I have a 455 with a Vortech SuperCharger but no intercooler. I was thinking about adding an intercooler but am not sure which intercooler to get (size/type air-liquid). I am also wondering if the performance increase is significant enough to make the investment. Any thoughts (meaningful ones)? o No: Chuck
I make 10 #s of boost at about 6000 rpm. I saw some guy (you?) on YouTube using methynol injection in a buick but I'm not sure what it is. I wrote to Snow Performance who make a Water-Methynol injection system called the Boost Cooler. Vortech has an aftercooler, same thing - I wrote to them too.. Do you use it?
With a Vortech your plumbing lends itself well to an air/air intercooler, and yes it will most definitely help if you are running any significant amount of boost. Don't go small though, you're pumping a lot of air through there. Volumes can and have been written comparing the pros and cons of different types of intercoolers and a great deal depends on your use of the car. The intercooler itself has thermal mass and it is cooled by the intake charge under normal conditions. During boost it will absorb a certain amount of heat before it even begins to transfer that heat out. Usually an air/liquid system will have higher thermal mass and thus higher initial capacity but it is more complicated and may ultimately be more limited by exchanger size. If you will not be under boost for more than a few seconds at a time thermal mass can really boost the effectiveness of an otherwise too small intercooler but for 1/4 mile runs just the normal components may not be enough to do that. One interesting thought is to add an insulated reservoir to an air/liquid system and plumb the vehicle's A/C through it to cool the reservoir just prior to a run. A little experimentation could go a long ways on such a system. On my car, which isn't built for the 1/4, I'm rarely at WOT for more than a few seconds at a time. I get by with a small intercooler based on heat-pipe technology. Between the thermal mass and the rapid transfer of the ethanol coolant it does the job for that few seconds that it needs to do and then cools back down. So there are many unexplored paths to this goal. Jim
I have used it on customers pump gas cars and it has worked well. If you only plan on 10lbs of boost, then boost cooler would be a easy solution to a lot of plumbing. It allows you to add back in timing and lean out the mixture. With any blown combo, intercooler or not, the only way to really tune it in perfectly will be with a wideband O2 setup. Best money you'll spend next to the blower itself.
One possibility for an intercooler that is new (and pretty slick) is the "interfreezer" - have a look at this http://www.cryofuzion.com/products.htm#Interfreezer -Bob C.
If you do any driving on the street and highways it would be better to have the intercooler setup so that the hot air is being cooled all the time. I run the meth inj. right now and will be going to a intercooler setup this winter. But if it is a track only vehicle or very limited street use i would go with the meth inj., it will save you a lot of plumbing and money. Im running on #10 also and able to run 30 degrees on 93 octane with 9.3 compression.
I run both Meth and intercooler with 10psi and have for the last 4 years with good success. Just ran meth in the beginning, but the addition of the intercooler made the care way more consistant at the track and happier on the street. Check out TreadStoneperformace incoolers. Nice pieces for the money! --Rich
That sounds about right. I suspect the CO2 "interfreezer" will use a lot of high pressure carbon dioxide over a relatively short period of time and those bottles have some weight. The water/alky injection is the simplest and cheapest route to a solution. They used that on the factory Olds Jetfire turbo 215 V8 in the early sixties. With 11:1 compression and 6 lbs of boost it worked well as long as there was fluid in the reservoir. I haven't decided which way to go on the 340. A roots style blower is better suited to an air/liquid/air system from a packaging perspective but a pump is required. The heat-pipe unit, although it worked on my 215 is unproven technology because I never did map the temp across the core. I was running 16lbs+ on 8.5:1 compression and it did fine until I started having head gasket issues. I'd have to say that was on the ragged edge though and an oil cooler would have been a big help. One thing to keep in mind is that the blower does not produce heat until it begins to pressurize the air. So just tooling about, cruising, etc, the intercooler is just along for the ride. In fact, the venturi effect of being drawn through the partially closed throttle plates will actually create a slight cooling effect in the intake tract. Add fuel and the heat needed to vaporize it cools the intake a bit more. Once you're into boost though the heat can build rapidly and the longer and heavier you're in boost the more heat you make so you should plan your intercooler based on how much boost you will be using. Something like a Pike's Peak car or a Bonneville car would be about the most demanding applications, whereas a light street car with an oversize engine would arguably be the least. Jim
So Rich, which intercooler did you intall? When on the street, do you just adjust the water/methynol boost level to a point where it just does kick in? I ordered the Snow Stage2... but sounds like an intercooler positively adds to the mix... I'll take a look at the Interfreezer.. Let me know.. Chuck
Hey Rick, Could you tell me more about the wideband O2 setup. Is is some sort of controller? I ordered the Snow Performance Stage 2 Boost Cooler.. Do you recommend a specific O2 setup? Let me know. Chuck
The O2 sensor and guage will let you monitor you air/fuel ratio to make sure its tuned right and everything is running like it should. If your going to run the meth inj. make sure you get an O2 guage that reads in lambda otherwise when the meth is injected the guage will just peg the rich side and give you a false reading.
I have a FAST - Dual Sensor Air/Fuel meter and am checking to see if it reads lambda... not installed yet.. This is what I have: http://www.fuelairspark.com/Catalogs/F2006-4/new/AFMFLYERcomplete.pdf Chuck
The FAST system should work. The nice thing about the Stg 2 boost cooller is the controller. You can set at what boost PSI you want it to activate, then what boost PSI you want a 100%.
I went with the 4 inch thick Virtical flow over and under (procharger like design) with 3 inch inlet and outlet. I tried about 3 others before sticking with this one. For the money it can't be beat. My Alky setup is like yours only SMC and not Snow's. I have t come on @ 3psi, and progressivly spray more until 10psi then it's all in. SMC has been building alky kits for GN's for many many years.... Sorry for the late response, I'm currently in the UK on Biz....
This was the response I got from FAST about lambda.... "The meter will not display straight Lambda. It takes lambda and then applies a multiplier to get the displayed value. The multiplier for gasoline is 14.7, so if the meter displays 11.5:1Air/Fuel ratio, you divide 11.5 by 14.7 and that gives you .782 Lambda. If you know what lambda you are looking for, then just multiply it by 14.7 and you will know what to look for on the Meter's display." I have to figure out where and how to mount the controller and bottle. Any thoughts....got the trunk kit but am not sure if that's where I'll mount it. I have a fuel cell back there already.. there is some room though. I so appreciate all your input guys...
That's one reason I went with the LM1 WideBand. It does both readings and the price is right on them........ As for the alky, I stuck my controler under the metal piece at teh very bottom of my dash right above my floor shifter, and the alky bottle and pump under the hood between the radiator and fenders.
Yes..... Been on the road with the charger on it for 5 years now. Stock Block, Rods, Crank, Heads............. Lots of abuse and FUN!
