ok guys...
Any time I hear about a turbo setup for our cars.... it's seen as bad if you don't intercool it when running more than 5 psi... I understand why because it is important to keep the air coming in as cool as possible...
But then you have GM who brings a s/c kit which boosts 10 psi un-intercooled... and backs it up with a warranty.....what gives ?
Is the air coming in from a s/c cooler than the air coming in from a turbo ?
15.574 @ 89 mph stock
the reason a turbo needs an intercooler is that the exhaust gasses which spin the turbo also heat it up considerably. so the air that comes in contact with that hot turbo gets heated up and needs to be cooled by the intercooler. the supercharger is spun by the belt, not the exhaust gasses, so it doesn't get nearly as hot. the air coming out of the supercharger doesn't need to be cooled down then.
cannon fodder wrote:the reason a turbo needs an intercooler is that the exhaust gasses which spin the turbo also heat it up considerably. so the air that comes in contact with that hot turbo gets heated up and needs to be cooled by the intercooler. the roots supercharger is spun by the belt, not the exhaust gasses, so it doesn't get nearly as hot. the air coming out of the supercharger doesn't need to be cooled down then.
Eerrrrrrrrtttt...
Physics my friend. Compressing a gas (air) causes the air to heat up, this is a property of physics. The air is not in contact with the turbo long enough to heat soak from the exhaust gasses. The act of compressing the air (regardless of turbo or S/C) heats the air up to a considerable degree (over 200 degree's in some cases).
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also , most companies that do turbo's do not put the IAT in the charge pipe , so the pcm has no way of knowing what the air temp is
the gm s/c measures the air as it goes into the port of the head
also you can hook up the intercooler set up on the gm eco s/c
and since GM did the programing for the eco s/c , im sure they allowed for heat issues in the programing
where on a turbo set up , there is no programing
I know about the intercoolability
,
97cavie, how would the computer adapt to warmer air coming in ? I'm debating if I want to go through the hassle of intercooling the GM kit...
15.574 @ 89 mph stock
^^ what he said
and for the gm s/c kit , you need some hose , a bottle , water pump , and heat exchanger
its alot less of a hassle than trying to intercool a turbo , if you have a do it your self kit
I would personaly say turbo intercooler are ALOT easier.... all you do is add in the intercooler... you dont need to find a place to mount the pump and tank and then run all the lines to and from the cooling plate... but im not saying the S/c'er one is hard either... both i would say are fairy easy as i have done both on cars but the turbo ones are just a little easier...
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the gasses passing through a turbo are from the zaust therefore bloody hot so cooling them some before the TB is a very good idea. the only heat generated by the S/C is done so by the compression of the air and some from the housing. alky injection takes care of that.
cannon fodder wrote:the reason a turbo needs an intercooler is that the exhaust gasses which spin the turbo also heat it up considerably. so the air that comes in contact with that hot turbo gets heated up and needs to be cooled by the intercooler. the supercharger is spun by the belt, not the exhaust gasses, so it doesn't get nearly as hot. the air coming out of the supercharger doesn't need to be cooled down then.
That is completely wrong.
It is the compression of the air which produces the heat. On a turbo, the heat it puts out has very little to do with the fact it is driven by exhaust energy.
Roots superchargers actually heat up the air much more than turbochargers do. The typical roots supercharger has on average a 50% efficiency rating while the typical turbocharger are on average 75% efficient.
So to answer the question in the title, "intercooler less needed on s/c than turbo"? No, intercooling is actually needed more on a supercharger than a turbo.
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alright no consensus thus far... some say it's not needed as much for the s/c, for others it's the contrary...
Different opinions from knowledgeable people... I'm still baffled...
15.574 @ 89 mph stock
Shifted and Skilz are absolutely right. turbos and superchargers are basically air pumps. a turbo is a much more efficient air pump than a roots s/c, making the compressed air coming from the turbo cooler than the s/c. the hot turbine of the turbo has very little (if anything) to do with how hot the air is coming out of the turbo after compression. an intercooler is a good idea on both applications, but is really needed more for the supercharger.
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