I have been browsing around the net and I came across a diagram that showed the components of the intercooler system. I was shocked to find out that the water is shared with the radiator!!! I realize that there is a dedicated heat exchanger and that the water more than likely flows through the intercooler first before heading off to cool the engine, but I feel that there should be a dedicated water tank/reservoir for the intercooler.

If I remember correctly the '03 - '04 Cobra Mustangs have a dedicated reservoir. I believe that the SRT-6s and SLK32s would benefit greatly with a system like that. I am going to research some more on the actual plumbing of the intercooler system on our cars to see if there is a relatively easy way to accomplish this.

It would be interesting to get some baseline air intake temps from the stock system and compare them to a dedicated system. If I do find a way of fabricating this I will definitely document this with all the details. Let me know your feedback on this matter.

 

Here is the schematic courtesy of: www.slk32.com

 

According to the diagram it appears that only the (overflow) coolant tank is shared by both the intercooler and the standard radiator. There is a separate intercooler radiator with its own water pump.

Do you add coolant to either or both through the coolant tank?

 

Exactly. On a hot day or a day of hard driving the radiator is going to spill hot coolant into that reservoir. As for the separate intercooler I noted that in my initial post, I called it a heat exchanger as the intercooler sits underneath the blower.

When you add coolant you add it to both since they share that reservoir.

 

Read through this thread from MBworld. One of the members expanded the intercooler system on his C32. I know it's a different body and engine compartment, but the same AMG powerplant. Hope this helps.
http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=164163

 

That's the money! Thanks for the link!

Matt

 

Why in the world would you move the battery to the trunk when you can stuff the reservoir back there and not mess with the electrical system?
The added length of plumbing would decrease coolant temps as well as increasing capacity.
These guys are simply over thinking the problem.

 

I agree, the one thing I wished these guys did was to dyno their cars before and after too see the difference in horsepower if any.

 

While I'm not any type of expert on intercoolers, I don't think the purpose of better cooling is for a power increase, more to make sure that the power we already have doesn't fade with higher temps. If the cooling system could keep the supercharger air cool enough so that these engines ran as well with 90+ degree weather as they do with 60 degree weather, that would be great!
I'd like to know how much difference the Evosport spacers make.

Keep posting what ever it is that you find or decide to try.

 

Sure it is. You are missing the point. Why have an intercooler then??? The purpose of an intercooler is to cool compressed air, which by nature is heated. You don't have to run an intercooler on a forced induction setup but then you are limited at how much boost you can run. If you can cool the air (via intercooling) then you are able to run more boost thus make more power. My point is if, in our case, the factory intercooler setup isn't as efficient as it could be that there should be some more horsepower to be had. Plus the benefit of more consistent horsepower as you mentioned.

 

You're not going to get much more instant horsepower out of the IC setup without having a refrigeration unit working. The drag of the compressor would override the gains.
Using a larger reservoir will give you a little more horsepower due to a larger volume of coolant but the biggest improvement is that it will take longer to heat up more coolant. That means you've got more horsepower for a longer period of time.
These guys are chasing their goal but they're simply over thinking and trying too hard.

 

go for it and let us know what your findings tell you. but it's hard to believe that the engineers at Mercedes don't know what they're doing when it come to cooling the aircharge. there is a reason for everything.

It would be nice if you could calculate how hot the air is being heated at the kompressors operating speeds. then compare that to how hot the coolant is. Maybe you can get a little more boost out of the S/C push it to 16psi with a pulley swap, then your really gonna need a cooler reservoir.

 

Auto manufactures never take their R&D to the level that tuners do. That simply isn't cost effective on their part. Every car out there has something in the aftermarket, or DIY car nuts like some of us, to make it handle better, have more horsepower etc. etc. To think that your car is as good as it could be from the factory is just plain silly.

 

I know the intercooler is needed, I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't, I'm just not to sure if we would see more hp from a better cooling system. I hope that you will be able to put something together that will improve the cooling and find a few "free" or "lost" ponies along the way. I still think the biggest benefit would be keeping the hp we already have when the engine is run hard.

I have a TDI Jetta, and it has a major heat soak problem with the factory intercooler. With it having bigger injectors and chipped it takes nothing at all to heat soak it and feel a power loss. I just haven't wanted to spend the $1,000 for a FMIC or to upgrade the side mount intercooler. The ones that have upgraded didn't see any power gains, they just didn't have anymore heat soak and power loss.

If you can find a way to better this factory system and gain a few ponies, I know you'll have everyone's attention here. Good luck and please keep us informed.

 

http://forums.mbworld.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=164163

Here is a Mercedes forum where an owner of a C32 did what I was talking about (I guess I wasn't the first one to think of this possibility). It was pretty thorough but he neglected to have the car dynoed before and after. The air intake temp records where promising though. I believe they (the cooler temps) should be worth some power.

 

from what i've read on the MBforum, it seems the big swap is using the ford lightning pump on your intercooler.

 

Hey all, here is my post from a different thread. I will be testing my kit tomorrow at the dragstrip to see the difference, if any, in 1/4 mile times with and without the sprayer activated. This is a much easier and cheaper alternative to modifying the supercharger cooler loop.

But here is my little fix to the problem that is cheap and works extremely well. I made my own supercharger radiator spray kit that not only helps the performance of the vehicle, but will lead to longer supercharger and coolant pump life. First add a bottle of redline coolant additive to the coolant reservoir, to make sure the coolant has the best heat dissipation properties (drain some coolant if necessary). I mounted 2 nozzles in front of the supercharger radiator about 5 inches apart, at approximately the center. I used a universal washer fluid pump and some rubber tubing. The pump kicks on, with a boost activated switch, and sprays a water/rubbing alcohol mist on the front surface of the radiator any time it sees boost. I used a 8 inch SPAL electric fan to help pull the mist into the fins at slower speeds. I mounted a manual switch inside to kick on the sprayer, while sitting still, for street and drag runs (you can cool the supercharger coolant/intake temp, for a much better launch) The tank, which is just a washer fluid universal tank, can be mounted anywhere, but I chose behind the passenger seat, on the floor, to keep it cooler and keep the electric pump out of the weather. This sprayer mod, is nothing new, and several companies make them for turbo air to air intercooler, I may just be the first one to try it on a air to water setup. The result, the supercharger coolant temperature, dropped from 220 + degrees, down to 110, which although I haven't measured it yet, I am sure greatly reduces the air intake temps. Since high coolant temps is what is killing the coolant pump, with this mod, my pump will probably last for ever now. The water/alcohol tank has to be filled every 2 - 4 weeks, depending on how heavy your foot is, but is a cheap commodity. For you drag race nuts, I will be doing testing at the strip, with and without the sprayer to see if there are any performance gains.

 

Awesome! I have seen those spray bars on the air to air intercoolers, just never thought to add them onto the heat exchanger as you mentioned. I believe that those setups use Co2. I wonder which is more effective? I don't see why it wouldn't work. That would be great to get some time slips. Best of luck!

 

any pictures???

 

I think CO2 would be a little more effective, but it is a more costly set up and to refill. I just ran mine at the dragstrip last night. All I have done to it is K & N drop ins the sprayer and a water vapor injector (both which kick on only under boost). I ran a best time of 12.65 at 110 mph. See my time slips on dragtimes.com as of now, I am the fastest SRT. Before the sprayer and vapor injector my best time was 13.2 at 105 mph. Pictures are coming.