Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Forced Induction Really Stupid Intercooler Question2

In a water/air intercooler setup the intercooler is basically a radiator housed in a box that the pressurized air flows through, right??

More or less, but the core itself is just a heat exchanger. The true "radiator" portion of the setup is mounted in the front of the car or somewhere in the path of incoming cool air. It's actually more like a dual radiator system. You convert the heat from the air to heat in the water then the heat from the water gets passed back to the air in the front mounted exchanger.

Rick

Thanks.

I've been trying to figure out how the dang system worked, I knew there was a front cooler, a tank (usually in the trunk), and the intercooler unit under the hood, and that fluid lines connected all three items, but I wasn't exactly sure how the box under the hood cooled the air and heated the liquid. I thought I was on the right track, thanks for confirming.

There is also air-to-air with no liquid involved. Am I wrong?
-tropictour

I believe air-air would be a front mount intercooler.

air to air can be mounted anywhere as long as air flow over the core is present. wrx uses a top mount, 300zx uses side mount. these are just a few examples.

like i said, that would be side mount front mount means just that...up front dead center in front of the radiator