Anyone tried Intercooler in esprit turbos for low boost application?

[hotsv1]

have anyone tried to fit intercooler in esprits, as it dont need too much cooling for just 300hp mark,  small intercoolers are less complicated then watercooled applications but just dont know how effective that is. any opinions?

[Trevsked]

I would be happy to run an inter cooler on any car if I could get the cool air needed, which I think may be the problem. Depends if you want to retain the original hatch or go for something vented. Do you have a design/position in mind?

Trevor.

[910Esprit]

I would assume that an intercooler will potentially have identical efficiency to the 'chargecooler' as neither can cool the charge below ambient temperature.  As Trevor mentions, I think its more a logistics problem as to where to position an 'air to air' cooler.

[hotsv1]

thinking of a small intercooler similer to the one used on mr2,  using vent from bottom of the car to get air flow. i wouldnt want to cut open the hatch. that set up runs fine in mr2 so i assume it should be fine in lotus?

Edited March 11, 2013 by hotsv1

[dodge1979]

Except the temperature in the Esprit engine bay is significantly higher...also, its not just a case of getting a fresh air feed to the intercooler, youve got to get rid of the air that has come through the fins, which will have increased in temperature as it passes..other factors to consider, how big an intercooler would you need to improve upon the existing chargecooler setup, will you be able to supply enough air to it across its full width to make it efficient, if it isnt supplied fully it will loose efficiency drastically...how long will the new inlet track be from turbo to plenum and how will this affect spool up, driving characteristics...

Space is at a premium at the business end of the Esprit so fitting a physically large enough unit with a decent feed and exit for air might be tricky, with some serious modifications required..

The final question would be is it worth it and for what gain...a much larger chargecooler radiator at the front will go a long way to improvements at a small cost and hardly any modifications...not that an intercooler application wouldnt work, it would be interesting to see one done properly..but I suspect it would need to be a dedicated no compromise project...not for the faint hearted!

[hotsv1]

Thanks for the tip, i will look into both options into consideration.

[Glyn Harper]

I fitted a chargecooler to my Esprit a lot of years ago, prior to fitting fuel injection.

I did look at the possibility of an intercooler, but as has been said, there's nowhere to put it without having the pipes really long, which affects spool up massively. Lotus also looked at intercooling, but it's just not that practical due to the location of the engine.

The other point as well, is that when it's really cold, overcooling the air can cause issues with the carbs.. something the fuel injection cars don't suffer from.

Fitting a chargecooler will allow you to fit a temperature switch so that the water pump for the chargecooler will not activate when the engine is warmed up.

Also, the parts for a chargecooler are readily available (well, they were when I did it!) so it's not as hard to do as fabricating up an intercooler.

 

I could write another page probably on why chargecooling an Esprit is better than intercooling.. but hopefully I've said enough above.. and afterall, Lotus did it that way for a reason. They're not daft.

 

Glyn.

[hotsv1]

Thanks Glyn, lot of info you give here, I will go with the Chargecooler option I think, looking for a 2nd hand SE chargecooler but becuase its so hard to find I think i might as well make one.

[dodge1979]

Glyn, sorry but you have confused me...why would yoy want to install a switch to stop the chargecooler pump working when the engine is warmed up? Also how are you going to stop a mechanical pump working! If a standard pump is used...if an electric pump is used..again why stop it working? In a carb fuelled engine, you dont set the carbs up to suit a cold engine..so why set it up so you stop the chargecooler working when the engine is at temperature?

Unless youve had a typo error that makes no sense..

Oh and you cant overcool the air...you will never get colder than ambient temperature...which is the perfect temperature to aspire to!

[ragingfool35]

not to mention an air-to-air intercooler will likely increase turbo lag

[Vulcan Grey]

I think Glyn meant to say that the chargecooler water pump does not turn on UNTIL the engine is warm, which is what I have done by using the EBPV solenoid circuit to power my pump.  The pump runs when you turn the key, so you can hear it and use that to bleed the system, and then it turns off again when you start the car, and then stays off until the car reaches full operating temp, and stays on for the duration of the drive.

[rogerch]

I've thought about this over time, an Inter-cooler is possible but not with the existing turbo, the charge cooler is too much fag and not that efficient.

If I do it, I'll go for alcohol injection, reasonably cheap, very easy to install.