Intercooler fan?

[yungcotter]

Ok so I had an idea, let me know if I'm being stupid .

I was thinking of putting a fan on my oem side mount intercoolers. Something like a radiator fan such as This on the back of the intercoolers as puller fans.
ok so my logic is most of the time we are driving at low speeds where there is not sufficient cooling from air flowing over them the fans should be capable of this and at higher speeds the natural flow of air should take over.

I know i should just get a front mount but thats not in the budget for now.

[DRAKLORE]

There might be more electrical draw than they are worth. But any help is good help

[mr shickadance]

Admittedly not a bad idea, drawing air in it would provide more coolong to the intercooler

I guess at thr end of the day it would come down to total cost

[dirtyb5a4]

I don't see it using more juice than some of these rediculous audio systems people install

[jayphil82]

Those fans would restrict the already poor air flow our stock ICs get at hight speed.... I would not loose my time doing so.

[DRAKLORE]

I guess if you are a city driver than this would be a good investment, I would spend my extra dough on a water/meth kit. But this coupled with an intercooler sprayer system could be a lethal combination :-)

[DRAKLORE]

But honestly if you've got a FMIC than you have two birds in the hand, instead of one in a bush? Idk lol
I'm trying to say the radiator fan is right there.

[martin0079]

It would need to go behind the intercoolers drawing air through not worth it though

[GarrettReid]

They might draw air through too fast that the air doesn't have time to adequately cool the IC.

[martin0079]

They might draw air through too fast that the air doesn't have time to adequately cool the IC.

I dont think that is actually possible the faster air is drawn through at the same time you are increasing the volume of air drawn through

[DRAKLORE]

^is that possible? I'm not a physics geek but it reminds me of an old question someone once asked "is it possible to submerge a paper towel in water so fast that it comes out completely dry?" hmmm

[DRAKLORE]

Lol at the simultaneous doubt to the possibility of "to much airflow" hehe

[GarrettReid]

I dont think that is actually possible the faster air is drawn through at the same time you are increasing the volume of air drawn through

Some teacher mentioned it to me. Could very well be horribly wrong. There's been a lot of teachers that haven't always been right. haha.

[martin0079]

^is that possible? I'm not a physics geek but it reminds me of an old question someone once asked "is it possible to submerge a paper towel in water so fast that it comes out completely dry?" hmmm

no the paper will always come out wet

[martin0079]

Found it. If you can get it moving fast enough you can to more harm then good but for the application you cant unless your car is hitting mach 1 or the fan can pull air at mach 1 just not gonna happen I could do the calc but I am too tired and dont have all the data. Also finally figured out why I dont like the design of the awe fmic a thin intercooler will be come heatsoaked faster

[mr shickadance]

challenge accepted!

[dirtyb5a4]

Can't wait to hear results on this one

[yungcotter]

ok so I think I have it figured out. I think I'm gonna do one fan on the driver side inter cooler probably just use the one I posted above and wire it into the radiator fan so it kicks in when the radiator fan does. Also should I mount it straight to the inter cooler or build a shroud. the thing about the shroud is that it could restrict air flow at higher speeds. The stock inter cooler dimensions are 8.6"x8.5"x2.6" so I think I'm gonna get an 8 inch fan.
Im really hopeful this works.It shouldn't be more than $50 to do.

[DRAKLORE]

Good luck, don't be a bum, and keep us posted! Do u have vaccine where u can monitor your temps pre fan and then get a comparison after?

[MCT9891]

I think If this was a good idea someone would have already thought about it. But I'm definitely interested for the results. If their are any...

[mr shickadance]

i think the fan is going to deliver less then stellar results honestly, the idea is good in concept, but i think for a similar price, you could rig a system that could spray water onto your IC to better cool it down (think 2005 subajew STI) i know that for serious BT applications, like the some of the unitronic show cars they even have a CO2 nozzle on the IC to cool it down from the outside

[wick3d]

its not going to make the air any cooler while the car is moving. the only reason the radiator has a fan is when the car is stationary.

[DRAKLORE]

I believe OP does a bit of city driving, that is the only place I see this really being beneficial, at speeds above whatever the tiny fan can muster say 20+mph I think the fan would be more of a restriction than anything :-/ I Lena how fast can a fan suck air through the intercooler! Especially an 8" fan... Now someone email Dyson.. And youll see results!

And another...

[bruddha]

so what ended up of this? Thinking of doing a dual 7" fan setup behind SMIC, fins flipped to draw air in.

