Intercoolers are a vital part of your vehicle’s engine. Whether you’re a professional mechanic or just a car enthusiast, it’s essential to understand how your car’s intercooler works. Read on to find out more about intercooler technology and four facts that you should know about how intercoolers work!
1. An Intercooler Is A Heat Exchange Device
An intercooler is not just a piece of metal that lies within the car. An air-to-air heat exchanger is placed between the turbocharger and the engine’s intake. Its job is to cool the air forced into the engine’s intake. It is typically done by passing air through something cooled, either water or air.
This process removes the excess heat, making the air entering the engine less hot, resulting in less dense air.
2. Intercoolers Are Utilized For Different Purposes
Intercoolers are used for different purposes according to their application.
Onboard intercoolers help keep an engine cool by forcing air through the radiator. They are most commonly found on race cars and certain modified cars, but they can also be found on regular everyday cars. Smaller vehicles such as motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles also have intercoolers.
It is because their engines produce less power and, therefore, produce less heat. Some vehicles come equipped with them right from the factory. There are great aftermarket companies that provide intercoolers for a wide variety of cars and trucks.
Offboard intercoolers, also known as remote or external intercoolers, are commonly used in top fuel dragsters, monster trucks, and off-road vehicles. These vehicles need extra cooling to protect their engines from the excessive heat resulting from their higher RPMs and high speed.
3. Intercoolers Help To Increase Performance
Intercoolers help increase performance by cooling down the compressed air going into the engine. This heat exchange device is often placed at the end of a system’s piping. The piping routes the hot air from the turbocharger compressor to the intercooler. Air is often pressurized to prevent back pressure from developing on the compressor.
It allows for more air to be added than would otherwise be impossible without the intercooler and thus increases the amount of power that the engine can produce.
Without the intercooler, a turbocharger compressor would need to pump in higher temperatures, possibly hurting the engine’s performance.
4. Intercoolers Are A Fuel Saving Device
Not only does the intercooler save your engine from the damaging effects of excessive heat, but it also makes your car more fuel-efficient by reducing the intake air temperature by as much as 30 degrees.
This cut in air temperature causes a dramatic decrease in the load on your engine, allowing you to run more relaxed, more efficiently, and thereby increasing your engine’s horsepower, torque, and fuel efficiency.
In the past, drivers would add a turbocharger to the car, but this would cause overheating. A multi-core intercooler system is a great way to cool air and reduce fuel consumption.
Intercoolers are an essential part of your vehicle’s engine. They help reduce the air temperature going into the machine, which allows a car to run more efficiently.
