Thread: water to air and air to air. pros and cons

Yeah tried it for a while, you really cant see the scoop that goes up over the rear sway bar. I ended up putting it back up front, a friend and i were bored and wanted to try it out under the back of the car.

Hmmm I've got a zex dry nitrous kit I can't seem to get rid of...thinking I could use the kit to spray nitrous on the heat exchanger to keep it cool. Overkill? Haha

That would be overkill. The short blasts won't impact it like on an air to air. Also, if you store water in the back, you can use a smaller 1-2 gallon tank. Really it is all about how long your runs will be. If you are going out on 30 minute runs on the track, you don't need a huge water cell. If you are doing hour long runs and full boost, then you will want a larger tank. 3 gallon is a nice medium and should handle anything. Plus the longer hose runs increase water capacity as well.

Brent

Seems like a remote mounted (trunk) cell (Amazon.com: Jaz Products 210-503-03 3-Gallon Aluminum Fuel Cell: Automotive@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/3100ABsTv9L.@@AMEPARAM@@3100ABsTv9L. Fittings and hoses. Then I'd say just an on and off switch for the pump.

Might be a good idea to have an air temp gauge or water temp gauge for the system?

I like air-to-air for its simplicity, cost, lower weight, and its ability to cool properly for extended periods of racing (think multi-hour endurance racing).

I like water-to-air for its superior cooling ability for short durations, and for its ability to shorten the charge pipe run significantly.

Simplicity definitely goes out the door in a WTA setup compared to ATA. Coach stated that a 3 gallon cell would be good for 1 hour long runs as I'm sure it could handle 2 hour runs on a track and still stay close to ATA air temps if not just below. Of course this is only assumed based on lack of actual data.

Coach also said that even in daily driving conditions that the setup still works fine. My car won't be to much of a daily, more just a weekend car or strip/track/meet car. Shortening the charge piping, quicker spool capabilities and an overall cooler intake air temps are the factors that I like about the idea.

HPDE events* probably 1 to 2 hour runs, nothing that could compare to an "Endurance Race". Plus at the track, the bags of ice in your cooler to keep your drinks cold also serve a functional purpose for your car!

I guess I should also add that this setup would be running on a GT2871R, possibly thinking about meth injection to tie it all together.

Ben, you always have some good input. Anything further to add?

With water/meth on the table, I'm crazy enough to consider upping the size of the tank for that so it would last an entire 1-2 hour race and run no intercooler at all.

It sounds like you're leaning toward the water-to-air which if you're happy with the complexity of it then by all means go that route. If I were doing it, I would do a setup similar to nissan crazy where you are taking full advantage of the ability to have a short charge pipe run. Also important is the cross sectional area of the intercooler being around 4 times that of the charge pipe size. Again nissan crazy has excelled there.

Yeah that is a bit crazy hahah no IC and just cooling intake temps with Meth alone? I assume that is what you mean haha. Yeah his setup is sick, but the turbo is to big for my liking and is that a sidewinder manifold? The ultimate goal is to make as much power on a 2871r as efficiently as possible. More timing and less knock*

On a side note, that setup is absolutely sick. Am I crazy or do I see AC lines?

Those are A/C lines and his setup is a true definition of a very very perfectly done street setup.

My take is w2a is good for an every now and then driven car or drag car.
A2A for street cars.

All for the same reasons Ben mentioned.

With an w2a you have more weight, plumbing, lines, parts, added electrical load from the pump and heat exchanger fan if you decide to run one and the sheer cost is significantly more.

Yes, although I would run 50/50 water/meth (windshield washer fluid, stupid cheap).