Intercooler heat shield idea

aesc · Post by **aesc** » Sun May 16, 2004 8:34 pm

I was thinking that the problem with a stock top mount intercooler is the heat from the engine rises up and drenches the cooler with heat.

So what about making up a aluminium or s/s sheet shield that is put underneath the I/C so the heat doesnt go up through it. Perhaps put some heat shielding material underneath as well. I realise you'd need to have a bit of a gap uner the I/C for air thats been through the I/C to escape. Im thinking about buying a bigger pulley and have heard its not that good to run with the standard I/C, but not keen to spend a grant on an I/C setup. Would this work?

flygt4 · Post by **flygt4** » Sun May 16, 2004 8:43 pm

not a bad idea at all.wuld apply to all the topmounted yotas.who puts a intercooler on top of a hot engine anyway.....pffftt

Twolitre · Post by **Twolitre** » Sun May 16, 2004 10:51 pm

A good idea also would be to HPC/Procoat your valve covers and exhaust manifold heat shield, this will help to retain the heat and stop it from rising into your IC

Jools · Post by **Jools** » Sun May 16, 2004 11:09 pm

I've seen it done before with metal heat shields and with that aluminised fabric sheet type material.
Its meant to work reasonably well to slow down heat soak.

But the stock top mounts are only effcient up to a certain amount of flow.
So replacing them with a bigger IC is sometimes necessary

Andy from the block · Post by **Andy from the block** » Mon May 17, 2004 2:19 am

I was thinking bout the same thing!
Wen I get some time I prob buy a piece of alluminium , cut it and place between I/C and engine leaving a gap somehow tho.
I'l post a pic sometime...and let u guys know how it went

www.mods.co.nz · Post by **www.mods.co.nz** » Mon May 17, 2004 11:57 am

I have done it on my AE92 Levin s/c and not much difference in power maybe gained .5 psi, but intercooler temp dropped considerably. You can't even touch the alloy plate because of the heat and the intercooler is much cooler.
It's got to be better than without alloy plate.

aesc · Post by **aesc** » Mon May 17, 2004 12:23 pm

True that sounds alright. Do you have some pics you could send me? And also explain how you did it, and how its fixed etc?

Banga69 · Post by **Banga69** » Mon May 17, 2004 1:14 pm

yea pics would be good, wouldbe keen to do this.

Lanius · Post by **Lanius** » Mon May 17, 2004 2:23 pm

I guess that would be awesome for project / learning work etc ... but a fmic would do a better job. Heat rises, can't be helped.

Even just front mounting the stock top-mount would be better than nothing. All you would need is the piping, and maybe some work arounds for some of the obstacles that would get in the way.

aesc · Post by **aesc** » Mon May 17, 2004 3:04 pm

Even just front mounting the stock top-mount would be better than nothing

Yeah it would be but this idea is just a cheap and simple alternative. Ideally it would be best to have a large front mount

FLAWLES · Post by **FLAWLES** » Mon May 17, 2004 6:08 pm

i beleave if you do this you are just going to do the same thing all over again
heat rise's right so putting a shelid uder the intercooler will stop a bit of heat for a litter bit then the shelid it shelf will heat up and do the same thing even worse
good thinking tho

why not front mount it just means there is going to be longer pipes and you mite loose 1 or 2psi but you will have big power gains through outr the rev range

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon May 17, 2004 6:32 pm

I have got some alloy that I might try this with.

FLAWLES.... I think that the stoppage of the heat rising will work because The the air going through the intercooler will stop the heat soak by cooling the heat shield. Unless ur in traffic that is.

Lanius · Post by **Lanius** » Mon May 17, 2004 6:58 pm

Rob wrote:I have got some alloy that I might try this with.

FLAWLES.... I think that the stoppage of the heat rising will work because The the air going through the intercooler will stop the heat soak by cooling the heat shield. Unless ur in traffic that is.

Err ... thats exactly what happens to stock top mount anyway. Far as I can see, it would do exactly what FLAWLES said ... stop the heat for a *little* bit longer, but then would hold onto that same heat for longer when the i/cooler is being cooled down while driving.

The top mounts are glaringly inadequate for anything over and above the factory 6 to 8psi (and they only just do a decent job for that level of boost). Cold air set up plus fmic = dramatic improvements on a 4AGZE.

It takes a matter of seconds for the top mount to heat up. Take your car for a drive, then stop, pop the hood, and feel the top of your i/cooler ***, guarantee you it would have started warming up already

flygt4 · Post by **flygt4** » Mon May 17, 2004 7:01 pm

yeah and anything that may buy u a few extra minutes b4 heatsoak gets too bad can only be good.speaically wen its so easy.front mounting can be a hassle too coz u gotta move so much shit.wuld b ideal tho.

aesc · Post by **aesc** » Mon May 17, 2004 7:45 pm

heat rise's right so putting a shelid uder the intercooler will stop a bit of heat for a litter bit then the shelid it shelf will heat up and do the same thing even worse

True, but your missing what i said about putting some heat shielding material (like what you put over extractors etc) underneath the shield, that would stop the shield from warming up

Adydas · Post by **Adydas** » Mon May 17, 2004 8:25 pm

I have done it on my AE92 Levin s/c and not much difference in power maybe gained .5 psi

err Did or did you Not Gain Power? you dont seem to sure..

aesc · Post by **aesc** » Tue May 18, 2004 9:17 pm

Your not going to gain much power I wouldnt imagine but its going to be a lot better for the supercharger if your keeping the intake temps down, especially if your running a oversized pulley

Stealer Of Souls · Post by **Stealer Of Souls** » Wed May 19, 2004 3:20 pm

Sounds like a reasonable plan... you could back it up with a small fan on the IC so that at standstill air is still being pulled through the core...

The fan thing was done by Autospeed.com, the guy said that it work well. And the shield idea would work as long as you weren't sitting around for ages... you'd still have to combat the conduction heating...

aesc · Post by **aesc** » Wed May 19, 2004 4:14 pm

The fan thing was done by Autospeed.com, the guy said that it work well

Or you could be real cunning and hook up a water sprayer except using that CRC freeze spray stuff instead of water...

Lanius · Post by **Lanius** » Thu May 20, 2004 7:26 am

Or you could take all that money it would cost and just front mount :wink: