INTERCOOLERS
Turbo Mini Forums

Searching for an intercooler with the least internal pressure loss, less than 2psi
Anyone got any info: ?
its no good going to the breakers yard & firing anything on.
And hoping it will do ! the intercooler is one of the most important parts of the whole kit in a turbo unit.
Can anyone recommend whatever? maybe Mr Avonbar? what does he promote?

Who uses what Guys:
BENROSS:

what about the RS TURBO intercooler???

http://www.Zeemax.com

what you gaining by putting one in????

http://www.Zeemax.com

The RS turbo S2 intercooler is a well designed bit of kit. I offers very good charge cooling and a low pressure drop.

Strangely enough i have a spare on of my garage!!

How big is it? (the intercooler)

Bugger off, I'm getting there.

does it fit well on the left side of the engine and whats the S1 like?? why the S2 and can you Reault 5 in??

http://www.Zeemax.com

Why is the scrapyard trawling no good? That's what i've always been on the lookout for everytime i ever go to a breakers - different intercoolers to consider for their merits and weaknesses. As an engineer you must have researched thomo/fluids? All i did was applied the stuff i learnt from that into my choices of intercooler - then did the testing.

If you go on www.manchesterminis.co.uk, and follwo the link to memebrs cars, and 'turbodave' there are some pics of a modded RST S2 intercooler fitted in the mini...
Can't promise 2psi (you been reading some textbooks by chance?) all i can promise is you WONT find a bettter intercooelr for it's size - it's theoretically more efficient than the R5GT unit going off the core and turbulator design, and i suspect ACTUALLY more efficient aswell - despite the R5GT unit being twice the size...

S1 intercooler proven by flan the man for many years, but I don't like it - far too small an internal area, so probably a high pressure drop, or (assuming few or no internal turbulators) low pressure drop and very low efficiency...
I think there is somethign in the 'technical' section on the manchester minis site about intercoolers aswell.

Also check this post out.
http://forums.turbominis.co.uk/index.php?p=vt&tid=2850

Above all, try and remember - Any intercooler is better than no intercooler (within reason)...

Finally,
"the intercooler is one of the most important parts of the whole kit in a turbo unit".... dude, why are you making an obvious statement like this, in a subject where you're asking for technical stuff?

Edited by turbodave16v on 19th Dec, 2004.

the short the pipe work the better right

http://www.Zeemax.com

Well turbo Dave, I would not expect anything else than a thorough answer of you buddy, ?THANKS? at the moment I have been using a fiesta RS intercooler as this was available at the time for nothing. This works fine but I just wanted to find out more by posing the question who uses what ?
The scrap yard scenario is ok but after market coolers with a specific aim will be better ! But I need to be armed with a little more knowledge than I currently have as this is not my particular forte in which the variation are available, some intercoolers look the part but do they do the job as well as others may? It?s the info you all have provided is welcomed. It has pursued me in quest to gain more! As an engineer for many years there is many threads this takes, chief engineer!!! Quantum physics etc,etc, I lie in-between. I sense a touch of resentment from you.
(Maybe Dave we may have been reading the same book?) LOL, As knowledge don?t come from thin air.

Finally the slight statement I made was, for the benefit of some of the members who are not up to speed on turbo charging it was aimed at gaining there attention, thus to learn through this thread for the benefit of all. THANKS:

looked on the manchester minis and you have a nice spec unit to say the least
thanks once again:

Edited by BENROSS on 19th Dec, 2004.

Fiesta unit is pretty similar to the escort unit, but a little smaller, and they always seem to be have damaged fins on the core...I don't know if it's the location or the design/material though.

The one i'm using is off a Smart car - but these are dual pass ones normally (high thermal efficiency, high pressure drop). I modded mine so its a single pass - I reckon around 40% more internal area than the RST unit - and has a Very similar turbulator density...

I will admit to not knowing a great deal about the insides of intercoolers......
You have the core tubes which are the hollow tubes the (in the case of an intercooler) boosted air runs through.
Then you have the fins which give a larger area for the cooling air passing over the intercooler to remove heat from the core tubes.

But what are these turbulators you talk about Dave?
From very basic reasoning I would think you want the flow to be laminar so that there is a better 'contact' between the fluid moving through the core tubes and the walls of the tubes?

Yes Dave you are right the fiesta cooler I had the same problem as you described, took me hours to straighten them up but am a tight git, fancied shelling out for the ultimate mythical zero cooler if I can find one to shoe horn in, may be in a different position though.
Will look into the smart car cooler Thanks,
Tom, I would like could mention the Turbulators which Dave mentioned, these are the ?fins? you mentioned between the channel divider plates (the core tubes) the core tubes need to be laminar as much as possible, consistent with reliability and practicality. this inturn aids the flow if the cooler is positioned correctley, but its hard in a mini I am sure Dave may agree.

Edited by BENROSS on 20th Dec, 2004.

As i understand it, Turbulators are the 'fins' on the Inner (charge air) tubes. Cheap intercoolers have none - even some of these pretty fabricated alloy ones.

You want the flow to be turbulent, so it will give up it's heat. Not too turbulent that it actually causes a pressure drop through reversion, but certainly turbulent.

Laminar on the ambient air fins however...

Edited by turbodave16v on 20th Dec, 2004.

must admit, never heard off turbulators etc on intercoolers so quite interesting reading, certainly heard them used on cooling holes etc on the turbine nozzles etc we use at work!!

They're certainly called that on the inner ones - but I'm not sure what the correct designation on the 'ambient' fins is though...

D

i shouldnt really mention mine cos jon gets upset,its aluminium comes off a german sports car and is made by pace,fits where your rad normally goes and my mate has two of them for sale,

Who Porsche??

Mine is from the Mother land!!..Dagenham!!!

But my new one is from Solihull i think????

Dave, are the Turbulator fins you are talking about the same as "bar and pipe" exchangers (Finned inside and outside) or are they something completely different. I would have thought that wrinkled fins to increase the turbulence would have caused a bigger pressure drop and not much more to be gained than finned tubes. From what I remember, the film thickness is proportional to the size of the pipe and velocity of the gas. So if you break one channel up into bits, you decrease the relative film thickness. It was a long time ago that I read this stuff and I gave my book to a mate.

Bugger off, I'm getting there.

I always thought that the internal 'Turbulators' were to increase surface area, which is what a heat exchanger is all about, rather then create turbulance.

It then becomes a trade-off between turbulence (and hense pressure drop) and transfer of heat.

Mine has quite neet little internal 'turbulators' and rounded tubes (which help air-flow through it, which is also a point worth considering). Its main problem is the design of the inlet and outlet. Also most oy you mo-fos won't have a chance of fitting it under your bonnet.

one day I'll measure the pressure drop across it.

Wil

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

less that a 2 psi pressure drop.

From that you could use any intercooler ever made !!! just dont flow much air through it and you'll be fine !! lol

Pressure drop across them depends on how much air you put through it.

After studying the pros and cons of intercooling there is certainly more to it than meets the eye,
it would be nice to fit an IC with a pressure drop of less than 2psi Or none,! but at what boost & flow rates? After chrimbo am plumbing in two pressure gauges & temp gauges combined,
One before IC & one after.
this coupled together with my enquiries & TD inspiring me should prove fruitful for next year.:cool:
Considering the aspect of a staggered cooler for space purposes.

Edited by BENROSS on 22nd Dec, 2004.