View Full Version : Radiator Core vs Intercooler Core?
olderguy
Is there a marked difference between a radiator core and an intercooler core? Other than the connections, would a radiator make a good intercooler?
DCT
short answer, NO! One is for cooling water and the other is for cooling Air! When cooling air, one doesn't want restrictions. Or psi will drop and heat will build up too.
Al English
Originally posted by olderguy:
Is there a marked difference between a radiator core and an intercooler core? Other than the connections, would a radiator make a good intercooler? - While particular units and applications vary, intercooler cores are typically made of thicker material than radiators.
- There are fins inside the tubes of an intercooler core. Radiators do not have these fins. A radiator, or any intercooler core lacking these fins, will be low efficiency.
- The tubes in an intercooler a greater percentage of the units volume than a radiator. In other words, bigger tubes, less visible fins(than a radiator).
For a given size/application, radiators have smaller tubes than an intercooler. Although radiators lack the obstruction of having fins inside the tubes, I would expect a Miata size radiator to flow less air than an intercooler the same size.
All that said, with moderate boost, using a small engine, a car radiator would probably be better than no intercooler at all......Al English
RJW
The Spearco air water IC that I am using, is pretty much identical to a radiator.
It is a header style, in that water flows through all of the tubes at once.
The tubes as well as the fins are extremely thin, just like a rad.
In the case of a radiator, the cold air passing through the fins cools the water.
In the case of the Spearco, cold water passing through the tubes cools the hot air passing through the fins.
I find that if isolated from heat sources, in other words no metal to metal contact with head, SC, etc. it seems to work pretty well.
The biggest difference is the thickness of the core. My Spearco is 4" thick and it is one of the thinnest available.
Hot air needs time to cool down. A thin radiator core would probably not be very efficient as an IC.
Al English
Originally posted by RJW:
The Spearco air water IC that I am using, is pretty much identical to a radiator.I understand the question to be about using a radiator as an air to air intercooler. As you post indicates, air to water intercoolers are constructed differently than air to air units. While I can't comment on your Spearco unit, air to water intercoolers are typically made of heavier gauge material than radiators......Al English
JasonC SBB
Both radiators and a/a intercoolers transfer heat from one fluid to another. In the case of the radiator, the fluid is a liquid.
If you look at a radiator through the mouth of a miata, you will see that there is more open space for the cooling air to flow through than the space taken up by the tubes that the coolant flows through. This is because water is denser, has higher heat capacity, and carries more heat per unit of volume flow. The cooling tubes take up maybe 15% of the space, and so the cooling airflow sees 85% of the area as open (not counting the louvers/fins).
An a/a intercooler will devote more space to the charge air tubes than a radiator would to the coolant tubes. It is typically 40-50%. 50% would be best for efficiency, but would restricet airflow through to the engine's radiator when the intercooler is mounted in front of it. (liek the typical miata i/c)
If you used a radiator core as an intercooler, the tiny tubes would mean a large pressure drop for the charge air.
If you used an intercooler core as a radiator, it would carry a lot of water making it heavy, and the small area for cooling airflow would make it less efficient.
I noticed that my AVO i/c has very large bars (tubes) for the charge air, restricting airflow to the radiator, and so I have more overheating problems than usual. FM i/c's are less so, and I noticed 2 friends with FM i/c's have less overheating problems. However, my AVO i/c seems more efficient.
The one BRP a/a i/c I saw had tiny tubes - I'm curious what kind of pressure drop it sees.
me
Hey Al!
I see you are still kicking. We're still getting the parts together for my car but its Lee's busy time right now so he has a lot of irons in the fire. Hey, do you have a competition license of any sort?
How is your restoration project coming?
Gotta sleep...............................Larry
Al English
Originally posted by me:
Hey Al!
I see you are still kicking. We're still getting the parts together for my car but its Lee's busy time right now so he has a lot of irons in the fire. Hey, do you have a competition license of any sort?
How is your restoration project coming?
Gotta sleep...............................Larry Hi Larry,
Lee is notorious for doing things on his own schedule. On the other hand, he has a lot experience that will prove useful on a project like yours.
Working has limited my "computing". I haven't had much time for the Miata forum lately.
I've never had any comp licenses. Aside from a little autocrossing, and some street antics I have mostly outgrown, my involvement in racing has been through wrenches, welder, or a milling machine.
The Bizzarrini Spyder Pic (http://199.239.248.45//images/full/2003/s2003080201/bz19685300si7703.jpg) project is a lot of work, but is going well. This August, Giotto Bizzarrini is coming to California from Italy for a special showing of his cars. The original prototype/concept car I am restoring is scheduled to be at that event......Al English
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