Intercoolers for dummys

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

The PSD IC's are notoriously inefficient.

But how inefecient would they be for the IDI's?
These enginges don't get the boost numbers as the PSD's do and I would seem to think that they would cool the charge air pretty good.

I see where the smaller ones benefit as far as keeping the condenser opened up.

Just me thinking cause I've got a PSD setup going on this winter.

 

[RLDSL]

Instead of running an air/air intercooler, how about a liquid to air style.

I don't know how efficient the aftermarket liquid to air aftercoolers are that they are making to fit on these things, but the factory one that came on my old 1693 cat turned a 396 hp engine into a 425 hp engine ( and then I got ahold of it

 

[ameristar1]

I don't know how efficient the aftermarket liquid to air aftercoolers are that they are making to fit on these things, but the factory one that came on my old 1693 cat turned a 396 hp engine into a 425 hp engine ( and then I got ahold of it

That was a good motor, I think a little too good, they had to kill it and bring the 3406; the ClatterCat was legend.

Anyway, the cores for the liquid to air models are similiar to the air to air units, and as long as the coolant circuit is seperate from the engine coolant it should be equal to if not better than the air/air. Heck, if Bentley can use it on that Arnage Black Label twin turbo beast it can't be too bad.

 

[Agnem]

I think my biggest objection to the liquid to air intercooler concept, is just the possibility of a major water ingestion in the event of something unexpected happening.

 

[ameristar1]

I think my biggest objection to the liquid to air intercooler concept, is just the possibility of a major water ingestion in the event of something unexpected happening.[/QUOT

If the unit is put together properly, it will not happen. I never heard of that style of intercooler breaking unless, which is the case of the Class 8's, the antifreeze isn't changed frequently enough and the core corrodes.

But on a seperate circuit style system with a really good coolant, it will not happen.

 

[Agnem]

I was thinking collision. You know... bad enough to punch through the core, but not otherwise fatal....

 

[FordGuy100]

PSD intercoolers maybe be a little more inneficient than others but they have some things going for them. A) They work. B) They are cheap compared to other intercoolers. C) OBS PSD guys put on stock 7.3 (99-03) and 6.0 intercoolers in there trucks all the time, so it works for them. If swapping a stock PSD intercooler into a OBS PSD works...then it will work for us.

 

[f-two-fiddy]

I wish some PSD IC guys would chime in and tell how much pressure drop they encountered when they installed them.

I Remember reading posts from Guy's that have installed them. Most were asking how to adjust the wastegate. Obviously, they lost some boost to the in-efficiency of the IC

 

[zpd307]

they lost boost but are making more power.........

 

[Black dawg]

ill give up the boost I have left if itll give me the same power increase the first loss of 5 psi did.

 

[david85]

I think based on what was explained earlier in the thread that the drop in pressure is because there is less RESISTANCE to the air going into the engine. So yes, there is a pressure drop but from what I read so far, there is still more air going into the engine.

Although if that was true, then there would be little reason to go to an air to liquid cooler, other than reduced lag time.

getting confused again...

 

[typ4]

You lose boost because the air"shrinks" when you cool it. I guarantee a PS IC will flow way more than an IDI can ever use.

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

Just about ANY intercooler will help our engines. I will be running an 02 Cummins intercooler in my brown truck and it's so big I'm sure its overkill but it's what I got and I'm gonna run it.

 

[Black dawg]

its been mentioned several times that adding an intercooler wil add lag. my boost gauge moves slightly slower at first but then takes off quickly. the power comes on quicker now even when the gauge moves slower. You have to remember that the inceased vol of air going into the motor is also going out and through the turbine housing. I used 3inch tubing and a 6.0 cooler and did not FEEL any increase in turbo lag.

 

[david85]

Honestly i wouldn't care even if there was some more lag. After the turbo upgrade that russ sold me, the gauge did move a little slower off the line, but the truck just seems to respond faster now. Generally I prefer to throttle up slowly anyway, you know, like plane taking off.

So the "efficiency" is really only a concern if you are running near the limit of the of the intercooler. In otherwords, any OEM diesel by dodge, ford or GM within the last 15 years will be an overkill for our engines.

Now for yet another dumb question, can the intercooler be too big? The reason I ask is because it would be nice to know what sort of size range to get that is as compact as possible without being too small to give the full benefit. I would assume that bigger is better but that after a certain point the return in performance drops off significantly as you scale the intercooler up. So where exactly would that happy medium be.....