I just want to share my homemade project to improve air cooling of the intercooler by sealing the foam in the hood scope with RTV Clear Silicone. I used a small artist brush to apply 2 coats to the foam.

Curing can be accelerated with the heat from the engine so it is good to do it after running the engine. In theory, it should stop cold air from getting through the foam and diverted 100% instead into the intercooler fins.

I have not done any temp. delta measurement and whether it is beneficial or not, there was nothing to lose.

Note: Make sure that the silicone is completely cured before closing the hood.

 

If the air is finding a path of least resistance through the foam vs. through the intercooler, I'd be surprised. But hey, if the butt dyno finds HP,

 

I played around with the seal when I was running the stock intercooler, no RTV though. I modified it to come own on the diverter on the inside of the "S".

Use this pic for reference...

...I see no reason why it has to run down the right side edge of the diverter. Not only does rub brown all over the JCW logo, there's nothing in that area that needs airflow. "Outlining" just the open area of the diverter makes more sense to me.
Repositioning the seal will also allow cool air to enter the engine compartment and help flush out the hot air.

 

No doubt that air management plays a roll for a horizontal IC. Ensuring you have a good seal is a good thing.

I had this made for a prototype IC that a vendor asked me to play with. While a better material than aluminum could have been used, it works.

The IC is raised in the back, creating a larger air exit space underneath the IC for the air. The internal scoop tapers in the back, creating a V compression effect to push the air downwards. It should pressurize sooner than the stock design. Since its affixed no chance of leakage - what goes in must come out the bottom. My IC and right horn have never been cooler. The concept should improve whatever IC your running. I am using a M7 DFIC scoop to feed it.

 

i wanna make something similar to this . nice jobe ! the aluminum being in direct contact with the i/c is no doubt acting as a heat soak . can you post shots of the hood closed?

 

Let me try to get some more pics for ya.

I'm no heat soak expert but being aluminum and attached to the IC - it draws heat (i.e. it soaks) but also it increases surface area so perhaps it helps dissipate the heat in some better way ? Of course its more metal to get hot so perhaps it does not help in any way. I will tell you that by the time I drive 4 blocks (30mph) its no longer "hot". So its not clear to me how much better another material would be but have to assume that another material would be better.

Just so you know ALL hood material has been removed and clearance is about 1/8+ on the left and 3/8+ on the right. I have a piece of foam that seals this space up.

 

here ya go

 

wow; looks good . any rubbing from the motor rocking / or are you using powerflex etc.? yeah the term i meant was heat sink . the more metal in contact with air or another dissipator the better the exchange .so what you've done is put a ton more metal in the air to allow for way better heat dissapation . looks really good . i'm still thinkin' of going up thru the hood though .

 

you really should get some iat's etc. could be good for some of the smarter guys to mull over ,.

 

I sent the IC to Doc O (Matt) for evaluation but bear in mind that the scoop is on thing and the IC another. No pre / post scoop was tested.

 

No rubbing. powerflex?

 

Powerflex polyurethane bushings?

 

all engine mounts stock. Note that the sides of the scoop are rounded to match the hood contour. While the top is tight, I left more room for forward engine movement.

How to: remove scoop and break out the cardboard . I must have opened and closed the hood 300 times. I also took some white caulk and placed it on key locations on the cardboard scoop and drove the car - looking for traces of the caulk on the hood.

I then used the cardboard to trace out the aluminum pieces, and tac welded the scoop in place. I lived w/ the Tac welds for a month or two, just in case I need to modify it a bit. Once comfortable, welded up, did a little polishing and added an IC sprayer. Actually added a mister as opposed to a sprayer to be used while driving.

 

very cool ; could you see integrading the scoop with the i/c ? then have the hood close down over all ? this is the compromise i'v come to . a shaker look would be really cool but only for a while and then would look too out of place. but, having the scoop as part of the i/c and the hood coming down over it would be awsome. and much more exchange at idle due to breezes etc. what'dya think?

 

i totally forgot about that IC bart. thanks for bumping this idea again. I look forward to hearing about what the doc finds.

 

I really like this idea for my intercooler bart. How much room do you have between the top and the hood? 1/8" , 1/4" ??

Longboard

 

Yes I would love to know the dimensions of this piece so I can make a DIY intercooler diverter....

 

On the left side about 1/4 and on the right side perhaps 1/2" - do too hood curvature. Being that it was MY hood, I was cautious. NOW had I been working on your hood, I could have gotten much much closer.

The key concept for me was the "V" effect to help pressurize and push/guide the air downward. Conceptually it should pressurize sooner than the stock design. The IC is lifted in the back and dropped in the front, creating a larger exit path.

 

See my explanation above on how I went about it because each IC is different so dimensions would vary.

 

Doc shared his comments me. Bear in mind this was a prototype so his comments were not shared.

I can tell you that he found the scoop an interesting concept w/ merit but bear in mind that he was not testing the scoop but the overall IC. He also liked the front diverter fin.

His tests showed that this IC had slightly less thermal efficiency than a stocker but less pressure drop than a stocker. Considering that a stock IC is hard to beat performance wise and the cost involved to make this piece at present they do not plan on making it.

 

sort Subaru Wrx Sti like huh

Could be very cool looking but functionally I think you can accomplish the safe w/ an internal fixed scoop.

 

this i/c is less eficient than stock? why is that again?

 

i think i see it . did you make the i/c thinner to accomidate the scood? therebye creating a dam ? and turbulance?

 

The consequence of needing 2 elements to produce IC effectiveness: temperature drop and pressure drop. You can still have a better IC even if one of these goes against you. The IC is actually custom made, so I understand, to increase the tilt and rear escape area, but generally although it has less thermal efficiency, it maintains more pressure delivering a larger volume of cool air to the intake per time period...better.

btw, on this point, I switched on my IC temp gauge today and I really should take a video of the read out for all of you. What is really hard to convey is how fast the temperature drops across the IC. After parking outside in warm conditions for 2 hours (heat soak), I started working my way through traffic - 30mph, traffic lights, etc.) The temp diff across the IC started off at about 20F indicating the residual "heat soak" between the inlet horn and the outlet horn. Within 2 minutes I was seeing a temperature drop of 70F+. Pretty impressive.
I'll put that on my to do list...haha.

 

The IC is not thinner - but the same as other after markets. The front is lower than stock and the rear is raised higher than stock so this IC is less horizontal than stock. I have removed everything from under hood adding back a little lost space.

The best way to appreciate the space one has to work w/ is to remove your hood scoop and breakout a flash light. I started w/ a piece of cardboard that cover the IC fins - taping it along the back of the IC. Closed the hood and raised the cardboard up in the front of the IC. Since a) I removed everything from under the hood and b) using a M7 scoop, I added a front diverter to help direct air to the internal scoop.