[Mk2] [Turbo] Using Aircon pipework for water intercooler.

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sir chad
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2008 7:28 pm
Location: W.Sussex

[Mk2] [Turbo] Using Aircon pipework for water intercooler.

Post by sir chad »

After fitting a bigger intercooler and deleting my Aircon it occurred to me that I could have used the aircon pipework and matrix as the basis for a water to air intercooler.
Has anyone done this??
rev2rich
Posts: 519
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 4:43 pm

Re: [Mk2] [Turbo] Using Aircon pipework for water intercooler.

Post by rev2rich »

Not sure if any one has done it but when I was looking to do my build I found this

https://killerchiller.com/products/univ ... rallel-kit

Using the AC to cool a CC set up to keep the wait down. I was unable to do it as my AC was shot so never went this rooot

Hope this helps Rich
shinny
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Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:59 pm
Location: Reading, UK

Re: [Mk2] [Turbo] Using Aircon pipework for water intercooler.

Post by shinny »

Stock aircon condensors tend to be shot by now anyway, but even a new one is probably not going to do as cool a job as a purpose built charge cooler pre rad. There's also other parts of the aircon system that you'd want to by-pass (evaporator, heat exchanger etc) so it's not as simple as hooking up the core / pump to the aircon lines in engine bay and calling it quits.

You're doing a charge cooler for performance reasons, so do it right or you may as well stick with a SMIC.
pbmr2
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Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:49 pm

Re: [Mk2] [Turbo] Using Aircon pipework for water intercooler.

Post by pbmr2 »

using the lines under the chassis to carry the water to the front isn't a bad shout. Main downside is the pipe is narrow so flow is going to suffer.

The larger the hose the more water there is in the system, you're using the water as a heat sink so more is better.

Proper pre-rad and a decent pump really make or break any CC system. The hose is cheap, very cheap.
markstevieandmads
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Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2013 8:18 pm
Location: Swindon, Wilts

Re: [Mk2] [Turbo] Using Aircon pipework for water intercooler.

Post by markstevieandmads »

I didnt use the air con pipework mainly because it looked just to small to me.
pbmr2
Posts: 929
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:49 pm

Re: [Mk2] [Turbo] Using Aircon pipework for water intercooler.

Post by pbmr2 »

It is tiny, and some of the bends are sharp. Maybe 4-5mm ID, when the 19mm CC hoses are deemed the smaller end of the market.
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