Radiator and Intercooler air flow setup questions

[KansaiDrifter]

Hey I'm in the process of fitting the new radiator and intercooler for my 2013 pro-am car, there's a few different possibilities so I'd like to see if anyone has a good background with this topic.

First the radiator is a dual row Griffin with 1.25" tubes, it's 26x16x3, next the intercooler is a Vibrant that specs out at (core size) 22x9x3.25. Both are rated for ~600hp.

Would I be better off mounting the intercooler up tight against the radiator or away from it? Either way there will be >~6" of direct air to the radiator since the core is only 9" wide.

Another concern I had is if I mount the intercooler tight against the radiator, I'm thinking the fan will pull air from the bottom 6" of easy pulling air instead of through the intercooler and radiator, path of least resistance so not benefiting the setup at all.

If anyone has knowledge on these ideas I'd much appreciate the conversation! :D

p.s. I'll try to get a pic up, photobucket is down apparently

[Croustibat]

Car manufacturers stick them together. It wont be any good to have them separated unless you duct them real good.

I'd say the problem you may have is your radiator and intercooler are very thick and probably not suited to work correctly if stacked. You are going to need serious air ducting and vent if you want some flow in there :/

try to do something like that : (front of car)=<IC and rad>=exit (hood or lateral)

the first part, where ducts grow from small to big, converts flow into pressure, which is ok because you have quite a lot of flow. The second converts pressure into flow, which is even better as it will create a depression there.

This allows smaller openings ( equals less drag) for the same or sometimes even better cooling.

The first part works the same way as a flat floor with a diffuser, so it has the same problem: it needs to be solid, and have a not too steep angle or flow will detach. 7-10° angle works fine.

[KansaiDrifter]

Thanks for the info, I'm going to be definitely building some ducting for the air flow, here's a few pics of my setup

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/rh4motorsports/102_3812.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/rh4motorsports/102_3816.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/rh4motorsports/102_3815.jpg


Here's my current front bumper and hood, though I might change them later
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/rh4motorsports/6098927868_1570128086_o.jpg

[godsmack]

i would space them a little bit so you can pull air through the intercooler then make duct to the entire radiator. not sure if you'll have any problems with cooling that way but you could try it out and if it doesn't work pull the duct off and test that.

[godsmack]

but by looking at the pics with the intercooler up like that you're not gonna get good flow to it even if you duct up to it from the bumper.

[Croustibat]

i would rather put the intercooler covering the lower part of the rad; then use your upper bumper hole with ducts to cool the upper part of the rad, and duct the lower bumper hole to cool the intercooler and the lower part of the rad. Exits need to be separated too.

This way, the hottest part of the radiator gets the freshest air.


I can see many problems in your pics though ...
1/ your hood is open. This means air ENTERS near the windshield (it is a high pressure zone). Close it and seal the hood.

2/you are drifting, meaning air does not enter through the front. You could try some ducting on the lateral bumper holes to direct air to radiators when being on angle. If you dont, by all mean close them. Even with duct tape.

3/you are drifting, meaning you are likely not going fast enough to get airflow through those thick radiators.

finally, please tell me you kept the undertray or made one to fit .

[godsmack]

^^ i agree with everything but the hood being open. reason being is that it's a proven method to keep the temps down in the engine bay by doing this. it gives the hot air an easier escape since hot air rises and plus with the air going over the car from normal driving acts like a vacuum and helps to pull the air out. it will still to this with the vented hood also.

[oni jake]

Hey OP, I'm sure you're looking for scientific calculated engineering answers to your questions of a mid-mount setup, so I'll go ahead and first tell you that this post isn't it.

However, I have a similiar mid-mount setup on my car with an even bigger intercooler. Godspeed garbage and a KOYO rad. I sealed the mating surfaces between the two with foam tape to help ensure proper air flow through the IC. Any sort of high temperature foam tape will do.

Something of this nature is what you're looking for: Ozbo: 3/4x7/16 Black SpongeTape (http://ozbo.com/3-4x7-16-BLK-SpongeTape-Thermwell-R734H.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=3688&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=4857522d313934303031&gclid=CJ6J-uuCgrICFUGo4AodUnMAYw)

Whatever you do, you don't want these two touching each other in anyway. Vibration alone can rub through the aluminum within a single event.

Secondly, your hood vent is important to the cooling issue, but that is generally the last step. You never mentioned anything about what will be pulling the air. Fans are generally the single most overlooked viewpoint of cooling design. I'm a huge fan of stock fan and shroud because it pulls somewhere around 3,500 cfm. Unlike e-fans which are at a static velocity, the stock clutch fan pulls more when you drive more. My current setup includes a mid-mount with stock fan, and I can run hot lap after hot lap and reach max temps of 92*C.

I'm really unsure about my intake temperatures and the only thing I can offer as some sort of claim is even after abusing the car for hot lap sessions, I can get out and rest my hand comfortably on the intake manifold. I know, its not a definitive scientific claim, but it was good enough for me to believe the I.C. is getting enough air flow.

And for visual reference, this is my setup from last year. Not much as changed other than making it look pretty.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/411890_244998315603851_1495376175_o.jpg

[TheWolf]

A 24" wide intercooler traveling at a 45 degree angle is just 17" long to the air. So the instant you begin to travel sideways you loose 30+% of airflow. This is assuming that when traveling sideways the airflow is unimpeded to the radiator/intercooler by body work. By placing them together, you create a long but solid airflow channel. The problem is the radiator could pre-heatsoak the intercooler due to ambient heat so you'll want to leave an airgap of 1" and duct the two as one. Foam/cardboard will work fine for ducting. As to raising the hood= removing air. Yes it does but unless the bottom of the car has an under tray, the air that is leaving isn't coming from the radiator.

[Kingtal0n]

here's a few pics of my setup


http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h153/rh4motorsports/102_3816.jpg



observation... that does not look like an SR20 radiator, unless you modified the outlets on the engine.