Advantages of barrel i/c

[Dimmy]

Hey guys,

Im just starting to research an engine build (4agte) i'd like to go with in the new year and one of the things that has come up is the choice of intercoolers. I know that water-air is a bit heavier than fmic's but the main thing that im interested in is the reduction of lag from being closer to the manifold and the ability of getting the lag offset somewhat from a larger turbo.

Does anyone here use one, have experience or have some knowledge about them? Would you recommend using them? What are their restrictions?

[PlacentaJuan]

i never used them but from what i understand their advantages are that they will continue to cool as long as the water pump is on; ie you dont need air flow like an a-a intercooler which makes them good for drags as they wont heat soak...??

dunno if you need to worry about restrictions as you can get dual setups and i suppose run both off the same pump and radiator...?

generally though i think you are better off going front mount if you have the space and the car is built for the street / daily.

[Norbie]

It will have no measurable effect on lag, but will improve throttle response somewhat. These are different things.

[WDE_BDY]

Key advantage for a race car is being able to use a cool can setup and run below ambient temperatures, this is what I will be doing in my race car. For street use, no real benefit.

Callum

[oldcorollas]

also depends where your throttle is...it allows for more compact install, no big pipes heading to front of car thru radiator support etc.

for darg, they have much more thermal mass = lower heat rise for a shrt time....
will slow down heat rise in system, but also slow down getting rid of heat a bit from the cooler itself..

[The Real Roadrunner]

It will have no measurable effect on lag, but will improve throttle response somewhat. These are different things.

i doubt it would improve throttle response either unless the piping sizzes are increased and you have near 0 restriction in the system.

also depends on what you classify as lag as there are many things described as lag that are actually completely different things.