Optimising Intake Temperatures On Forced Induction

Optimising Intake Temperatures On Forced Induction

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Discussion

stevieturbo

17,278 posts

248 months

Wednesday 15th October 2008
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350Matt said:
Turbo exit temps can be anything from 25°C to 85°C Depending on the following:

Ambient air entry
Level of boost
Size of turbo
Compressor efficiency
Inlet back pressure to turbo
throttle position
Exhaust temperature

And I dare say there are a few more,
hopefully you now see why direct measurement of what you have is a best place to start

the most accurate way to do this would be to fit an air temp sensor in the pipe exiting the turbo, you could also use those little temperature stickers on the outside of the pipe but these would be effected by the surrounding hot parts

Matt
Compressor outlet temperatures can be a LOT higher than 85degC...try well in excess of 100degC in some instances.

anonymous-user

55 months

Thursday 16th October 2008
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If the air enters the turbo at std atomospheric conditions ( 1 bar abs, 25 degC) and you compress it to 2bar (i.e. 1 bar gauge pressure) with a compressor efficiency of 70% (typical for a std road car turbo), the air will exit the compressor at 118.2 degC

Throw 2 bar gauge at it and thats 182 degC!

For maximum "power" intake air can never be "too" cold, for part load fuel economy, hot is good.

Typical road cars would aim for maximum IAT's on entry to the engines plenum (post IC) of approx 30 to 35 degC on a 25DegC day under worst case load conditions.

As the massflow rate is relatively high, but the medium's density is low (high velocity, low density) the cooling or warming effect in "plumbing" to IC's is in fact negligable under most circumtances.

As mentioned, the best idea is to get some thermocouples fitted in various locations in the IAS system as see what you are actually getting, then work out what to do about it.

eliot

11,465 posts

255 months

Thursday 16th October 2008
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Max_Torque said:
If the air enters the turbo at std atomospheric conditions ( 1 bar abs, 25 degC) and you compress it to 2bar (i.e. 1 bar gauge pressure) with a compressor efficiency of 70% (typical for a std road car turbo), the air will exit the compressor at 118.2 degC

Throw 2 bar gauge at it and thats 182 degC!

For maximum "power" intake air can never be "too" cold, for part load fuel economy, hot is good.

Typical road cars would aim for maximum IAT's on entry to the engines plenum (post IC) of approx 30 to 35 degC on a 25DegC day under worst case load conditions.

As the massflow rate is relatively high, but the medium's density is low (high velocity, low density) the cooling or warming effect in "plumbing" to IC's is in fact negligable under most circumtances.

As mentioned, the best idea is to get some thermocouples fitted in various locations in the IAS system as see what you are actually getting, then work out what to do about it.
Good Post.

chuntington101

5,733 posts

237 months

Thursday 16th October 2008
quotequote all
what are you trying to achieve?? more power? better reilability?

if you want a cooler intake charge then fit a larger intercooler, or make the one you have more efficent, or do both! smile

next step could be to try methanol injection. this is said to help reduce intake temps and add a little octane to the mix. water injection is another good thing but thats more to do with stopping dept than reducing temps.

next step would be to reduce under bonnet temps as much as pos. and dont forget its not just about getting lots of cold air in! you have to do something with it all. lol also this will help make sure the turbo(s) are getting nice cool air.

after that then its getting very serious....probably chargecooler and ice box teritory. now these are great for reducing temps but thet dont last very long!

after that using methanol as a fuel is the ultimate step! smile

Cheers

Chris.

stevieturbo

17,278 posts

248 months

Thursday 16th October 2008
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All of the above is all god and well....but he doesnt even know if he has a temperature problem in the first place, to warrant any upgrades !!!!

chuntington101

5,733 posts

237 months

Friday 17th October 2008
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can you ever have a too cool intake though steve? i know with a lager IC you are going to reduce response.

Chris.

stevieturbo

17,278 posts

248 months

Friday 17th October 2008
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Apparently it can be too cool....not sure what point that is.

i rarely see anyone trying to get below relatively cool ambient temps, say 20degC or so.

So I'd guess that is as good as anyone ever needs.

Drag racers do pack their A2W setups with ice, but thats purely because they effectively have zero airflow to cool anything on the move, due to the short duration of the runs.

Herman Toothrot

6,702 posts

199 months

Saturday 18th October 2008
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stevieturbo said:
Apparently it can be too cool....not sure what point that is.

i rarely see anyone trying to get below relatively cool ambient temps, say 20degC or so.

