Intercooler Bends
he also said this:
I'm about to double the length of my cold side IC pipe and add 180 bend in it. So I'll see what kind of pressure drop I get.
Originally Posted by Corky Bell
...I would suggest that shortening up the IC tubes is not a useful endeavor... I would suggest that the IC mounted in the next county will not delay boost response. The air moving through the system moves so bloody fast that distance means little.
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 19,338
Total Cats: 574
From: Fake Virginia
i've more than doubled the pre-throttle tubing length on my car. didn't notice anything.
however i'm not sure I'd agree with "another country" not having an effect. air IS compressible unlike water. there would be pressure waves, however fast, that would do something in 4000 mile long tubing.
however i'm not sure I'd agree with "another country" not having an effect. air IS compressible unlike water. there would be pressure waves, however fast, that would do something in 4000 mile long tubing.
i've more than doubled the pre-throttle tubing length on my car. didn't notice anything.
however i'm not sure I'd agree with "another country" not having an effect. air IS compressible unlike water. there would be pressure waves, however fast, that would do something in 4000 mile long tubing.
however i'm not sure I'd agree with "another country" not having an effect. air IS compressible unlike water. there would be pressure waves, however fast, that would do something in 4000 mile long tubing.
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,402
Total Cats: 7,523
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Again, depends on where the throttle plate is.
If it's in the stock location then the tube leading up to it can stretch all the way to Laos for all it matters. But if the throttle plate is in Laos, then there will be problems.
If it's in the stock location then the tube leading up to it can stretch all the way to Laos for all it matters. But if the throttle plate is in Laos, then there will be problems.
Got the new "longer" cold side pipe installed and no noticeable difference in throttle response. Pics below show the old short pipe that came by the narrow rad, the old short pipe (already cut) and the install.
I ordered the ebay pipes from "just intercoolers" (aka cxracing) and paid the extra $5 for black hoses to go with my black pipes. So the box arrived and everything was black except the elbows, which were blue. I shot them an email and the response was "oh, we don't have black elbows, just black straight hose"... wtf...
Just a warning to those wanting "all black".



I ordered the ebay pipes from "just intercoolers" (aka cxracing) and paid the extra $5 for black hoses to go with my black pipes. So the box arrived and everything was black except the elbows, which were blue. I shot them an email and the response was "oh, we don't have black elbows, just black straight hose"... wtf...
Just a warning to those wanting "all black".


According to same Japanese builder at mnet, the more the volume between the throttle body and the turbo, the quicker the turbo spools up when you open the throttle.
He claims that's the reason the WRC teams go with big chambers in front of the throttle body ...
He claims that's the reason the WRC teams go with big chambers in front of the throttle body ...
Here is what he was talking about - check the big chamber in the IC pipe just before the throttle body. He is claiming that this chamber (the extra air volume before the throttle body) leads to quicker spool and quicker boost. This is the 2007 Subaru WRC rally car:
Not sure what you mean there. Flow and pressure drop go hand-in-hand. Geometry comes into play too of course like you mentioned.
Oh OK yeah I agree. For steady-state flow conservation of mass does apply. There will be periods of time when conservation of mass does not apply, such as during quick transients, like going from part throttle to WOT, or going from WOT to closed throttle. During those periods there will be brief instances where the volume in the induction system (after the compressor) will be packing and unpacking, including in the intercooler.
Of course on the other extreme 1" intercooler piping would be a tiny volume and too much of a restriction. Smaller volume means more velocity which makes those bends more of an importance to flow restriction too, right?
So you want a balance of large enough pipes so flow isn't harmed but small enough that it spools the quickness.
In reality you do whatever fits easiest cause you won't notice any difference anyway.






