Intercooler are installed near the front bumper so that it continously comes in contact with the cold air from outside.The function is to reduce the air temperature that goes into the car engine.
The hot air from turbo engine goes into the intercooler, then flows through the high surface area vanes, causing heat to be lost through dissipation. The air then flows out the other end of the intercooler at a lower temperature and then into the intake of the engine.
By reducing the engine's inlet temperatures, a denser air charge will enter the engine which enhances the combustion of the air/fuel mixtures. This can produce more horsepower at the same boost level and even more power at higher boost levels.
Intercooler performance is measured by the amount of energy (temperature) that can be remove from the inlet charge air as well as the pressure drop across the entire system. It is important to consider the entire intercooler system to determine the intercooler performance:
- How big the intercooler surface area
- The intercooler internal passage volume
- The lowest possible the pressure can drop
- The highest possible the intercooler core efficiency
- It should matched to the turbocharger air delivery