Hot IC

[Tt surgeon]

Lately, I've been driving my car alot in the hot weather, ac cranking. I've noticed the IC is very hot to touch, the car is not overheating, never close to the red on the gauge.
AFRs 14.7 at idle, too lean?
normal?
Tia
c

[Ronnie's.930]

I believe that is normal in hot weather. I could fry an egg on my intercooler here in Texas during the summer. One day, I will add a water/meth injection system like Cole and JFairman have done as the hot intake charge bothers me . . .

[mark houghton]

14.7 (stoichiometric) will of course yield the most complete burn, but as you probably know most 930's idle a bit better with a richer mixture. A lot depends on your build and overall state of tune. 14.7 at idle shouldn't be concern for damage, if that's what you're thinking (personally, I would shoot for something closer to 13.7-14.0). More important is where it's at when cruising and/or on boost.

Make sure that your IC is well sealed to the deck, so as much air as possible is drawn through it...rather than around it, and that your engine tin(s) and perimeter seal are all fitting properly. That's about all you can do to maximize air cooling.

One other solution is to not drive the car when it's hot outside :-) ,but what fun would that be?

[billjam]

Originally Posted by mark houghton

Make sure that your IC is well sealed to the deck, so as much air as possible is drawn through it...rather than around it, and that your engine tin(s) and perimeter seal are all fitting properly. That's about all you can do to maximize air cooling.

It's simple really - you just need more air through it.

DRIVE FASTER

[fredmeister]

Its a little misleading to feel th eintercooler while the car is idling because it gets no air flow across it and starts to heat soak.
Try pulling over after driving for a while and feel the intercooler before it has time to idle much. This should give a better indication of its function. You should feel a big differnce between the inlet side housing and the outlet side of the intercooler, this would indicate your temp differential across it.
I found once it idles for a few minutes the whole intercooler gets hot at both ends. it really needs airflow across it to work properly.

[fredmeister]

Originally Posted by Ronnie's.930

I believe that is normal in hot weather. I could fry an egg on my intercooler here in Texas during the summer. One day, I will add a water/meth injection system like Cole and JFairman have done as the hot intake charge bothers me . . .

I have one installed as well and it was a great investment.
It only adds to the cooling capacity and is extra insurance against causing detonation damage. Especially if you track the car and are into the boost for extended periods of time.

Fred

[Miguel Antonett]

Those symptons appear normal. It's a matter of heat transfer; the hotter ambient air the hotter it gets - air cooled!

[RarlyL8]

My intercooler is rarely too hot to touch when the engine is running. A proper shroud insures air is always being pulled though the intercooler, even at idle. (My stock replacement IC uses the OEM shroud). Efficiency and time on boost will determine how hot it gets and how long it takes to cool back down.
Check for air leaks in your engine compartment, all the air needs to come in from the wing to optimise IC and engine cooling.

[Tt surgeon]

I think it's a "hot outside" issue.
The Andial IC is well sealed with the Andial shroud.
Thanx all

[X MXr]

Some speed shops and race teams use heat strips that are applied to engine parts. They turn different colors indicating the highest temp achieved. That might be a way to monitor the temps although you'd have to do it over a period of time to get any feel for what's "normal".

[JFairman]

Sell the little Garretson and get a full bay intercooler if you need consistant cooler intake air during summer.
WMI is cool and fun if you're a gadget freak but a big intercooler is much cooler, much more effective, and always works.

Originally Posted by Tt surgeon

I think it's a "hot outside" issue.
The Andial IC is well sealed with the Andial shroud.
Thanx all

[Tt surgeon]

Prolly the ultimate solution, but a little more that I want to undertake.

[Tippy]

I have a full-bay intercooler on mine. MegaSquirt (well, TunerStudio) is telling me that on a 100 degree day, the IC is running around 100-106 after 30 minutes of highway driving/no boost - ok, maybe a little here and there.

Hit a few stop lights and the temps climb to the latter end.

What was nice to know after installing MegaSquirt is after running through the gears with 1-bar of boost, the max temps I have seen now twice has been 114 degrees.

That is ice cold compared to roots and centrifugal superchargers I have ran on prior American iron.

Not too bad. This is with oil temp needle pointing dead left between the 2 large hash marks I should add.