Air to air vs water to air intercoolers

[Jake.h71]

Hey guys
I was recently thinking of upgrading my top mount intercooler to a front mount on my 2004 liberty gt, after some further thought the option of a water to air intercooler came to mind.
What is everyones views on air to air vs water to air intercoolers?
Pros and cons for either in regards to installation, performance and price?
Cheers jake

[Adrian2627]

Basically WTA ICs are more efficient in terms of cooling but are heavier and more complicated. If you are going for big power or live in the city and do a lot of stop-start driving they'd be a good investment as heat soak is minimised. For street power levels bang for buck a good top mount would do the job. For track work a front mount or WTA would work well but you'd have to weigh up the cost and weight differences. Plasmaman does some great WTA systems that are scaleable depending on power requirements.

[Jake.h71]

Thanks Adrian
I'm sorta neutral at the moment in the sense that Ive both talked myself into and out of buying either one haha but as I'm aiming for a stealthy appearance I'm sort of leaning toward a wta or painting a front mount black.

Cheers jake

[jslayz]

I love my WTA system as it can flow up to 1200cfm and has smaller internal volume than a TMIC and way less volume than a FMIC.
Mounting the pump n sorting electrical power is the tricky part.

Go for it but be aware you will spend some $$ on silicone and joiners to plumb the intake path.

J

[Jake.h71]

Thanks j! You wouldn't happen to have any pics of your setup?
Cheers jake

[BillyCorgi]

Everything else being equal, air to air intercoolers are more efficient than air to water type.

An air to air unit only has one layer of sensible heat transfer and one layer of thermal resistance.
That is from the heated air in the engine intake stream, through the heat exchanger body, through to the external air over the intercooler body.

An air to water type has two layers of sensible heat transfer and two layers of thermal resistance.
The first is from the heated air in the engine intake stream, through the heat exchanger body, through to the circulating water.
The second is from the circulating water, through the front mount radiator body, through to the external air.

Think of the heat transfer as a bit like an electrical circuit.
Electrical current flow is proportional to the Voltage Potential divided by the electrical resistance
The thermal analogy is; Heat flow is proportional to the Temperature Potential (temperature difference) divided by the thermal resistance.
Add additional layers of thermal resistance and the heat transfer rate reduces.

As the heat transfer is only sensible heat, the circulating water may never be cooler than the ambient temperature.

The way to go is to take advantage of the heat of vaporisation of water.
Put a water spray on the air to air intercooler.
The water spray will provide an evaporative cooling effect, reducing the temperature of the ambient air on the outside of the intercooler, increasing the temperature difference which will increase the rate of heat transfer, reducing the temperature of the air in the intake airstream.

[jslayz]

Great post.

Unfortunately, all else is not equal, the volume of the air after a maf then to the throttle plate is dramatically different between the systems.
Small volume here equates to response .....

On my setup I noticed it after going from PW TMIC to the WTA setup.

J

[shav]

Frozen Boost do kits to suit what you need and are not that complicated if you know what you are doing. The hardest part is knowing where to easily mount the heat exchanger. The cost is getting the custom pipe work to fit nicely.

[Jake.h71]

J would it be possible for you to pm me some pics of your setup?
And shav do you reckon plumbing it yourself would be a good and easy option? I have experience in sheet metal work from making and welding in patch panels would you say this is adieu ate experience? Lmfao I'm seriously considering doing this all myself
Cheers jake

[shav]

J would it be possible for you to pm me some pics of your setup?
And shav do you reckon plumbing it yourself would be a good and easy option? I have experience in sheet metal work from making and welding in patch panels would you say this is adieu ate experience? Lmfao I'm seriously considering doing this all myself
Cheers jake

If you have the means to bend some 3" pipe then it's all well and truly possible.

As far as plumbing it yourself, that's not hard. You will need access to some quality hose for the water to transfer too and from the heat exchanger in line with your water pump.

Honestly I used something like this kit except I went the upgraded Bosch Cobra water pump and different core type to suit the space needed. This was for my previous car, not the lib btw. https://www.frozenboost.com/liquid-air- ... 5fd30ac7e7

The cooling fan was wired in conjunction with the thermo kicking in to ensure everything was getting the air as much as the radiator.

Placement of the core is crucial as it will lay the foundation for your pipework. Then it's a matter of making sure there is clearance with the bonnet when in the closed position.

Removing all air out of the water lines is also important to ensure you are maximizing the cooling effects of the core.

[Jake.h71]

Cheers shav you brought up some good points to think about haha it's much like a radiator

[jslayz]

J would it be possible for you to pm me some pics of your setup?
And shav do you reckon plumbing it yourself would be a good and easy option? I have experience in sheet metal work from making and welding in patch panels would you say this is adieu ate experience? Lmfao I'm seriously considering doing this all myself
Cheers jake

Skip through my build thread.
Mid last year I think I put it on.

I choose large units due to end goals of my lib.

FMIC & WTA trounce the TMIC for heat soak issues.