Pretzil's DIY Intercooler Spray Project

[pretzil]

THIS IS NOT A GUIDE – This is still a work in progress and this thread is to serve as documentation/INFO DUMP and discussion for those who are interested.
(I know there are complete spray kits on the market, that is not the point! The point of this project is to see what can be achieved with a tight budget and creativity.)

So here is my ongoing DIY intercooler spray project. I note that I have still not seen concrete results from it, but I am gradually improving and learning.

(Note that when moving the mist should blow back towards the cooler.)

As the full install isn’t easy to clearly describe in instructions I will instead just go through the components I selected. The rest is just ugly wiring an tubing like any other diy project.

The key features of the spray setup is a voltage booster running a standard windscreen washer pump at about 20V in order to raise the spray pressure to a good misting level.

To ensure there is no butt-dyno results being seen, I have added intercooler temperature probes on the inlet and outlet, that way I can see quantitative results showing whether it makes any difference.

(Winter photo... I wish I saw those temps all the time)

 

[pretzil]

Components: - Placeholder

· Reservoir and Pump:
Standard supercheap auto universal kit mounted behind the LHS fog light.

· Spray Nozzles:
Ebay spec Garden Patio Misting Cooling System
Very cheap, tough, and can be pulled apart for nozzle cleaning or just swapped out.

· Anti-drip solenoid valve:
Jaycar 12V Solenoid Valve (Jaycar says it is designed for air, but I have had no problems with water.)
This valve allows the nozzles to be positions below the washer reservoir without a syphon effect causing water to drip from the nozzles. When it gets 12V it opens, otherwise it is closed.
It is positioned between the pump and the nozzles, wired to open when the pump runs.

If you have upgraded to a 3 port you could probably recycle the factory boost solenoid, it works the same afaik

· Voltage booster: (The cheap component that sets this setup apart from other backyard mods)
Ebay spec 12V universal laptop charger modified to carry more current and heat.
This device takes 12V and boosts it up to your choice between 15 and 24V.
I have run the washer pump at 24V and it absolutely screams, I haven’t burned out any pumps yet.
(Your car runs over 14V, so it could boost to even higher, but I fried my booster when I selected max voltage with the car running, 20V setting seems fine though.)

Full credit for this idea goes to Autospeed.com, instructions can be found here: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=Voltage-Booster&A=111490

 

[pretzil]

Installation:
Honestly, the hardware side of things is the easy part, I am confident that it produces a good spray with a very fine droplet size.

The hard part is positioning the nozzles where they can have the maximum/any effect.
(I have yet to see any results on my intercooler temperature gauge)

I currently have 4 spray jets, 2 sticking from the sides of the number plate backing, and 2 sticking from the corners of the intercooler grille.

The 2 in the corners look good when the car is stationary, but testing appears to show the airflow takes the spray either side of the intercooler.

(40kph testing with fixed camera)

The other issue is the factory grille, a large percentage of the droplets appear to be impinging on the grille and not making it to the intercooler. I love the stealth OEM look, but I may have to remove the grille for further testing.

 

[pretzil]

Testing - Placeholder

Hopefully test videos etc to come.

 

[pretzil]

Controller - Placeholder

The spray is currently operated by a momentary on-switch for testing purposes.

I have built a controller which switches on when the intake temperature climbs over a certain value, then runs the pump for 10 seconds (so as not to burn out any components or drain the reservoir)

It uses these 2 components and I will detail further once I have the spray actually dropping intake temps...
http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=Incredibly-cheap-voltage-switch&A=113008
http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=Dirt-Cheap-General-Purpose-12V-Timer&A=112951

 

[pretzil]

After 4 years I have revisited this (I fricking hate bumper removal)

It's essentially the same kit. But I was able to pass the sprayers flushly thru the top lip of the bumper opening. Also removed the intercooler grille and widened the mouth since all I was getting was drips on the mesh. Impact on temps ytbc.

 

[Luoci]

nice