Stupid Question number 2

[DONWORK]

So it's a well-known fact that Mazda was taking a hit off of Subaru's crack pipe when they decided to mount an intercooler on top of a heat source. Until someone comes up with a commercially viable front mount intercooler kit, we are stuck with trying to improve the efficiency of what we have. Either by Nitrous spray bars ($400 for the kit plus refills), by Co2 (not good to have Co2 in an engine compartment) or with water spray kits. Now keep in mind, this post is a result of a "what-if" moment, but has anyone looked at a slim-profile, high output (1500 cfm or so) pusher-type electric cooling fan mounted to the top of the intercooler? It would be simple enough to to, i'm just curious about possible gains, if any.

I have seen recent adds for intercoolers with ports for Co2 on the end tanks. Supposedly for the Co2 to help cool the air exiting the intercooler. I've sent a couple emails requesting information but have yet to hear back.

So...thoughts? Ideas?

 

[jonny_sin]

well i would just upgrade the stock top mount to the ets top mount as it is a big diffrence in heat exchang and heat soak is no where as viable as in the stock intercooler..now i am in the process of custom making an fmic for my cx-7 with help from other sources in the business.. if everything comes out as expected i am planning on producing 10 more kits to go up for sale. but still in the testing.

 

[wwest]

The very first thing I would do is mount about 4 of those relatively inexpensive 12 volt computer "boxer" (5"X1") fans (solid state power "commutation" ball bearing type) on top of the intercooler blowing/forcing airflow downward. Since heat rises I would always would run the fans but at low speed, each two in series, and only go to full speed as boost is begins to rise.

 

[wwest]

Has anyone considered adding a second refrigerant evaporator to the existing A/C system..??

Select a relatively thin evaporator to mount over the existing intercooler..??

Most modern day minivans have a second evaporator for cooling the rear.

 

[Mazda3]

The very first thing I would do is mount about 4 of those relatively inexpensive 12 volt computer "boxer" (5"X1") fans (solid state power "commutation" ball bearing type) on top of the intercooler blowing/forcing airflow downward. Since heat rises I would always would run the fans but at low speed, each two in series, and only go to full speed as boost is begins to rise.

There's no room for any of this stuff.

 

[Shadow102]

The very first thing I would do is mount about 4 of those relatively inexpensive 12 volt computer "boxer" (5"X1") fans (solid state power "commutation" ball bearing type) on top of the intercooler blowing/forcing airflow downward. Since heat rises I would always would run the fans but at low speed, each two in series, and only go to full speed as boost is begins to rise.

I think I would fall on the ground laughing if I saw somebody with that on their top mount. It would hinder more than help the issue.

A simple fix to all of this is to simply run meth/water injection. I have actually seen a couple modified turbo cars run just meth injection in place of an intercooler.

 

[DONWORK]

intercooler fan

I would have to snicker at the computer fans as well but the meth injection sounds like a good idea. A good 1500 cfm fan runs for about $150..and the injection kits arent THAT much more. Hmmmm...time for a little more research.

 

[SuperStretch18]

There are actually a lot of guys running meth injection on MS3's and MS6's. Here's a couple of places to start:

http://www.alcohol-injection.com/water-injection-kits-1/mazda-50/mazdaspeed-3-6-276.html

http://www.pt-performance.com/showProduct.php?vID=3&cID=3&pID=186

 

[rnjmur]

The very first thing I would do is mount about 4 of those relatively inexpensive 12 volt computer "boxer" (5"X1") fans (solid state power "commutation" ball bearing type) on top of the intercooler blowing/forcing airflow downward. Since heat rises I would always would run the fans but at low speed, each two in series, and only go to full speed as boost is begins to rise.

The other problem with this is that, like you said, heat rises. If you blow air DOWN on to the IC you will be blowing the hottest air onto the IC. You would want the fans to blow AWAY from the IC to draw the cooler air in. Also, If you blow the air down onto the IC you would be trying to force air against the flow of the radiator fans which is not going to work, you will cause a heat pocket in the IC in turn raising the intake air tempuratures.