So I'd guess that is as good as anyone ever needs.

Drag racers do pack their A2W setups with ice, but thats purely because they effectively have zero airflow to cool anything on the move, due to the short duration of the runs.
Cooler the better as long as yor mapped for it, on track yesterday 1st thing in the morning my AIT's were 7degC, I'd never run the car at ambient temps low enough to provide AIT's this low, I had to increase injector duty cycle 3 % at WOT to maintain my AFR that I setup with AIT's on 25/30degC

ringram

14,700 posts

249 months

Sunday 19th October 2008
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Fuel wont vaporise if things are too cold. You will have to run extra rich as fuel will pool on port walls and floor etc. Power will drop.

bertelli_1

2,242 posts

211 months

Sunday 19th October 2008
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One more thing Re:the OP's car. The 944 turbo has a relatively simple Bosch injection system. In fact it only reads the intake temp at start up, you could be driving for 3 hrs & it still uses that initial temp reading throughout.
Plus Porsche knew what they were doing, the turbo system is a real feat of engineering (& packaging) - how many other road cars have a remote wastegate??
I did some calcs recently after a dyno run where my manifold temp hit 68 deg celcius, I usually see 10-15 deg above ambient. By reducing the temp to 40 deg it gave me an extra 6bhp at 6000rpm. So even if the OP can reduce temps by 10deg will it make any difference? No is the short answer.

eliot

11,465 posts

255 months

Sunday 19th October 2008
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bertelli_1 said:
By reducing the temp to 40 deg it gave me an extra 6bhp at 6000rpm. So even if the OP can reduce temps by 10deg will it make any difference? No is the short answer.
But still worth doing because there is less risk of detonation.

GreenV8S

30,234 posts

285 months

Sunday 19th October 2008
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bertelli_1 said:
So even if the OP can reduce temps by 10deg will it make any difference? No is the short answer.
I'm surprised there was so little difference. A 1C reduction in air temperature corresponds to roughly 0.3% increase in air density. With an engine of around 300 bhp that would equate to enough extra air to provide 1 bhp gain. This does assume that you are measuring the temperature at the point of entry to the cylinder, so if you're measuring a long way upstream you might see smaller gains. Still, getting a cooler charge seems like a very useful way to get a few percent more power. Perhaps if you're running into knock and had to retard the ignition to avoid it, the gains could be even greater.

cptsideways

13,564 posts

253 months

Sunday 19th October 2008
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Cooling the fuel would have a greater gain than the basic mods your suggesting you might do. Increasing the pre/cylinder cooling of the air by the injectors is a fairly effective method. Or go water/methanol injection for even bigger gains.

GreenV8S

30,234 posts

285 months

Sunday 19th October 2008
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cptsideways said:
Cooling the fuel would have a greater gain than the basic mods your suggesting you might do. Increasing the pre/cylinder cooling of the air by the injectors is a fairly effective method. Or go water/methanol injection for even bigger gains.
Surely, with the fuel mass forming a tiny fraction of the overall charge, the effect of the fuel temperature on the overall charge temperature would be proportionally small? Unless you are thinking about adding extra fuel to increase evaporative cooling - which comes with its own disadvantages.

cptsideways

13,564 posts

253 months

Monday 20th October 2008
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GreenV8S said:
cptsideways said:
Cooling the fuel would have a greater gain than the basic mods your suggesting you might do. Increasing the pre/cylinder cooling of the air by the injectors is a fairly effective method. Or go water/methanol injection for even bigger gains.
Surely, with the fuel mass forming a tiny fraction of the overall charge, the effect of the fuel temperature on the overall charge temperature would be proportionally small? Unless you are thinking about adding extra fuel to increase evaporative cooling - which comes with its own disadvantages.
Liquid's have a higher density, the mods suggested previously would only be having a tiny effect anyway & fuel cooling would only have a similarly small effect, though its easier to do & results are more direct. As I said the most effective way by far is water/methanol injection which can have massive effects & the benefits for ignition timing & det avoidance are far far greater.

Edited by cptsideways on Monday 20th October 12:32

bertelli_1

2,242 posts

211 months

Monday 20th October 2008
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On this particular car the most beneficial 'mod' would probably to run it on super unleaded.

And then fit a level 2 kit (c.300bhp!)