Educate me on WI and stock ECU
 

My setup is (don't laugh, it's enough to make me grin)

2000NB, SuperchargedMP62 @ 6psi max, Base Powercard and stock ECU, J&S Safeguard, Dual TB, stock Radiator, A/C and Stock Exhaust

I wondering whether I can use WI in place of an intercooler install without changing anything else.

I have heat issues only in high ambient temps with A/C on and at 65-70mph on the highway.
I track about 4 times a yea and AutoX 10-12, the rest of the time is spirited DD. I don't have heat issues at the track.
I've noticed in the Fall and Spring that the cooler ambient gives me more butt-dyno power.

Since I have no tunable solution to engine management-
a) Water is better than Water/Meth since I cannot control fuel?
b) WI would mean that the J&S would "see" less knock and therefore pull less timing?
c) WI would reduce combustion temperature and hence reduce my occasional heat problem?
d) WI would produce a butt-dyno effect similar to the cooler Fall/Spring ambient temperatures?

WI will not solve your engine temps problem. It will solve problems associated with air intake temperature and give you the opportunity to produce more power. More power will produce higher engine temps (not lower) which will further aggrevate your overheating problem.

WI and Intercooler are two unique systems designed for the same end result. You can use WI for nearly any application in the place of an intercooler setup.

Your problem with freeway A/C is related to the ability of your heat exchangers to shed heat energy. Your radiator is hot, and cold air passing through the hot radiator cools it down. When you turn your A/C on, not only are you adding additional load to the engine, but you are also putting a great big source of heat in front of your radiator. Now instead of cold air cooling the hot radiator, you have hot air cooling the hot radiator. There are three possible solutions to this problem:

1. Get a better radiator
2. Improve the medium through which the radiator flows
3. Don't use your A/C

The principles behind 1 and 3 are so simple, a caveman's dingleberry could understand them.

Here are the ways to work on 2:
a) Get colder air through the heat exchangers
b) Get a higher volume of ambient-temp air through the heat exchangers

Since it will be really hard to do a) above, lets focus on b):

Step 1: ensure your factory plastic black undertray has not been removed
Step 2: ensure that the ONLY air inlet for the engine bay is the big hole in the front of your car. The engine bay needs to be a low-pressure zone. If you have lifted the back of your hood or removed the rubber seal at the back of your hood PUT IT BACK. Air is not flowing out here, it is flowing in, which increases your engine bay pressure at speed and reduces the amount of air that comes in through the radiator.
Step 3: ensure your fans work well
Step 4: if your license plate is covering the big hole in the front of your car, move it somewhere else (side mount)
Step 5: duct your heat exchangers so that ALL of the air that comes in through that big hole in the front is FORCED to travel through your radiator
Step 6: find ways to improve air extraction from your engine bay: Extraction hoods are designed for this very purpose.

I made it all the way to step 6 (extraction hood) before I was able to completely eliminate my Highway + A/C overheating problem - now my temps DROP when I turn the A/C on while going down the highway.

Thanks for your response, very informative. It stirred up so follow up questions.

Given that I am happy with the power I currently have (silly, I know) would it not stand to reason that lower intake temps will translate to lower overall heat generation?

Same question as above I guess, an IC and by inference, WI should reduce overall heat generation given no increases in power are attempted?

This is why I don't really want to add another heat source in the form of an IC. Sooner or later I'll have to break-down and buy that better radiator.

Not removed and the radiator drain cutout has been covered.
Hood not lifted, rubber seal in place and conditioned regularly.
Checked, cleaned and parallel fan modification completed - I added LEDs in the cabin to show when the fans are tripped.
Done, moved completely out of the hole and custom mounted to the bumper cover.
I need to do this.
I'm trying to avoid the Modified look that an extractor would impart, nothing wrong with the look - just not my preference.

To extend my original question. If I don't try for more power, will adding the intake cooling effect of WI reduce overall heat generation?

Does that supercharger have a bypass valve? It it working? You may want to investigate this.

Check to make sure you're not running 100% antifreeze in the radiator.

Duct your radiator to force more air through it.

Take 2- 3" of fuel line, pull a coolant line off of your heater core, cover the fuel line with white lithium grease, and then shove the fuel line into the coolant line. Reinstall the coolant line to the heater core. This will force slightly more coolant through the radiator.

Break down and buy that better radiator. A lot of people view a better radiator as a NECESSARY supporting modification when increasing power with a blower. Perhaps it is time for you to see a radiator in this light, instead of how you currently see a radiator: an extra expenditure to be avoided at all costs.

Didn't read the above posts (cause they're too longa and its too early in the morning for me:giggle:)

but

If you're having heat issues only at certain speeds of a highway cruise how will w/i help that? Its not like you can activate it between "65-70 continuously at part throttle". Even if you could that would be retarded.


I think you have problems that need to be adressed first that have to do with a fault in your setup.

+1 for the best answer to a simple question I have ever seen. (no homo)

The cooler intake charge would mean denser air making a more explosive mixture in the combustion chamber make more power and therefore more heat. So it would likely worsen the highway A/C heat problem.

tl;dr most of it
What I can tell you is that water injection won't lower your coolant temps.

IF you want WI to lower your temps, then you need to stick a nozzle in front of your radiator. The only way for it to decrease your radiator temps is if, one, you use so much fluid that you cause the combustion to stifle, thus not putting as much heat in the exhaust, and in the engine, or if two, you spray before the blower, and the blower cools off, SLIGHTLY, probably imperceptibly decreasing the temperature of the engine bay.

Have you done a coolant reroute? I would do that and ducting, personally.

Reroute=not done.
The car is sleeping for the winter so I should have chance to get some ducting done. I still have the stock Rad too and many have recommended that it get replaced.

Thanks to all for your collective insights on this.

Something's not right, you shouldn't overheat on the highway at 70mph with the AC on.

-Stock undertray in place?
-Radiator's not clogged?
-No system leaks (holds pressure)?
-Coolant is fresh?

Bigger radiator, reroute, etc. are all great ways to solve overheating with FI on the track - if you're overheating on the highway where the supercharger isn't really doing anything, there's a more basic problem that should be solved with basic methods. Adding a big radiator/reroute would just be a bandaid.

Looking at your setup I'd go with clogged rad.

Give me a call when you want the parts to fix it ... I happen to have a reroute kit and it is less than a 30 minute drive from you :)