INTERCOOLERS Thoughts on air v water
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
INTERCOOLERS Thoughts on air v water Hi all looking at going a over the radiator for my LS1 TT.
Currently have a 600/300/100 intercooler making 800hp.
Reviewing my options-
1. air intercooler larger and have it over the radiator, looks neater.
2. liquid intercooler "i have never or have any experience"
questions looking for better IAT prep for greater boosting and into 1400hp once new combo is done.
photos of your combo
where to buy
get advice
appreciated.
cheers!
Currently have a 600/300/100 intercooler making 800hp.
Reviewing my options-
1. air intercooler larger and have it over the radiator, looks neater.
2. liquid intercooler "i have never or have any experience"
questions looking for better IAT prep for greater boosting and into 1400hp once new combo is done.
photos of your combo
where to buy
get advice
appreciated.
cheers!
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 314
Likes: 0
From: Land of the Mormon's although I'm not one of them
What's the usage? Mainly track or mainly street?
Budget?
From my research in General: A2W is better for mainly track cars, A2A is better for street cars.
A2W is more complicated, has more points of failure, weighs more, and costs more; but has the ability to increase the cooling capability for short durations (IE: Fill the reservoir with ice before a run down the track).
A2W is used in a lot of factory applications though; ZR1 Vette, Cyclone, Lightning, etc.
A2W setups normally have a second dedicated radiator just for the intercooler system if they're run on the street; this allows them to dump heat more efficiently.
That all being said, most people run an A2A if they have the frontal area in the vehicle such that the airflow through the Intercooler is sufficient to cool it properly.
Personally, I'm going with an A2W setup; my bird doesn't have large enough openings, and wouldn't without looking "odd" to make an A2A work.
Budget?
From my research in General: A2W is better for mainly track cars, A2A is better for street cars.
A2W is more complicated, has more points of failure, weighs more, and costs more; but has the ability to increase the cooling capability for short durations (IE: Fill the reservoir with ice before a run down the track).
A2W is used in a lot of factory applications though; ZR1 Vette, Cyclone, Lightning, etc.
A2W setups normally have a second dedicated radiator just for the intercooler system if they're run on the street; this allows them to dump heat more efficiently.
That all being said, most people run an A2A if they have the frontal area in the vehicle such that the airflow through the Intercooler is sufficient to cool it properly.
Personally, I'm going with an A2W setup; my bird doesn't have large enough openings, and wouldn't without looking "odd" to make an A2A work.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,027
Likes: 2
From: KS
A2W. At 14 psi I am seeing within 4 degrees of ambient WITHOUT any ice. I do have a heat exchanger for the water.
The whole street vs. race with A2W that you read on here is just ignorance with remarks to A2W being more geared to racing. It's better at removing heat from the air no matter where your at. I have a 6 gallon water tank and you can't over come the heat exchanger for the water. The water never seems to get hotter than ambient. And it shouldn't. Just because you can drive farther than a 1/4 mile at a time on the street doesn't mean you are heat soaking an A2W system any more than an A2A system.
The whole street vs. race with A2W that you read on here is just ignorance with remarks to A2W being more geared to racing. It's better at removing heat from the air no matter where your at. I have a 6 gallon water tank and you can't over come the heat exchanger for the water. The water never seems to get hotter than ambient. And it shouldn't. Just because you can drive farther than a 1/4 mile at a time on the street doesn't mean you are heat soaking an A2W system any more than an A2A system.
I am going with a frozen boost a2w cooler. Compact, efficient and there are people making over 1000 hp with ebay a2w intercoolers. I have seen great results when used on track and street with these.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
thanks guys, car is built for drags and will do more miles on the street. Very hard to build 1/4 mile a time v street driving....lol
But you get the point race is the aim.
guys just throwing it out there?
pump to front engine bay
exhanger front of car
ice/water tank under front guard
OR
could you put it in the boot for a larger one?
how long will say 4 gallon water / ice last on the street before it losses its abilty to cool?
