An intercooler, or charge air cooler, is an air-to-air or air-to-liquid heat exchange device used on turbocharged and supercharged internal combustion engines to improve their volumetric efficiency by increasing intake air charge density through isochoric cooling. A decrease in air intake temperature provides a denser intake charge to the engine and allows more air and fuel to be combusted per engine cycle, increasing the output of the engine. Intercooler is a rock band out of Brisbane, Australia. ... A charge air cooler (also known as an intercooler) is used to cool engine air after it has passed through a turbo charger, but before it enters the engine. ... A heat exchanger is a device built for efficient heat transfer from one fluid to another, whether the fluids are separated by a solid wall so that they never mix, or the fluids are directly contacted. ... Turbo redirects here. ... A supercharger (also known as a blower) is an air compressor used to force more air (and hence more oxygen) into the combustion chamber(s) of an internal combustion engine than can be achieved at ambient atmospheric pressure (natural aspiration). ... A colorized automobile engine The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of fuel and an oxidizer (typically air) occurs in a confined space called a combustion chamber. ... Volumetric efficiency in internal combustion engine design refers to the efficiency with which the engine can move the charge into and out of the cylinders. ... Isochoric Process in the PV-diagram An isochoric process, also called an isometric process or an isovolumetric process, is a thermodynamic process in which the volume stays constant; . This implies that the process does no pressure-volume work, since such work is defined by , where P is pressure (no minus...

The inter prefix in the device name originates from historic compressor designs. In the past, aircraft engines were built with charge air coolers that were installed between multiple stages of supercharging, thus the designation of inter. Modern automobile designs are technically designated aftercoolers because of their placement at the end of supercharging chain. This term is now considered archaic in modern automobile terminology since almost all production vehicles have single-stage superchargers. A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. ... Car redirects here. ...

Intercoolers can vary dramatically in size, shape, and design, depending on the performance and space requirements of the entire supercharger system. Common spatial designs are front mounted intercoolers (FMIC), top mounted intercoolers (TMIC), hybrid mount intercoolers (HMIC). Each type can be cooled with an air-to-air system, air-to-liquid system, or a combination of both.

Applications to supercharging

The engine bay of a 2003 MINI Cooper S—the top mounted intercooler is circled in red.

Interior close up view of an air to air intercooler.

Exterior of the same intercooler core.

Turbochargers and superchargers are engineered to force more air mass into an engine's intake manifold and combustion chamber. Intercooling is a method used to compensate for heating caused by supercharging, a natural byproduct of the semi-adiabatic compression process. Increased boost pressure can result in an excessively hot intake charge, significantly reducing the performance gains of supercharging due to decreased density. Increased intake charge temperature can also increase the cylinder combustion temperature, causing detonation, excessive wear, or heat damage to an engine block. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 236 KB) Summary The engine bay of a 2003 BMW MINI CooperS with the intercooler circled in red. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 236 KB) Summary The engine bay of a 2003 BMW MINI CooperS with the intercooler circled in red. ... The BMW or New MINI is a car produced by BMW since 2001. ... A top mounted intercooler (TMIC) is an automotive intercooler mounted within the engine bay, above the engine. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Turbo redirects here. ... A supercharger (also known as a blower) is an air compressor used to force more air (and hence more oxygen) into the combustion chamber(s) of an internal combustion engine than can be achieved at ambient atmospheric pressure (natural aspiration). ... In automotive engineering, an intake manifold or inlet manifold is a part of an engine that supplies the fuel/air mixture to the cylinders. ... This article covers adiabatic processes in thermodynamics. ... For other uses, see Density (disambiguation). ... Knocking (also called pinking or pinging)— colloquially detonation—in internal combustion engines occurs when air/fuel mixture in the cylinder detonates or ignites prior to the timed pre-set conditions in the engines cylinder(s). ... An engine block is the main part of an internal combustion engine. ...

