HOW INTERCOOLER WORKS
An intercooler is a heat exchanger that’s fitted between the engine’s super or turbo charger and the intake manifold. Its job is to absorb and dissipate the heat in the charge air in order to provide the engine with the coolest and most dense air possible.
Air has a mass or a weight that changes based on the temperature and pressure of the air. The lower the temperature – the higher the mass. The higher the pressure – the higher the mass.
At 15 degrees Celsius and at sea level 1 litre of air weighs around 1.225 grams. Of that around 0.245 grams is oxygen – the stuff we want to cram into the engine.
In order to get more air, thus more oxygen into the engine, we either need to compress the intake charge (turbo or supercharging), cool the intake charge, or both!
This is where things get tricky because the process of compressing the air also heats it up, so we need to cool it before it makes its way into the engine.
In order to get more air, thus more oxygen into the engine, we either need to compress the intake charge (turbo or supercharging), cool the intake charge, or both!
This is where things get tricky because the process of compressing the air also heats it up, so we need to cool it before it makes its way into the engine.
