumpers fitted, allowing more air into the engine
bay
and often giving more room for a bigger uprated intercooler right at the front of
the car.
Here is an example of a performance intercooler install
Here are some examples of
performance
unrated intercoolers,
see if the have one for your car
For the full version of this
article complete with photos, please visit ;
www.carbasics.co.uk
