turbo cooler?

[J ROK]

lots of ideas come and go in my head, and I would like to know if this one could have some benefits.

what if you ran a small cooler on the water line from your block going into the turbo?

Is there any gain in turbo life, or performance if the coolant temp is lower?

[punxva]

this already exists in water cooled turbos, such as the t25 or t28's

[Slidin240Wayz]

Originally Posted by punxva

this already exists in water cooled turbos, such as the t25 or t28's

I think he means another cooler between the coolant line and the turbo.

I wonder why we put in hot coolant in the turbo though??? Instead of cold(er) coolant.

[punxva]

true, if thats what he's getting at then maybe using a transmission cooler and mounting it out of the bay would work, but i'm not sure how it'd really make any real significant changes, since the turbo is still being cooled with hot oil as well

EDIT ok yeah thats what he was suggesting, sorry for the rush response, i mean it's an idea, but considering most people dont even hook up their water lines, i'm assuming it wouldn't help the turbo last too much longer

[McRussellPants]

You could put a Nascar Valvetrain Cooler on it.

that would be pretty hilarious.

doubt it matters though.

[azndoc]

They have little coolers like for PS fluid, that might work.

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through though.

[Slidin240Wayz]

I'd rather run the line from the lower waterneck instead.

You would be using the radiator as your cooler, though i don't know how the turbo would feel about coolant from that far away.

Carlos

[KA-T_240]

In my opinion it would just be a waste of time and money. You may get a small gain cause your air coming out of the turbo is a bit colder. But having a iced water to air intercooler would do the same thing.

Also, depending on how cold the water would get in said cooler. How would our 1000+deg. turbo like get 60 degree water in it? That is just a scenario.... not saying it could get that cold. But I guess I drove my car when it was 20-30 degrees outside. and that cold plus 20psi is fun!

[J ROK]

so completely technically speaking,,,

down to a gain in atleast 1 horsepower, does everyone think it will work?

and i think a water to air intercooler would make a tremendous difference, but i cant afford one, and its way more work than what im gonna try.

also running a line from the radiator isn't a bad idea either, as long as their is pressure it shouldnt be a problem.like make a fitting off of the single cam temp sensor flange.

[unicoladron]

wtf...just run an FMIC..relatively cheap and highly effective. unless you can easily acquire intercooler cores, endtanks, and can weld with aluminum then go for it.

this link contains detailed information about Liquid/Air intercoolers.

http://www.bellintercoolers.com/pages/LAMain.html

but no...seriously...just get a fmic.

[J ROK]

i do have a front mount, all im worried about in this entire thread is if a mini cooler will give me any more horsepower. even if its just a couple.

[McRussellPants]

yeah, it should get you one horsepower.

[unicoladron]

i understand where you're coming from, but this loss in power can be compensated in other areas (fuel, boost, exhaust). yes, most front mount intercoolers would reduce your charge air pressure but the loss is trivial at about +/- 1psi on most intercoolers. this loss is of course dependant on design/efficiency of the intercooler.

If you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.

-Fight Club

i've been planning on doing an intercooler writeup for zilvia and i'm almost done

[KA-T_240]

There could be power gains. But whether it is worth it or not is the question. There are other ways to gain that power and be more "reliable" like a stand-a-lone and an amazing tune.

[clutch kick drifter]

Originally Posted by Slidin240Wayz

I'd rather run the line from the lower waterneck instead.

You would be using the radiator as your cooler, though i don't know how the turbo would feel about coolant from that far away.

Carlos

No that is a good idea and works. A buddy of mine is using this on his 500hp + SR setup.... almost makes me want to change

[J ROK]

I think slidin240wayZ and clutch kick drifter are the only ones who understand my question. thanks, im gonna run it off my radiator. end of subject.

[clutch kick drifter]

Originally Posted by J ROK

I think slidin240wayZ and clutch kick drifter are the only ones who understand my question. thanks, im gonna run it off my radiator. end of subject.

werd!! Im probally going to change next time i take the turbo off. You should do a write up! Im sure plenty of people would enjoy that if you had the time and/or camera

[Def]

There is no intercooling of the charge air via the water inlet on a turbo? Why would you even think that?

Water jackets on turbo help prevent the CHRA from getting too hot and coking the oil, plus they form a thermosyphon when you shut the car off by boiling the coolant in the water jacket of the turbo and continually drawing fresh coolant in via this boiling until it cools off.


