Mishimoto's Performance Intercooler R&D Thread

Roostfactor · Jun 24, 2022

Haha, yes I am aware of fluid dynamics (air being a fluid) but curious of your thought process.
I can't answer your question though but I'm thinking along the same lines as you in that the air entering the intercooler has to slam up against the end tank then "find" its way through the intercooler rather than it being "directed" into the intercooler via angled entry.

The way to test this at least partially would be to flow test it with the max cfm the engine produces and check the pressure drop from inlet to outlet.

There may or may not be any difference in restriction until higher flow than what stock or tuned vehicles produce. Now if you had bigger turbos, high flowing exhaust, etc pushing 700 hp the probability for the non contoured intercooler inlet/outlet pipes causing a restriction increases.

UNBROKEN · Jun 24, 2022

All of this stuff is pressurized…you won’t find a measurable difference between rounded end tanks and squared off.

TMac · Jun 24, 2022

As @UNBROKEN writes, it's really not a big deal about square vs rounded end tank although it's not due to the pressure, it's due to velocity. Air ends up stalling in corners effectively "rounding" the internal corner areas due to higher boundary layer friction- a 90 degree corner has greater surface area than a rounded corner. The effect of that is hardly measurable. The more important design consideration is the 90 degree turn between the intercooler inlet and outlets and the plate channels.

Regardless of the amount of pressurization (density), the air coming out of the compressor has velocity (kinetic energy) and since the air enters and leaves the intercooler at a 90 degree angle there is no doubt that this will cause some turbulence as the charge air slams into the front wall of the tank and then has to change direction to run through the channels in the plates. The effect of this flow disruption relative to the compressor nozzle is to cause a pressure rise at that point. That contributes to "pressure loss" through the intercooler along with internal friction and changes in volume.

The pressure loss requires the compressor to "work harder"- provide a higher boost level than what is commanded by the ECU, but in reality it's the efficiency of the intercooler to lower the charge air temp that has the biggest affect on performance.

Roostfactor · Jun 24, 2022

TMac said:

As @UNBROKEN writes, it's really not a big deal about square vs rounded end tank although it's not due to the pressure, it's due to velocity. Air ends up stalling in corners effectively "rounding" the internal corner areas due to higher boundary layer friction- a 90 degree corner has greater surface area than a rounded corner. The effect of that is hardly measurable. The more important design consideration is the 90 degree turn between the intercooler inlet and outlets and the plate channels.

Regardless of the amount of pressurization (density), the air coming out of the compressor has velocity (kinetic energy) and since the air enters and leaves the intercooler at a 90 degree angle there is no doubt that this will cause some turbulence as the charge air slams into the front wall of the tank and then has to change direction to run through the channels in the plates. The effect of this flow disruption relative to the compressor nozzle is to cause a pressure rise at that point. That contributes to "pressure loss" through the intercooler along with internal friction and changes in volume.

The pressure loss requires the compressor to "work harder"- provide a higher boost level than what is commanded by the ECU, but in reality it's the efficiency of the intercooler to lower the charge air temp that has the biggest affect on performance.

Not completely related to the subject but this is a cool vid showing a see through intercooler.

TMac · Jun 24, 2022

A flawed premise, a flawed process and a flawed execution lead to....absolutely nothing! WTF was he trying to prove? I want that 10 minutes back!

Roostfactor · Jun 24, 2022

TMac said:

Wow tough crowd. I thought seeing the temp differential and watching how the smoke (airflow) made its way through was cool to see.

TheHypnoToad · Jun 24, 2022

Big Turk said:

Definitely would prefer a black with silver or white logo.

Chamorro85 · Jun 29, 2022

Just my two cents...but I've seen people paint their FMIC all the time. If you really want to tweak the look its not hard to do. With this vehicle there isn't much visible between the front grill and the active shutters...I'm not worries too much about it.

After this bad boy goes in people are only going to be seeing our taillights...maybe work on some tailgate mods lol...

Cruising68 · Jun 29, 2022

TheHypnoToad said:

I painted my Whipple on front with Eastwood radiator paint. Supposedly it has good thermal characteristics and spray thin coats.

TheHypnoToad · Jun 29, 2022

Cruising68 said:

Thanks and that would be my back up plan. Although I wonder about putting another layer however thin over the powder coat that these will have.

Mishimoto · Jun 30, 2022

Chamorro85 said:

Just to follow up on this - yep, since we're retaining the grille shutters and other components, you'll really have to be looking to see the silver coating. But, that said, read the next comment if you're looking to change the coloring yourself

Cruising68 said:

TheHypnoToad said:

Yep, thin coats are ideal. Primarily you'll want to avoid paint collection on the intercooler fins, since that's what's doing the cooling

-Nick

TheHypnoToad · Jun 30, 2022

Mishimoto said:

Thanks Nick. Think I’ll just leave it as stock given the comments about it not being that visible. Looking forward to the announcement that it is available to order. I’m guessing that’s coming shortly, right?

Mishimoto · Jul 1, 2022

TheHypnoToad said:

VERY shortly

Right now we're within 2 weeks as of today

-Nick

Chamorro85 · Jul 2, 2022

So pumped for this announcement!

Mishimoto · Jul 8, 2022

Hey Guys!

Happy Friday! I'm bumping this thread with some GREAT news - the time has come! Our Explorer ST Intercoolers are now available on presale, with a special introductory price of $919.95. This pricing will only last for a limited time, so make sure to grab yours before the sale ends! We expect to begin shipping these in approximately 3-5 weeks

PERFORMANCE FRONT MOUNT INTERCOOLER KIT, FITS FORD EXPLORER ST 2020+

-Nick

TheHypnoToad · Jul 8, 2022

Great news. Order placed! Look forward to getting this and getting it installed.

Chamorro85 · Jul 11, 2022

Nice! How long do you think the pre-sale is going for?

StoneColdBlue22 · Jul 11, 2022

Are there going to be any flow charts/temp charts to see how it compares to the whipple?

Chamorro85 · Jul 11, 2022

StoneColdBlue22 said:

If you look at the information they released its better in some areas (temps are deff lower & sustained). End of the day its a huge upgrade from stock and a great entry level price!

UNBROKEN · Jul 11, 2022

Chamorro85 said:

Where did you find data on the Whipple to compare?

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Mishimoto's Performance Intercooler R&D Thread

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