Extra intercooler radiator?

[Cret]

Whilst clearing out a shed full of junk I've come across a small motorbike radiator that measures about 9inches by 7inches.

 

I'm wondering if this would be worth adding in line with the existing intercooler radiator on my RS? I'd plan to mount it at the front of the car somewhere where it'd hopefully add a little extra cooling to the water in the intercooler, plus add a little extra coolant to the system which might help keep it that little bit cooler also.

 

Does this sound to anyone like it'd be worth adding? I can't see it being much hassle, just really a couple of extra pipes and a bracket.

 

Worth doing or a waste of time?

 

Cheers!

[Snowman]

You would probably be much better off using it as an oil cooler rather than another radiator. Just get one of those adapters that goes between the oil pump and the filter and plumb it in. I think this would actually help your engine last longer by keeping the oil more thermally stable.

[Legacy777]

just for clarification. You are talking about a legacy/liberty RS, and the intercooler radiator for the air-water intercooler correct?

 

Are you having any temp issues currently with the for the intercooler getting too hot? If so, another radiator may help. You want to make sure it can flow enough, so it doesn't become a restriction.

[frag]

I'm not sure about this,but I doubt a water radiator is made to witstand oil pressure. On startup the pump generates close to 85 psi on my car. What's the max pressure a water radiator has to witstand? 30 psi?

[Cret]

Josh, you're correct about the model/intercooler setup.

 

After installing a chip recently I'm getting pinking/knocking probs when on full boost (blitz boost controller on it's way now), but I don't really think it's a heat problem as such as someone has advised me that the chip I got may well be running a lot more ignition advance than is sensible.

 

Nonetheless, that problem aside I figured a little extra intercooling capacity certainly shouldn't do any harm as we all know that the cooler the charge the better when it comes to turbos.

 

Flow wise, I can only guess it's up to the job as the pipes to it are about the same diameter as the ones feeding the intercooler.

 

I'd like to test that my intercooler pump is working ok but not sure how I can test it without simply disconnecting a pipe and seeing how much coolant comes blasting out! I've removed the intercooler cap when the car is running and I can hear the pump running but the coolant doesn't appear to be moving or at all turbulent and if it's being pumped through surely it ought to be moving about a bit?

 

Just figured that this might be a relatively simple mod to attempt with something that's cost me nothing at all. People spend fortunes on buying huge intercoolers so I figured it must be worth adding a bit extra to mine.

 

The only other thing is if I try this, I'm not sure what the best way to test how much difference it's made (or not). I'd like to be able to monitor intake temperatures but I'm guessing the only way to do this is to invest in horribly expensive equipment?

 

Cheers for any advice anyway!

[Legacy777]

I think you really should try and measure temps, either intake air temps, or if you really can't do that easily, get a thermal couple and stick it in the coolant lines for the intercooler radiator to check the temp of the coolant initially, and see if your temps raise a considerable amount after being on boost for a while.