Causes Analysis of Turbo Retardation Caused by Automotive Intercooler
In terms of the principle, the larger the design of the automotive intercooler, the smaller the air loss inside, and the higher the cooling efficiency. And the longer the airflow stays in the intercooler, the better the final cooling effect. In reality, when air enters the car's intercooler, this space needs to be filled first, and then the pressure can continue to be output to the engine cylinder.
Ⅰ. Filling time of automotive intercooler
The filling time of the automotive intercooler is the leading cause of turbo lag. The turbo uses exhaust gas conversion as the power source. The higher the speed, the more exhaust gas, the stronger the intake pressure, but if you lose the throttle, the engine's amount of air required is drastically reduced. At this time, it may cause excessive intake pressure, and even pressure backflow may damage the intake system. So when you reduce the throttle, there will be a pressure relief valve to discharge the excess air pressure to reduce the stress, and then build the pressure to intervene when you need the turbine.
Therefore, even a supercharged car will experience a slower engine response. Auto manufacturers are mainly doing the tuning, and a considerable part of their energy is devoted to the delayed tuning of the intercooler.
Ⅱ. Air enters the car cooler cylinder to increase flow resistance
Of course, the other cause is that the air needs to bend through various bends in the pipe before entering the cylinder, which will increase the resistance of airflow, causing the air pressure to be partially diluted. This dilution is mainly produced soon after the accelerator is stepped on and the turbo intervenes. If you do not step on the accelerator, in order to maintain the safety of the engine boost system, the pressure relief valve will be opened, and the intake pressure will be emptied.
Therefore, refueling the throttle, this part of the enclosed space from the intercooler to the intake valve needs a buffer time to re-establish sufficient air pressure. In the end, the performance for the car owner is a slow response, referred to as turbo lag. The current manufacturer's solution is to shorten the intake pipeline as much as possible, so we often see automotive intercoolers close to the engine and are attached.
Especially those high-end, large-displacement engines require a greater intake of air. If it is not enough, the temperature will be higher, so he will install a large automotive intercooler. These kinds of containers are usually placed on the top of the engine. The advantage is that you can open an air inlet in the engine compartment to divert the low-temperature air outside and hit the intercooler to cool down. This setting can be seen in many models.
Ⅲ. The benefits of placing the automotive intercooler above the engine
The advantage of placing the automotive intercooler above the engine is compact, and the pipe is relatively short. If you want to use it in your car modification, it is more suitable for small cars and saves space. But there is a problem. This type of layout may be affected by engine temperature because it is close to the engine.
Of course, another layout puts the automotive intercooler in the front center grid of the car to obtain a larger area of air-cooling heat dissipation. Still, because the pipeline is complicated and lengthy, it is mainly used in mid-to-high-end cars. There are also quite a few cars that use coolant to cool the intake air temperature.
