Intercooler Cores explained

[Scaredycrow]

Stumbled upon this website: ARE Cooling (Aluminium Radiators & Engineering P/L)

Interesting read.

Had never thought too hard about after cooler BAT vs pressure drop. It's a difference that would likely be missed on a dyno, but would be noticeable for 1/4 mile times and DD driveability.

[kmh001]

I haven't read it, but you're absolutely right about a chassis dyno being totally meaningless in terms of testing anything that relies on airflow, whether it be an intake or an intercooler. The only reliable way to get meaningful comparative data is 1/4 mile MPH.

[SarcasticOne]

what about those dyno's that have a fan blowing air into them?
i prefer in-gear acceleration #'s personally to tell you how well an engine is performing (yes i know these arent that easy to get...)

[kmh001]

The fan is only there to cool the radiator, it could never replicate the complex aerodynamics and pressure gradients of a car in motion. Just one of the many reasons that chassis dyno's do nothing for me.

I like 1/4 mile MPH because it is a direct measure of "weight shifted horsepower" and with the controlled environment of a proper drag strip, most of the uncontrolled variables are taken care of. It's a more scientifically valid way to measure engine power.

I'm not that into drag racing, it's just that the MPH figure is such a robust and valuable piece of data once it is corrected for the weight of the car.

Although I'm not really into drag racing, there is an exception: every car enthusiast should experience Top Fuel cars. The sensory overload that you experience being near an engine that propels a car to 530 km/h in 4 seconds just can't be described. Each time a nitro burning cylinder fires a shock wave travels through you. Multiply that by 525x8x2 and you get the idea.

Wow....how far off topic is this?

[Doug_MPS6]

While off topic....on top fuel dragsters:

One Top Fuel dragster outfitted with a 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower (8,000 HP) than the first 4 rows at NASCAR's Daytona 500. Under full throttle, a dragster engine will consume 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded Boeing 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate but with 25% less energy being produced.

A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to merely drive the dragster's supercharger. With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form beforeignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lockup at full throttle.

At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F. Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.

Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each sparkplug, which is typically the output of an electric arc welder in each cylinder. Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass..

After 1/2 way thru the run, the engine is 'dieseling' from compression and the glow of the exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow....

If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with enough force sufficient to blow the cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half !!

Top fuel dragsters reach over 300 MPH +.... before you have completed reading this sentence. In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, a dragster must accelerate an average of over 4 G's. In order to reach 200 MPH well before reaching half-track, at launch the acceleration approaches 8 G's.

Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!

Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 9000 revolutions under load.

The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid for, the pit crew is working for free, & NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run will cost an estimated $1000 per second.

0 to 100 MPH in .8 seconds (the first 60 feet of the run).
0 to 200 MPH in 2.2 seconds (the first 350 feet of the run).
6 g-forces at the starting line (nothing accelerates faster on land).
6 negative g-forces upon deployment of twin 'chutes at 300 MPH.

An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on earth . . . quicker than a jet fighter plane . . . quicker than the space shuttle....or snapping your fingers !!

The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.420 seconds for the quarter-mile (2004, Doug Kalitta). The top speed record is 337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the run (2005, Tony Schumacher). So, in summary...Let's now put this all into perspective:

Imagine this.....You are driving a new $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z-06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged & ready to 'launch' down a quarter-mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard, on up through the gears and blast across the starting line, and pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH.... The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that exact moment. The dragster departs & starts after you..

You keep your foot buried hard to the floor, and suddenly you hear an incredibly brutally screaming whine that sears and pummels your eardrums & within a mere 3 seconds the dragster effortlessly catches & passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him.

Think about it - from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 MPH....and it not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the planet when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race !!!!

[VGP]

The exhaust gasses at full noise provides ~500kg of downforce. Thats why they are facing up and slightly back, and a large reason top fuel cars can get off the line so well.

[Scaredycrow]

While off topic....on top fuel dragsters:

One Top Fuel dragster outfitted with a 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower (8,000 HP) than the first 4 rows at NASCAR's Daytona 500. Under full throttle, a dragster engine will consume 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded Boeing 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate but with 25% less energy being produced.

A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to merely drive the dragster's supercharger. With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form beforeignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lockup at full throttle.

At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F. Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.

Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each sparkplug, which is typically the output of an electric arc welder in each cylinder. Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass..

After 1/2 way thru the run, the engine is 'dieseling' from compression and the glow of the exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow....

If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with enough force sufficient to blow the cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half !!

Top fuel dragsters reach over 300 MPH +.... before you have completed reading this sentence. In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, a dragster must accelerate an average of over 4 G's. In order to reach 200 MPH well before reaching half-track, at launch the acceleration approaches 8 G's.

Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!

Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 9000 revolutions under load.

The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid for, the pit crew is working for free, & NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run will cost an estimated $1000 per second.

0 to 100 MPH in .8 seconds (the first 60 feet of the run).
0 to 200 MPH in 2.2 seconds (the first 350 feet of the run).
6 g-forces at the starting line (nothing accelerates faster on land).
6 negative g-forces upon deployment of twin 'chutes at 300 MPH.

An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on earth . . . quicker than a jet fighter plane . . . quicker than the space shuttle....or snapping your fingers !!

The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.420 seconds for the quarter-mile (2004, Doug Kalitta). The top speed record is 337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the run (2005, Tony Schumacher). So, in summary...Let's now put this all into perspective:

Imagine this.....You are driving a new $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z-06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged & ready to 'launch' down a quarter-mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard, on up through the gears and blast across the starting line, and pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH.... The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that exact moment. The dragster departs & starts after you..

You keep your foot buried hard to the floor, and suddenly you hear an incredibly brutally screaming whine that sears and pummels your eardrums & within a mere 3 seconds the dragster effortlessly catches & passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him.

Think about it - from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 MPH....and it not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the planet when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race !!!!

I don't care about how related that is to OT (not at all). Its an awesome read