 

[wwest]

No, blowing down would draw relatively cool air from the standard intake and COOL the compressed atmosphere within the inetrcooler while simultaneously forcing the HOT engine heat downward and away from the intercooler. As it is currently with no intercooler "forced" airflow due to forward motion the intercooler just gets hotter and HOTTER due to upward convection airflow plus the radiant heating effects, both due to the HOT engine lying underneath.

 

[Mazda3]

(screwy)

 

[Alpha Wolf]

TMIC are done for packaging (ie easy of assembly of the car and engine) and to be less prone to damage.

Not for max power. But since this is not my race car I just went with a 3" ETS TMIC. Yes there is a noticeable improvement. Where the stock TMIC was too hot to touch the ETS is cool to the touch when I park. I am sure stopped it will heat soak too. But once moving it fed from the grilles ram air and down and under the car drawing the hot air off.

It works nice and is a 10 minute installation.

 

[DONWORK]

Stupid question and saga continued. In chasing down elusive and infuriating check engine codes, I ordered an upstream o2 from onlinemazdaparts.com. The problem was that apparantly the factory o2 has fused itself to the factory j-pipe and all the o2 sockets did was start to round off the o2 sensor. Out of frustration, I put it all back together and suprisingly enough it still runs however in addition to the recurring P2187, now im getting the P0031. I'm not surprised..I was sure the the crows-foot socket had damaged something once I felt it give and slip. If this were you...would you look for a used j-pipe, a high dollar dp (cp-e, cobb, etc..) or a $139 special off ebay (looks alot like the turbo xs). On another note...does anyone have a part number and/or a price for the surge valve?

Thanks in advance.....Don

 

[I`m Batman]

Stupid question and saga continued. In chasing down elusive and infuriating check engine codes, I ordered an upstream o2 from onlinemazdaparts.com. The problem was that apparantly the factory o2 has fused itself to the factory j-pipe and all the o2 sockets did was start to round off the o2 sensor. Out of frustration, I put it all back together and suprisingly enough it still runs however in addition to the recurring P2187, now im getting the P0031. I'm not surprised..I was sure the the crows-foot socket had damaged something once I felt it give and slip. If this were you...would you look for a used j-pipe, a high dollar dp (cp-e, cobb, etc..) or a $139 special off ebay (looks alot like the turbo xs). On another note...does anyone have a part number and/or a price for the surge valve?

Thanks in advance.....Don

What kind of intake are you running? I had P2187 on my 08 CX-7 as well. Most likely because the MAF sensor wasn't calibrated for the aftermarket intake that I was using. I switched the intake back to stock and the code went away.

My Speed3 was just about to get the same code (I was monitoring the LTFT) with all the mods I have on it... Plus I was getting boost cuts and over boosting because of all the mods... I decided to get Hypertech, which calibrate the MAF for my specific intake system. Now my STFT and LTFT is perfect, just like stock. Increased boost and no more boost cuts.

Anyway my point is, if you have an aftermarket intake, that's probably why you're getting P2187 because your MAF is not calibrated for it. If you have a dashhawk, check your LTFT. It's probably close to +10% or more at idle, and it'll get higher (leaner and the computer have to add more gas to compensate because the amount of air you're actually getting is not what the computer think its getting) as you give it more gas. Stock is around -5% to -7% or so at idle and +5% or +6% at WOT. I changed my intake back to stock and everything went back to normal after a few drives. I didn't reset it like I did in the past. Give it a shot.

Oh, and I have ETS TMIC on the CX-7 as well. No CEL because the MAF is still correctly calibrated with stock intake. Until there's a solution like Hypertech for CX-7, I'll stick with stock intake... for now.

 

[DONWORK]

I'm actually using an ebay cai (wrapped in dei heat ins. wrap) and was lucky enough for the aem air straightener to fit perfectly. I also have the problem of the idle stumbling when I fill up which leads me to belive it's the purge valve. I have no choice but to replace the O2 due to the damage to the heater circuit from trying to swap it out the other night. I may put the stock intake back on but I still have to find some way to either get the stock O2 out and reuse the j/s-pipe or go with an aftermarket downpipe. Will the MS3 downpipes work on the fwd cx-7?

btw..I put 400 miles on it yesterday and still got 24mpg. I think the purge valve was the problem all along.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.

Don