Passing a compressed and heated intake charge through an intercooler reduces its temperature (due to heat rejection) and pressure (due to flow restriction of fins). If properly engineered, the net result is an increase in density. This increases system performance by recovering some losses of the inefficient compression process by rejecting heat to the atmosphere. Additional cooling can be provided by externally spraying fluid on the intercooler surface, or even in the intake air itself, to further reduce intake charge temperature through evaporative cooling. Water injection is a method for cooling the combustion chambers of engines by adding water to the incoming fuel-air mixture, allowing for greater compression ratios and largely eliminating the problem of engine knocking. ... Evaporative cooling is a system in which latent heat of evaporation is used to carry heat away from an object to cool it. ...

Intercoolers that exchange their heat directly with the atmosphere are designed to be mounted in areas of an automobile with maximum air flow. These types are mainly mounted in front mounted systems (FMIC). Cars such as the Nissan Skyline, Saab, Dodge SRT-4, 1st gen Mazda MX-6 and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and all use front mounted intercooler(s) mounted near the front bumper, in line with the car's radiator. The Nissan Skyline is a mid-size car originally produced by the Japanese automaker Prince Motor Company starting in 1957 and later by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1966. ... Saab Automobile AB is automobile manufacturing company in Sweden, and is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of the General Motors Corporation. ... For the Dodge Caliber SRT-4, see Dodge Caliber SRT-4. ... The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, colloquially known as the Lancer Evo, is a car manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. ...

Many older turbo-charged cars, such as the Toyota Supra (JZA80 only), Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo, Mitsubishi 3000gt, Saab 900, Volkswagen, Audi, and Turbo Mitsubishi Eclipse use side-mounted air-to-air intercoolers (SMIC), which are mounted in the front corner of the bumper or in front of one of the wheels. Side-mounted intercoolers are generally smaller, mainly due to space constraints, and sometimes two are used to gain the performance of a larger, single intercooler. Cars such as the Subaru Impreza WRX, MINI Cooper S, Toyota Celica GT-Four, Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, MAZDASPEED3, MAZDASPEED6 and the PSA Peugeot Citroën turbo diesels, use air-to-air top mounted intercoolers (TMIC) located on top of the engine. Air is directed through the intercooler through the use of a hood scoop. In the case of the PSA cars the air intake is the grille above the front bumper, then flows through under-hood ducting. Top mounted intercoolers sometimes suffer from heat diffusion due to proximity with the engine, warming them and reducing their overall efficiency. Some World Rally Championship cars use a reverse-induction system design whereby air is forced through ducts in the front bumper to a horizontally-mounted intercooler. This article is about the automobile. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Mitsubishi GTO. (Discuss) To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1984 Saab 900 Turbo 16 S Aero The 900 is a car that was made by Saab Automobile from 1978 until 1998 in two generations. ... VW redirects here. ... Audi AG, more commonly known as Audi, is a premium German automobile manufacturer and one of the worlds leading performance-luxury marques, with headquarters in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. ... The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a two-door, four-seat sport compact automobile that has been in production since 1989 for left hand drive markets including the United States, Canada, and Taiwan. ... For the high-performance version of the Impreza WRX, see the Subaru Impreza WRX STI The Subaru Impreza WRX, is a turbocharged version of the Subaru Impreza, a two wheel automobile. ... The BMW or New MINI is a car produced by BMW since 2001. ... The Toyota Celica GT-Four is a high performance model of the Celica liftback, with a turbocharged 3S-GTE engine, and full-time 4WD. It was created to compete in the World Rally Championship, whose regulations dictate that a manufacturer must built road-going versions of the vehicle in sufficient... The GTI-R (chassis code RNN14 - aka GTiR, i-R and R) is a special and unique vehicle that was manufactured by Nissan in 1990 in order to enter the WRC under Group A rules. ... The Mazdaspeed3 or Mazdaspeed Axela is a sport compact hatchback introduced by Mazdaspeed for the 2007 model year, as a performance-enhanced version of the Mazda3. ... The 2006 MAZDASPEED6 (known as Mazdaspeed Atenza in Japan and Mazda 6 MPS in Europe and Australia) is a high-performance version of the Mazda 6. ... PSA Peugeot Citroën (PSA) is a vehicle company that owns the marques Peugeot and Citroën. ... A hood scoop is an air vent on a car hood which usually sends air over an intercooler. ... The World Rally Championship (WRC) is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. ...

