Thread: Just a thought about how to cool the inlet air
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Old Jun 14, 2008 | 09:21 AM
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waldig
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From: VA
Default Just a thought about how to cool the inlet air
I have been thinking that the inlet air to the engine could be cooled, for those that want to get the max power by doing an experiment.

This is an off the wall idea that I have been kicking around and wanted to gather the ideas from the forum to evaluate it. "Splinter" has sent me a great graphic of the heater box air flow path to help evaluate the idea.

The air conditioner has a terrific cooling capacity and I was looking at moving the water lines from the intercooler to include the cars heater core. It goes like this: I believe that the intercooler lines could be connected to the car heater lines so that the water goes from the H/E to the pump to the heater core to the intercooler and back to the H/E. This would be in the summer only. Have I lost ya yet, have faith.

With the A/C turned on; the A/C coil will be cooling the cabin air. By turning on the controls so that the heater is on, this cool air would pass through the heater coil before coming out of the vents and therefore cool the water in it( the water that is going to the intercooler on the supercharger).

Now the heater is rejecting heat into the heater box which is cooled by the air conditioner. If you switch the cooler to cold the air that is cooled will bypass the heater coil and give you normal air conditioning. This seems like a free lunch deal and I dont see the downfall. You will get more power from the cooled inlet air and you will have to give up some power to operate the compressor (A/C).

The airconditioner probably has about one ton in cooling capacity. American cars are more so I believe that Iam conservative here, you all will be the judge of that. A ton of cooling is 2000 pounds of ice melting in one day or 24 hours. That is 288,000 BTU's in 24 hours or 12,000 BTUS per hour. A BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise one pound of water one degree F. Thats a lot, in another way to look at this that the A/C system can provide the cooling of about 80 pounds of ice per hour or about 1.3 per minute.

Its a silly idea possibly, but could be tested by swapping around the heater core hoses to test the thought and a minimum of expense. The proposed cooling method is after the H/E so the A/C should have a significant effect, and it is available anytime without having to carry Ice around.

Ok I said it, what are your thoughts?????? Iam thinking that Brian would be the first to think this through and possibly try it on his baked potato.

By the way you would not have to have the heater settings set to 100% cool or heat as a blend might be enough to cool the S/C before a drag race or so.

Laugh and Enjoy, Woody
 
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