Quote:
Originally Posted by clark17357
Dragon,
Thanks for the write up. Because you put so much time into it, perhaps you have some information on the intercooler and heat exchanger beyond what is written.
While the intercooler design is touted as something that "raises the bar in both packaging and efficiency," I do not see that design as being able to improve on the more traditional design which has the heat exchanger located away from the motor and the heat produced by the motor.
Maybe I am missing something (and I hope I am as the overall "look" of the unit is very appealing) but this design would not do anything to diminish heat soak and would seem to work in the opposite direction, given its location.
Jim
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The intercooler design is pretty exceptional, to tell you the truth.
Here are some pictures of the supercharger/intercooler to start you off:
Where traditional positive-displacement systems (like the GT500) have an intercooler mounted in between the supercharger and the engine block, the LSA's approach is very different, and offers a number of advantages. The supercharger is flipped upside-down, and pushes air UP, into the intercooler brick + intake housing. This design lets the supercharger belt be a little shorter, it allows the intercooler to be far more effeciently designed, and it allows the air to take a straighter path down into the cylinder, resulting in more torque.
It's a water-to-air system, so the heat-exhanger is mounted traditionally -- that is, down with the radiator and oil coolers, etc. As it was written in the article, this design drops the intake temperature over 150 degress...which is very important for durability and performance. I'm sure GM doesn't condone the use of ice, or ice-chilled water...but with an intercooler this efficient, if someone were to cool the liquid down. You would see tremendous power gains, I think.
