My Idec PLC is suppose to be here next week so I can program that, along with the touch screen.
What is that? A cheaper alternative to the ISIS system?
Does anybody know any advantage or disadvantage of a water cooled inter cooler?
There are pros and cons to each setup plus front and rear engine applications have their own nuances as well. Since we are dealing with a rear engined car, the SL-C in particular, that is what I will base the pros and cons on, as I see them.
W2A Pros:
Can keep short IC tubing to minimize charge time.
Can locate IC anywhere that can accommodate its size and shape.
Great for rear/mid engine cars where airflow to the rear is not optimal.
Can get intake temps way below ambient for
short periods with ice etc.
Can locate heat exchanger anywhere you want with adequate airflow (also a con in our case). The best place in theory is in front of the radiator, but in our case, with the limited size of the radiator and the 20b's extra cooling demands, this is not ideal.
W2A Cons
More weight due to water, pump, additional heat exchanger and plumbing, and perhaps a reservoir.
More things to go wrong due to a more complex system.
Can
easily heat soak the IC with an inadequately designed system, particularly if you track the car.
Higher cost.
The need to locate an adequately sized heat exchanger presents a challenge, especially for you with the race tail. I know, I started with the race tail and bought the street tail later.
A2A Pros
Simple setup with few parts means greater reliability.
Lightweight.
Lower cost.
Reliable.
A2A Cons
Finding somewhere to locate a massive IC besides the front of the car.
Intake temps never get below ambient, at best.
Would need longer IC tubing.
I really wanted to run an A2A IC but just couldn't find the space to do it. I was able to find custom cores that would have allowed me to run two IC's in series if i wanted to run one on each side of the car behind the side vents, but alas, I chose to run oil coolers in those spots. You cannot fit an IC large enough behind one side vent.
Another option is to run the oil cooler(s) next to the radiator behind the front brake ducts in the nose and run two heat exchangers for the IC in parallel behind the side scoops in the engine bay, or vice versa. This option makes for a ton of plumbing though.
I finally ended up with a custom A2W system that will do the job with minimal plumbing length and connections. My IC sits in front of and slightly above the engine and the heat exchanger sits horizontally above the transaxle. The vents and additional clearance afforded by the street tail allow this option and I have glassed in an additional scoop in the center between the two standard scoops. Fitting any heat exchanger or IC in that location was not possible with the street tail.