IAT- when to upgrade the intercooler?

[7thSonEngineering]

prior to spending big money on a new intercooler try the 107$ Real IAT harness. Stock intercooler stock tune you shouldn’t have IAT issues really. Your IAT should always be 12f or less above ambient.

That’s where my IATs stay with the stock intercooler but I am also tuned. The picture is my intercooler that I am using now. The car was in an accident prior to me purchasing it.

 

[Retro7610]

Oh that makes perfect sense. Any Kia warranty issues using this method and harness?

 

[7thSonEngineering]

Oh that makes perfect sense. Any Kia warranty issues using this method and harness?

No one has had any issues or check engine lights. Of course I would never drive into the dealership with the harness installed for warranty work. It installs and removes in 2-5 minutes

 

[Thomby]

Overheat is the wrong term. Based on this conversation and the way I drive, as Thomby indicated, with a larger intercooler I might see a "quicker return to near-ambient IATs once the car starts moving"

When at full boost, you see IAT-ambient > 60-140 F, that means you need a bigger intercooler.

I see significantly higher temps (larger delta between IAT & ambient) when sitting in a drive-thru line than I ever see during/after flooring it to full boost, through multiple gears, on Map 5. I didn't take detailed data when stock for a true before & after, but I don't think I can stay WOT long enough on the street to be IAT-limited.

Maybe if I let my car idle in a hot parking lot (or drag strip line) for 10 minutes before doing an aggressive pull. Or going to a track where you can stay at heavy throttle for extended periods. Your best bet is probably to drive around with one of those cheap real-time bluetooth scanners, or the JB4 app open, watching how your IATs react to cruising, sitting, and boost.

The picture is my intercooler that I am using now. The car was in an accident prior to me purchasing it.

"Installed volume-reducing venturi mod for quicker transient throttle response."

 

[Retro7610]

Thomby said: "Maybe if I let my car idle in a hot parking lot (or drag strip line) for 10 minutes before doing an aggressive pull. Or going to a track where you can stay at heavy throttle for extended periods. Your best bet is probably to drive around with one of those cheap real-time bluetooth scanners, or the JB4 app open, watching how your IATs react to cruising, sitting, and boost."

That would be a very interesting study.

 

[Tigershark]

Thomby said: "Maybe if I let my car idle in a hot parking lot (or drag strip line) for 10 minutes before doing an aggressive pull. Or going to a track where you can stay at heavy throttle for extended periods. Your best bet is probably to drive around with one of those cheap real-time bluetooth scanners, or the JB4 app open, watching how your IATs react to cruising, sitting, and boost."

That would be a very interesting study.

I more or less did this to monitor changes after installing the 7thSon IAT harness. It makes quite the difference since your car is measuring IAT a lot further away from the factory position (which is directly above the intake valves in the valley of the motor). Stagnant idle with stock sensor data always seemed to climb like a mofo since there was essentially no surplus of fresh air being delivered into the valley. I'd routinely see IAT's reading 20-30 degrees above ambient even in 50*F weather from just sitting waiting for a traffic light to change; if I had done this same experiment idling for 10 minutes eventually you'd reach a stable temp that more than likely would show well north of this. With the IAT harness, the most I've ever seen is roughly 10 degrees over ambient doing the same thing. The car makes power faster and more consistently as a result; it never feels like I'm losing timing or having heat soak cause a parasitic loss.

 

[Retro7610]

That's terrific, @Tigershark. You've done the work for me (not that I could do it quite yet at my stage of the game anyway, Lol!). I much appreciate that!

 

[Retro7610]

That's terrific, @Tigershark. You've done the work for me (not that I could do it quite yet at my stage of the game anyway, Lol!). I much appreciate that!

Thanks again @Tigershark. Installed mine two weeks ago. With about 200 miles on it including some nice long pulls and a lot of sitting in traffic, stop and go, etc., the car seems to run and accelerate better than before - like i is having an easier time doing what i ask no matter the conditions. Thinking I may be imagining this, I had 2 friends familiar with this Stinger drive it and they think it runs better than before. I know his is all anecdotal on my part as I don't have any way to do accurate measurements yet, but I just ordered a harness for my other Stinger and we'll see how she likes it.