No horsepower gains to speak of....

[kingkilburn]

It doesn't sound like he is after intercooling. More like reliability. Having an oil cooler wont increase your horse power but if I had the money and opportunity I would love the added peace of mind knowing my chances of over heating something would be drastically lower.
I think the OP should do it. If the only thing you gain is a longer life time for the turbo it would be worth it.

[RedStage]

well...it wouldn't hurt anything (or at least it shouldn't) if it adds to your piece of mind and possibly adds some extra mileage to the turbo then give it a shot. Post up pics. Definately something that I haven't heard or seen of anyone doing before.

[GSXRJJordan]

This is lame.

First of all, turbos are really oil cooled while they're running. The water jacket doesn't have anywhere near the surface area that the oil galleries do - the water is just there (as posted above) to cool the CHRA after the engine's off.

That being said, get an oil cooler to extend the life of your turbo.

If you're talking about horsepower, then just cool the charged air more effectively (with ducting/vents to your front mount) or add power through conventional means (more boost).

You trying to cool the turbo down by plumbing the coolant feed line to the radiator won't help much as far as lowering coolant temps to the turbo (its already got it's own feed from the water pump, basically), and you're forgetting that you want the turbine side as hot as possible - hot exhaust flows faster than warm exhaust.

+1 for using your brain though.

[Slidin240Wayz]

Originally Posted by J ROK

I think slidin240wayZ and clutch kick drifter are the only ones who understand my question. thanks, im gonna run it off my radiator. end of subject.

Don't run it off your radiator...on the lower waterneck, after your radiator.

By the time you spend this money, you have taken away money for an AEM or PFC where the $/HP is better.

Carlos

[unicoladron]

excellent note gsxjjordan. in addition to your ducting idea, if the OP wants to use water to cool his intercooler, there is alwasy the option of water spraying the intercooler fins. i've seen some pretty clean homemade versions, and there are kits out there. but it is fairly simple to create a water sprayer for your turbo by using your washer fulid reservior as a water reserve. buuuuut i wouldn't personally do that, i like to clean my windshield.

[projectRDM]

All I can say is air pocket. Big one. The cooler and lines would have to be routed high enough to avoid trapping air, so unless you vented the hood to cool it you're placing the cooler in the stream of hot air from the engine, negating any gains from actually trying to cool it.

Not a bad idea, just not a feasible one.

[Slidin240Wayz]

Originally Posted by projectRDM

All I can say is air pocket. Big one. The cooler and lines would have to be routed high enough to avoid trapping air, so unless you vented the hood to cool it you're placing the cooler in the stream of hot air from the engine, negating any gains from actually trying to cool it.

Not a bad idea, just not a feasible one.

How can you have air pockets if you bleed the system correctly?

I would prefer an oil cooler, before this idea though.

Carlos

[J ROK]

Unicoladron- ive never seen someone so off subject in my life.

i have a greddy oil cooler kit.

and what does OP mean?

[projectRDM]

Originally Posted by Slidin240Wayz

How can you have air pockets if you bleed the system correctly?

I would prefer an oil cooler, before this idea though.

Carlos

The system is harder to bleed with any additional plumbing. Not saying you couldn't, it'd just be more work to bleed it fully with that much extra line.

[GSXRJJordan]

Originally Posted by J ROK

Unicoladron- ive never seen someone so off subject in my life.

i have a greddy oil cooler kit.

and what does OP mean?

He's not off the subject at all - OP means Original Poster.

This whole thread is about gaining horsepower by cooling things, and we've all told you that cooling the turbo itself with coolant isn't the way to do this. Uni took my suggestion to better cool the intercooler a bit further, to include spraying water/windshield washer fluid on it - a common practice in drag racing/etc because as the water evaporates, it takes heat off the intercooler, effectively lowering your intake charge temps and squeaking out a little extra hp.

[johngriff]

Blah.

If you keep cooling the turbo, you are going to be losing hp, not creating it. Its that HOT exhaust gas that motivated the turbo harder/faster. If you cool it down you will be losing hp.

Increasing wear life? Maybe, but its moot when taking russ's points into context.

[smelly240]

get rid of that sissy watercooled stuff :P

seriously tho - its a silly idea that can only make you slower and cause problems