hey guys, i was just wondering why vortech and other SC makers use aluminum and other metals in their intake plumbing. it seems that it would lower the heat levels quite a bit so use something else.

i think my stock throttle body elbow was way cooler than vortech elbow.

i know the stock elbow wouldnt work for the SC application but why not use polyurithane or some other hard plastic?

im not sure if the the vortech plumbing conducts heat from the motor or if its that hot cause of the charged air.......in any case it would still be cooler....


imput??

 

I have thought about the same thing. I wonder if the pressurized air is hotter than the air in the engine bay. I assumed that if it was intercooled, there is a good chance that the heat in the engine bay could be hotter, thus transferring heat to the intake air. But, I aslo thought that if the piping was away from heat, using metal for pipe(especially aluminum) could farther reduce intake temp by shedding some extra heat to the pipe. I will do this experiment in time by using some heat shielding wrap.

 

I'm not blown yet (hehe, that sounded funny) but I have been reading up on FI for a little while now on this forum. Most guys change as much piping as possible out to hard pipe. It seems like it is mainly on the intake side. If you use hard pipe there is no flex to the system, which helps give some guys a little more boost and would have to increase the rate at which boost comes on to a small degree. The way I see it, with hard pipe, the sc/turbo doesn't have to fill up the pipe, then wait for it to expand fully before reaching full boost. As soon as it fills the hard pipe it is there. Is this minimal, I believe it may be on the boost side, but it seems to me that I have read a good bit about people recommending using hard pipe on the intake side. I am sure someone with more experience, like having an actual sc or turbo setup, will chime in here. It also seems like the extra movement that it would have would make it more prone to blow hoses off.

 

yeah it needs to be hard plumbing but why metal?

my engine temp runs higher with the supercharger now even with the after cooler. is this normal guys?

i wish there was a simple way to make it run cooler....

anyone use those water mister systems on their aftercoolers or intercoolers? ive seen one on a subaru before. looks simple but effective...

 

It is normal for the temp to run higher. Especially if the intercooler is in front of the radiator. Plus you are making more hp, which equals more heat the cooling system has to handle.

 

I switch to a FMIC & 95% hard pipe on my '95 w/ the ATI and saw an increase in running temp. IATs dropped though.

Another thing to consider is keeping the piping away from a heat source. I've redone piping 3 times now on the TT setup to get some air between hot side & cold-side tubing. Thermal coatings will help A LOT in this situation.

 

my car runs hot no matter what...it is quite scary but from what i read the normal operating temp is 220-230* even though guys get them to run around 180* all the time....i wish i could do that even on a cold day

 

SS#1230, Take one or both of your windsheild washer vac. line of and run it in front of the intercooler to spray it on the intercooler. Spraying washer fluid my even be better than water because it evaporates much faster than water, but it is flamable so be careful.

 

thats not a bad idea. but it would only be occasional sprays right? and how could i spray it without my wipers moving?

id probably just use water only if i do that.

 

I didn't realize that washer fluid is flammable. I am sure the kind I use is not.

You could wire a switch to the washer fluid pump to come on when you want independent of your wipers but you will need to run both of your lines to the intercooler. Unless you want one spraying the windshield when you are cooling the intercooler Maybe an easier way would be to disable the signal to the wipers from the multi function lever and just use it to spray the intercooler.

 

It is if you cut it w/ alcohol.

I'm not overly sold on the "spray on your intercooler" idea as a cooling method. Unless you distribute the spray over a large area of the intercooler (which will use a LOT of crack), it doesn't seem to effective. I was going to purge my nitrous onto the intercooler, but the line would be pointed @ the outlet of the intercooler. I was also throwing some down the pipe too, which is a much more effective way to cooling the intake temps.

 

Most washer fluid concentrates are flammable. It is slow burning and at first look it doesn't seem to be on fire. Yes spraying nitrous or co2 on the intercooler is much more effective, but misting water also helps, just not as much as nitrous or co2.

 

Get a $10.00 washer pump from Auto Zone and a reservoir for that pump from a G.M. dealer. The pump for my '92 GMC was $10.00 and the reservoir is $20. Get a washer nozzle that will mist and put it all together. Wire up a switch just for that pump.
Washer fluid is mostly methanol. When I had a meth injection on my car, I just used the washer reservoir for the 50/50 meth and water. I still works for washing the windshield.