But you get the point race is the aim.
guys just throwing it out there?
pump to front engine bay
exhanger front of car
ice/water tank under front guard
OR
could you put it in the boot for a larger one?
how long will say 4 gallon water / ice last on the street before it losses its abilty to cool?
Trending Topics
TECH Addict
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,866
Likes: 4
Corvette guys have made over 1500rwhp using relatively inefficent air to air cores with the help of meth. Many of them are running sub ambient temps when adding meth.
Unless its a drag car or you cant find any way of getting airflow to the core (without impacting the radiator too much) go air to air.
Unless its a drag car or you cant find any way of getting airflow to the core (without impacting the radiator too much) go air to air.
Last edited by chuntington101; Feb 7, 2013 at 07:30 AM.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
I have contemplated doing a custom laminova core a2w set up, but due to current funds, my ebay core will have to do. Those laminova cores are what is used in some of the V model caddys.
10"x9"x4.5" core. Supposedly good for 1200 hp and 1500 cfm, but I take that with a grain of salt. If you look on their site it is the type 15 intercooler. It was something I had from another project so I decided to make it work
A2W. At 14 psi I am seeing within 4 degrees of ambient WITHOUT any ice. I do have a heat exchanger for the water.
The whole street vs. race with A2W that you read on here is just ignorance with remarks to A2W being more geared to racing. It's better at removing heat from the air no matter where your at. I have a 6 gallon water tank and you can't over come the heat exchanger for the water. The water never seems to get hotter than ambient. And it shouldn't. Just because you can drive farther than a 1/4 mile at a time on the street doesn't mean you are heat soaking an A2W system any more than an A2A system.
The whole street vs. race with A2W that you read on here is just ignorance with remarks to A2W being more geared to racing. It's better at removing heat from the air no matter where your at. I have a 6 gallon water tank and you can't over come the heat exchanger for the water. The water never seems to get hotter than ambient. And it shouldn't. Just because you can drive farther than a 1/4 mile at a time on the street doesn't mean you are heat soaking an A2W system any more than an A2A system.
Thats correct sirrr. Have twin 6265 on my vette with twin pt500 air to water coolers with a large heat exchanger. Only a two gallon res in the rear and my car has GREAT IAT even in 107 degree heat.
TECH Addict
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,866
Likes: 4
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 581
Likes: 0
From: Arkansas
If your gonna just run at the track you might get some power gains with cooler air running through it with a a2w but me personaly ive seen guys make crazy power with just air to air and there a lot less to deal with.
I was looking at that very unit, any results you have found??
I have a new one in the box for sale if you decide to jump in. I got a deal on larger A2W so got this one left over. A A2A will never be able to match the efficiency of an A2W guys who spout off about it being a race only set up are clueless and are passing along only what they have read on the Internet. Go A2W and don't look back no heat exchanger needed.
Nothing yet. The car is still being slowly built 
Hope to it this month though and be driving shortly after that. I HAVE used these intercoolers on other builds though and have never been disappointed in the results. I have not used this exact intercooler, but I am sure it will work just as well. I have always used a tank though and either set it to circulate constantly or on a pressure switch while in boost. I have heard of a timer you can set up to have it circulate for a certain period of time after being activated by a pressure switch....trying to find one of those!
Hope to it this month though and be driving shortly after that. I HAVE used these intercoolers on other builds though and have never been disappointed in the results. I have not used this exact intercooler, but I am sure it will work just as well. I have always used a tank though and either set it to circulate constantly or on a pressure switch while in boost. I have heard of a timer you can set up to have it circulate for a certain period of time after being activated by a pressure switch....trying to find one of those! 
TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 476
Likes: 2
Tell the truth about why you guys are running meth kits. Its not for IAT reduction... its to crutch your fuel and add octane that you need.
Water is 14 times better than air at removing heat from aluminum. There will NEVER be an air to air thats as good as an air to water. You cant argue otherwise.
Water is 14 times better than air at removing heat from aluminum. There will NEVER be an air to air thats as good as an air to water. You cant argue otherwise.