Limits of Air to air IC.
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From: Lombard .IL
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There really isn't a limit but there is always room for improvement. For example, you could build a 2000hp car with no intercooler at all.
If you know the pressure drop across the core at a given hp level and your IAT's through the traps that will give you a basic indication of how much room for improvement there is.
That being said, air/water is always going to have the advantage at a dragstrip. Built correctly and used with ice you can have below ambient IAT's and negligable pressure drop across the core. Downsides are extra weight, complexity, cost and maintenance.
If you know the pressure drop across the core at a given hp level and your IAT's through the traps that will give you a basic indication of how much room for improvement there is.
That being said, air/water is always going to have the advantage at a dragstrip. Built correctly and used with ice you can have below ambient IAT's and negligable pressure drop across the core. Downsides are extra weight, complexity, cost and maintenance.
IC Size and space available (with good airflow to/from) pretty much define their limits IMO. If you need more heat shed than you can fit into your available space, then you've hit your limit and A2W makes more sense. As mentioned above, a drag-only setup probably warrants a switch to A2W sooner for the advantages mentioned.
Nice 'trouble' to be in though!
Jim
Nice 'trouble' to be in though!
Jim
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if its a drag only car then the A2W is a better choice because it can get lower than ambient temps. You can have an air to air but its gonna need to be BIG, and then the best you could do is ambient air temps.
And you are at the 'limit' for an LSx running an A/A. Maybe you can run yours into the 7's as it sits. I've talked to a Mustang guy who's run 8.2's or 8.3's with an A/A.
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I think I'm going to try to hit a 7 with the A/A. I don't want to give up the street manners. I want to stick with the A/A. I'm going to keep and eye on the IAT snd see how it goes.
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8 sec potential, 12 sec slip
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You could always spray a little meth too. IMO A2A + meth is still simpler than A2W. Plus you dont need to worry about the water getting hot on the street. Best of both worlds IMO...
Thats what I was thinking too. We've seen really good iat reductions with methanol. Bob
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I used to talk to Kurt @ W2W about IAT's a lot a few years ago, and my take on IAT's is you have to decide whether you will stay A/A and if so, then decide what is the max temp you are comfortable seeing during a run. For some that's 150F.
The A/W crowd is looking for max ET and so if they think run 4-5 tenths faster then they are doing it. Pre-burnout I'm sure those guys are seeing IAT's in the sub 50F range, and they are probably still pretty low like sub 70F before they stage. But maybe one of those guys will chime in and correct my numbers or add more specificity.
Your car is working great, so I'm thinking that your first priority is to see whether you need to change that converter, or did you decide that it works pretty good? I would not go a/w until you are consistently seeing IAT's in the 150F and higher range, since at that point you'd have to start backing off the timing.
The A/W crowd is looking for max ET and so if they think run 4-5 tenths faster then they are doing it. Pre-burnout I'm sure those guys are seeing IAT's in the sub 50F range, and they are probably still pretty low like sub 70F before they stage. But maybe one of those guys will chime in and correct my numbers or add more specificity.
Your car is working great, so I'm thinking that your first priority is to see whether you need to change that converter, or did you decide that it works pretty good? I would not go a/w until you are consistently seeing IAT's in the 150F and higher range, since at that point you'd have to start backing off the timing.