In a drag race setup does it really benefit that much to use an A2W setup? Keep in mind that I am running the formula front bumper so airflow is limited from the front.

 

Yes. With air to water you can get IAT below ambient using ice. If an air to air could be built at 100% efficiency, you could only get down to ambient. In reality A2A's are maybe ~70-80% efficient, so IAT will always be above ambient.

-Scott.

 

What he said. A2W is great for drag racing not so great for street. Eventually, the water will heat up as well. Does it still work on a street application? Absolutely, Magnachargers are A2W as are all of Ford's SC cars. If air flow to an intercooler is somehow limited, A2W can be better. For a street application though, A2A is better is it can be done correctly with good air flow and the correct size intercooler.

 

You can get much lower IATs using A2W, however the system is more complicated and I don't think it's well suited for the street. Another issue, I know of more than one case where the A2W intercooler developed a leak, the water went into the engine, and the motor was badly damaged.

 

Looks like it's time to start saving the pennies

 

Salted ice water, or washer fluid and dry ice maybe

 

The good thing about the A2W is that I found a sponser on tech that works with Chiseled Performance to have the IC made to fit in the nose of the car for ease of installation.

 

anyone know what kind of gain you could see goin from a2a to a2w?