Intercooler Misting mechanism
 

Alright im just gonna see what you guys think about this.

My dad, who seemingly knows everything, says that when he was used to race they would set up a misting machine in front of the intercooler and run that to cool down the system. He reccomended using a windsheild washer motor and getting a super fine mister tip on it and pointing it into the intercooler, what do you guys think?

Would it work?, im guessing it actually worked because my dad has been a mechanic for 30+ years and has raced cars etc.

Just want some opinions =)

You could buy a system like that, or make your own, either way, water evaporation is a great way to cool things off - far bettter than air.

As an aside, I've often wondered what the long term affect was on the areas that were sprayed.

Sure that works if you wan't to waste water, space, and resources. If you want to get some real cooling you want to look into alcohol(methanol)/water injection. Instead of spraying through the intercooler, you spray into the intake path just before the throttlebody. This has all kinds of benefits that you can read about in the Water Injection forum on here. Including cooling intake temperatures and allowing higher boost with existing fueling as well as more timing. There also happens to be a member on the forum, Wideopentuning, that is a Devils Own dealer and can hook you up with a sweet basic kit that will do everything you want it to. You also have the choice of a progressive controlled kit, but for most setups a basic kit is the ticket and they're under $200.

Or you could install a water injection kit which will have an even greater cooling effect since it will b e internal to the system. At the same time it would make your car virtually knock proof. Since I have installed my WI kit my intake temps never EVER go over underhood ambient temperature. That is with no intercooler btw. You should look into it since it can be done for around $200+-. There is alot of documentation on it on this forum.

Brian

he's gotta keep up with the times....we inject the spray into the acutal intake charge now...

side note for your dad: the evo and sti has intercooler sprays from the factory.

Just a side question, I know it will be hard to answer since there is many variables. If I was to use the stock windsheild washer bottle for WI, what kind of consumption or refilling? Would I be able to last 20 laps on the track?

Any Intercooler Vs Wi debate?

WI pumps are chosen for their ability to maintain flow at very high pressures...think 60-120psi. Really, the higher the pressure the pump is capable of flowing, the better, because it'll be able to more finely atomize the water/meth/etc. in the intake tract.

I don't know what your typical windshield washer pump is capable of in that regard, but for the relatively little amount of money, I'd just use an "accepted" WI pump.

Misting has been done for awhile, and while I support the water misting on the I/C, I really like the idea of the homebrew CO2 I/C coolers they create using braided lines, a 10lb tank and some thin iron tubing.

The intercooler mister is not a bad idea. I think for a Miata(especially one that will see some serious track time) a spray bar that ran between the fmic and radiator and misted both would be killer. I am sure you could lower intake temps a bit while keeping coolant temps in check. The C02 idea (like the Cry02 stuff) would probably work pretty well and you may even be able to lower intake temps below ambient. The bad part is a huge tank, and I am assuming you would re refilling quite often if you utilized it on the street. There is also the issue of the engine possibly ingesting the C02 and pretty much negating any gains that were made with the lower intake temps. Then we come to my favorite....Water Injection. Pretty cheap to get started. Not too high of maintenence. Intake temps near ambient when combined with a FMIC are pretty easy to achieve. Even without an intercooler some of the guys here are seeing IAT's below 100 degrees. Its what happens after the intercooler though that really makes this the way to go. Slowing down combustion as if you were running a high octane race fuel. Add more boost and timing and make some more power. Never having to do the Miata.net cure all......Seafoam;) But wait....since you now already have a nice high pressure pump and a reservoir you are just a solenoid and a bit of line and fittings away from also having your intercooler/radiator misting system as well. :)

Almost everything can be found at your local Home Depot's gardening department for a IC mister:)

Homedepots line of "blue bird" products are excellent. I've used their nozzles for aeroponics, they mist fantastic and cost about $1 each. One on each side of the IC would be more than sufficient.

Nitrous Express As A Perfect Kit That Shoot N.o.s. On The Intercooler Works Very Well And Really Cool It Down

Agree. For time, effort, and effectiveness rock the W/I. Just check out the results W/I users are getting for a little convincing.. :naughty:

Run the idea by your pops. See what he thinks, I'm curious.

Thanks for the replys!

I was looking at this knowing water/alcohol injection woiuld be superior, but wanted a cheap alternative to run with my intercooler(once i get the setup). My dad can make anything, are there any guide on how to make a water injection kit? If not ill try this and let you guys know how it goes.

I would wire the I/C mister to a switch and run it when im running the car hard, any other opinions are welcome!

http://www.diymiata.com/awinject.htm

It's pretty much the same for a mister, but the mister you could just use a windshield washer bottle, pump, and some gardening misters and hoses from Home Depot.

I purchased the Devil's Own kit and will be using it for WI as well as an IC spray. I plan on using a switch to turn on my coolant fans and then giving my IC a good shot of external water before doing stuff like drag racing. I'll have my WI pressure switches hooked up to do an IC spray at the same time (or maybe as soon as boost kicks in. Yes, I'll consume a little more water but it would all be on a switch that I could turn off if I wanted to. As soon as I get my car back together (2 months from now <G>) I'll start building the system.

Now i dont know much about water injection, but why dont people ever inject just before the intercooler? It would seem that this would work better than external water spray. Is it because water- injection is just more efficent at the throttle body? Does it cause problems because its not as well atomized when it gets to the intake? pools up at the bottom of the intercooler or something?

anyway, it was just a thought

Yeah, I think it's that it pools up in the intercooler if you do it right before the intercooler. Now, there are some folks that're injecting into the mouth of the compressor on turbochargers, in addition to throttlebody or intake runner injection. Aquamist sells these brackets that position a small mister pointing directly into the center of the inducer; this makes sure the droplets don't directly hit the fan blades which, as you might imagine would happen when something hits a fan spinning at 150,000 RPM, causes pitting/chipping of the blades.

Basically, they've reported the ability to extend a turbo's useful flow range when doing this, although it doesn't appear to be as effective as run a pre-blower mister on a positive-displacement supercharger.

Check out this aquamist thread on the ~750hp Skyline using pre-compressor injection: http://www.aquamist.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=838

Why inject before the IC, esp if the water will cool it just as much or more than the IC will? If you want to use both, let the IC do its job and inject after to cool it more, otherwise leave the IC out.

Why not mount a reservoir inside the car, so you know when it's low?