no intercooler ???

[krawczuk]

hi, what pro`s and con`s are there in not having a intercooler ?
its bit of a long story , but i was thinking of doing away with my intercooler on the 3.8.

thanks,
mark k

 

[BlackMetal]

hi, what pro`s and con`s are there in not having a intercooler ?
its bit of a long story , but i was thinking of doing away with my intercooler on the 3.8.

thanks,
mark k

Can't imagine any "pros" to removing it, why are you thinking it would be a good idea? Tell us what you have planned and we'll see if it's a good idea.

 

[Boost231]

cons are increased intake charge temps. pros weight savings

 

[CTX-SLPR]

Might I point to this tech article to say its not all bad.
Removing the Intercooler
I believe he also did an experiment with a simular setup with a PAC alky system in the same pipe setup and found that its not as effective full out but better for hot lapping. The only downside to chemical intercooling is that its active and if you run out, have a pump failure, or someother malfuction it can cost you a headgasket if the knock sensor doesn't catch on fast enough.

 

[BlackMetal]

Interesting article. Nothing wrong with trying something new, but as mentioned above, if something broke or failed with that sort of set-up, you'd be screwed.

 

[Jack Armstrong]

Points to Ponder

With a meth/h20 injection system with low-fuel warning lights (for those who don't monitor it themselves), "running out of meth" would not be very likely.
(If that's a real concern, 5-gal. trunk mount reservoirs are available.)

How many actual pump failures have ever been reported?

How many stories of: "I blew my motor because my meth/h20 system failed"?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

No need to remove the factory TR intercooler just for a minimal reduction
in weight, but with the excellent meth/h20 systems available today,
there's really no *need* to replace the stock IC on a street/strip TR.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Guys putting Paxtons & Prochargers on their NA engines skip all the
optional intercooler hardware by running a meth/h20 injection system.


HTH --- :smile:

 

[Alky V6]

Heck, I'm running pure methanol and I can see the benefits of keeping my intercooler. What's wrong with this picture?

 

[BetMinesFaster]

With a meth/h20 injection system with low-fuel warning lights (for those who don't monitor it themselves), "running out of meth" would not be very likely.
(If that's a real concern, 5-gal. trunk mount reservoirs are available.)

How many actual pump failures have ever been reported?

How many stories of: "I blew my motor because my meth/h20 system failed"?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

No need to remove the factory TR intercooler just for a minimal reduction
in weight, but with the excellent meth/h20 systems available today,
there's really no *need* to replace the stock IC on a street/strip TR.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Guys putting Paxtons & Prochargers on their NA engines skip all the
optional intercooler hardware by running a meth/h20 injection system.


HTH --- :smile:

Where can one find a 5 gallon tank for methanol?? I have an alkycontrol kit and I daily drive my car with a heavy foot, I would love to fill up less:biggrin:

 

[Alky V6]

Why do guys elect to use superchargers over much more efficient turbochargers in the first place? It's simple. They hate the cost and the plumbing part of installing a turbo system. That's what they've told me, anyway. Not a surprise to me that they wouldn't want to bother with aftercooler plumbing too. Sure, you can get away with just meth injection to a point for the street, but all the heavy hitters that I have ever seen, turbocharging or supercharging, don't rely on a simple meth injection system to provide ALL the intake charge cooling. On contrare, they put the biggest, baddest liquid intercooler system they can fit into every open space the car has available and ice the holy moly out of it. That should give you guys just a little clue. With methanol, it is well known that there is more power to be had closer to the lean edge of the tuneup window. So why do top alcohol and alcohol funny cars run in the range of low 3s to one and NO AFTERCOOLER? There is one very good reason. They HAVE TO run these super rich mixtures to cool the temps to below preignition levels because they're NOT ALLOWED to run aftercoolers. Want to bet that if they were allowed and could, they would? When a methanol burning car is cooled properly, the fuel can have an equivalent octane rating of around 150. Why wouldn't you do everything in your power to keep that charge as cool as possible. If temps aren't right, then yes methanol will preignite with spectacular results.

Has anyone ever run out of methanol and hurt their engine? What kind of question is that? Of course its happened. Anything that can happen, will happen. It happened to one of my customers during a full bore run on the street. He was a little busy and wasn't watching for the little warning light. The damage was very nasty. Well beyond just a blown head gasket. Both Champion irons bowed beyond repair. Poor fella. And he had an aftercooler on top of that. Imagine if he didn't. I for one, would rather not.