The radiator cools the engine. The intercooler cools the intake air. Different function.

Air is denser when it is cooled(at high temperature, the air molecules have faster speed and thus have more energy to bounce off one another and thus would be spaced further apart and thus there will be less air molecules per unit volume). What the intercooler does is to make the air denser so that there will be more oxygen molecules for combustion. But it does not cool the engine as it is not designed for it. If you replace the radiator with the intercooler, you will have denser air but hotter engine(I would say the benefit would be minimal as the high engine temperature would have offset any benefit of the intercooler). Without any effective cooling for the engine, it would overheat pretty soon and you would soon be looking for replacement.

 

WOW!
now thats a proper explanation that can be understood by a newbie like me, without having all the technical words. Good job Manwe!

 

Intercooler injects cool moist-liquidform(vapor like) air into turbo turbine. The turbine will then spinned the air from exhaust into intake. That converts moist-liquidform into air like particles. The cool air will then keep the engine cool, therefore less friction between pistion and cylinder body. This process will improve boost of RPM....

If you inject intercooler directly into your engine, it is like pushing vapor instead of cool-dry air into your engine. Imagine, water at the bottom of your oil-pan and mixed with oil when engine runs.... holy crap.... gonna be in deep trouble.... lots of $$$$ need to be invested.

 

I think you're getting confused with water injection. A regular intercooler doesn't inject anything. It just cools the air and makes it denser which like Manwe pointed out, provides more oxygen molecules for better combustion (with an appropriate increase in fuel, of coz). Manwe, still remember studying about those old turbo jet engines with water injection??

 

Wow, I didn't know some people do not understand what the Intercooler really does. I thought it was the most straight-forward part of boosting.

 

Yea... also remember all the piston engine stuff... tdc, bdc, displacement. Then still got gas turbine, supercharger and turbo charger etc etc. Also vaguely remember engine layout such as cylinder, opposing etc etc. But cannot remember where....think is in post or izzit pre?

Anyway, an increase in air molecules without any associated increase in fuel would also increase power by leaning the mixture with slight disadvantage of hotter exhaust(unburnt fuel would evaporate and cools) and that though boost power slightly would actually shorten the lifespan of your car. But considering the fact the the lifespan of the car is limited by the COE, I don't think it is a heavy penalty.

 

None of you understood what the guy wanted to do, he thought that an intercooler was ok as a direct replacement of the rediator, not with air cooling but like to hook up the water hoses to the intercooler, and the guy talking about injected intercooling with pistons and what not, was clearly being sarcastic, amusing thread tho lol

 

If you don't know, intercoolers are what you run the air coming through a turbo through to cool it which helps boost HP due to the cold air

 

Wtf