[EvolutionArmory]

The idea is as bad now as it was then 😀

[tloft4]

hopefully the understanding of some very basic thermodynamics has improved tho

[oVeRdOsE]

plug it to the a/c , just like the s/c from the dodge demon. lol

[EvolutionArmory]

This whole thread can be put to rest with one question. Why does anyone care if their factory intercoolers are being as efficient as they can be when you’re driving around town from stop light to stop light or sitting in rush hour traffic?

Who cares? The intercooler fan is a solution to a non existent problem. 😀

[Nollywood]

There are better ways to cool the intake air.

An 8” fan pulling through the intercooler will achieve absolutely nothing, even in city driving. It makes no sense.

At city driving speeds, the car is unlikely to be making any appreciable boost pressure, so heat soak won’t really be an issue here. On the other hand, at highway speeds, fans behind the intercooler would hurt airflow. They would impede the exit of air produced by ram effect.

[Van Black]

There are better ways to cool the intake air.

An 8” fan pulling through the intercooler will absolutely nothing, even in city driving. It makes no sense.

At city driving speeds, the car is unlikely to be making any appreciable boost pressure, so heat soak won’t really be an issue here. On the other hand, at highway speeds, fans behind the intercooler would hurt airflow. They would impede the exit of air produced by ram effect.

They wouldn't hurt airflow if they move fast enough. The real problem is that the air passing through the SMIC has nowhere to go since there's the wheel well behind it.
A channel that diverts the air from the intercooler area would do more help for free

[A4x]

Those fans would restrict the already poor air flow our stock ICs get at hight speed.... I would not loose my time doing so.

This. The fan could act as a restriction and block airflow at highway speeds.

I guess if you are a city driver than this would be a good investment, I would spend my extra dough on a water/meth kit. But this coupled with an intercooler sprayer system could be a lethal combination :-)

This! Water/meth kit is $400 and will drastically cool your intake temps. Great mod for sure.

They might draw air through too fast that the air doesn't have time to adequately cool the IC.

This is wrong. The faster the better. However like above, I would be concerned that the fan would block airflow at high vehicle speeds.

IMO ditch this idea and install a water/meth kit.

[EvolutionArmory]

Water/meth is always the best answer 😀

[bruddha]

Water/meth is always the best answer ��

Water/Meth FTW!

[EvolutionArmory]

Water/Meth FTW!

I can’t wait to have the time to install my kit. I’ve had the Devils Own kit sitting in a box for a couple months now. 😞

[Theiceman]

ok for the clueless, what does the water meth kit actually do ? I know its to cool intake air, but how ?

[A4x]

ok for the clueless, what does the water meth kit actually do ? I know its to cool intake air, but how ?

You inject it through a nozzle into the intake air stream (intercooler piping). The nozzle produces a fine mist, and a controller controls the pump's spraying pressure usually based on the MAF signal. More MAF = more spray.

The water/meth mixture is very easily evaporated. Since evaporation is an endothermic process, it absorbs heat, thus cooling the intake air. Drastically.

I get sub-ambient intake air temps running stock intercooler and K04 turbo on a 90+ degree sunny day with meth spray.

[Theiceman]

You inject it through a nozzle into the intake air stream (intercooler piping). The nozzle produces a fine mist, and a controller controls the pump's spraying pressure usually based on the MAF signal. More MAF = more spray.

The water/meth mixture is very easily evaporated. Since evaporation is an endothermic process, it absorbs heat, thus cooling the intake air. Drastically.

I get sub-ambient intake air temps running stock intercooler and K04 turbo on a 90+ degree sunny day with meth spray.

cool thanks

[Flygman]

You inject it through a nozzle into the intake air stream (intercooler piping). The nozzle produces a fine mist, and a controller controls the pump's spraying pressure usually based on the MAF signal. More MAF = more spray.

The water/meth mixture is very easily evaporated. Since evaporation is an endothermic process, it absorbs heat, thus cooling the intake air. Drastically.

I get sub-ambient intake air temps running stock intercooler and K04 turbo on a 90+ degree sunny day with meth spray.

Thanks, always wondered about that one.

is it something you need to constantly refill tho?

[A4x]

Yea, you need a reservoir to hold the fluid. I tapped a hole in the windshield washer tank and it works perfectly, dual purpose now. Standard windshield fluid is 30% meth. I use Snow's boost juice which is 50% meth, so a little harder on the paint but still works well to clean the windshield! I generally try to avoid spraying it if I can tho.

I could probably get away with using standard blue windshield washer fluid but I am afraid there might be some additives in there that I don't want in my engine.

BTW I'm doing this to increase my effective octane and run APRs 100 octane file on 93 pump gas. Cooling is a secondary benefit.

[EvolutionArmory]

ok for the clueless, what does the water meth kit actually do ? I know its to cool intake air, but how ?

It’s science and shit.