Fitting an after market front mount intercooler to a car with a factory installed top mount.

Because FMIC systems require open bumper design for optimal performance, the entire system is vulnerable to debris. Some engineers choose other mount locations due to this reliability concern. FMICs can be located in front of or behind the radiator, depending on the heat dissipation needs of the engine. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Aftermarket is an umbrella term for the collective network of vendors who design and sell vehicular components that are intended to replace the stock manufacturers parts in order to alter the appearance or performance of the vehicle. ...

As well as allowing a greater volume of air to be admitted to an engine, intercoolers have a key role in controlling the internal temperatures in a turbocharged engine. When fitted with a turbo (as with any form of supercharging), the engine's specific power is increased, leading to higher combustion and exhaust temperatures. The exhaust gases passing through the turbine section of the turbocharger are usually around 450 deg. Celsius (840 deg. Fahrenheit), but can be as high as 650 deg. C. (1200 deg. F.) under extreme conditions. This heat passes through the turbocharger unit and contributes to the heating of the air being compressed in the compressor section of the turbo. If left uncooled this hot air enters the engine, further increasing internal temperatures. This leads to a build up of heat that will eventually stablise, but this may be at temperatures in excess of the engine's design limits- 'hot spots' at the piston crown or exhaust valve can cause warping or cracking of these components. This effect is especially found in modified or tuned engines running at very high specific power outputs. An efficient intercooler removed heat from the air in the induction system, preventing the cyclic heat build-up via the turbocharger, allowing higher power outputs to be achieved without damage. In engineering, specific power (sometimes also power per unit mass or power density) refers to the amount of power delivered by an energy source, divided by some measure of the sources size or mass. ... For other uses, see Celsius (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fahrenheit (disambiguation). ... For the American composer, see Walter Piston. ...

Air-to-liquid intercoolers

Air-to-liquid intercoolers (aka Charge-Air-Coolers) are heat exchangers that reject intake charge heat to an intermediate fluid, usually water, which finally rejects heat to the air. These systems use radiators in other locations, usually due to space constraints, to reject unwanted heat, similar to an automotive radiator cooling system. Air-to-liquid intercoolers are usually heavier than their air-to-air counterparts due to additional components making up the system (water circulation pump, radiator, fluid, and plumbing). The Toyota Celica GT-Four had this system in the 1988-89 version and also in the Carlos Sainz RC Version. A heat exchanger is a device built for efficient heat transfer from one fluid to another, whether the fluids are separated by a solid wall so that they never mix, or the fluids are directly contacted. ... The Toyota Celica GT-Four is a high performance model of the Celica liftback, with a turbocharged 3S-GTE engine, and full-time 4WD. It was created to compete in the World Rally Championship, whose regulations dictate that a manufacturer must built road-going versions of the vehicle in sufficient... Carlos Sainz (born April 12, 1962 in Madrid, Spain) is a now retired rally driver who competed in the sport from 1980 to 2005. ...

A big advantage of the air-to-liquid setup is the lower overall pipe and intercooler length, which offers faster response (lowers turbo lag)^{[citation needed]}, giving peak boost faster than most front-mount intercooler setups. Some setups can use reservoirs that can have ice put into it for intake temperatures lower than ambient air, giving a big advantage (but of course, ice would need constant replacement).

Ford had adopted the technology when they decided to use forced induction (via Supercharger) on their Mustang Cobra and Ford Lightning truck platforms. It uses a water-cooled intercooler inside the intake manifold, just under the supercharger, and has a long heat exchanger front mounted, all powered by a Bosch pump made for Ford. Ford still uses this technology today with their Shelby GT500 A 1993 Ford Lightning (First Generation) The Ford SVT Lightning is a sports/ performance version of the F-150 Pickup truck designed by Fords truck-division and eventually released and marketed by the then-new SVT(Special Vehicle Team) division. ... 1966 Shelby GT-350R Racing Version The Shelby Mustang was a tuner sports car from the 1960s. ...