Intercooler Basics

There are two basic types of intercooler available, air/air intercoolers and air/water intercoolers which are often called "charge" coolers. Whereas the air/air intercooler uses the air directly hitting the intercooler to cool the charge air, the charge air in a water/air intercooler uses water to cool the charge air. This water is pumped through a circuit which contains a radiator which keeps the water cool.

The basic differences between the two types of intercooler, from an installation and design point of view are as follows. The air/air intercooler is far less complicated from a plumbing point of view and is generally more efficient at high speeds. The water/air intercooler's plumbing is more complex due to the fact that there are two circuits to install, one for the water and one for the charge air. Although an air/air intercooler is generally more efficient at high speeds than a water/air intercooler. A water/air intercooler generally offers superior charge air cooling at low speeds compared to the air/air intercooler.

Air/water intercoolers also offer additional benefits over the air/air intercooler, the first is the fact that they are generally smaller which makes their installation easier when space is restricted and they also experience less lag than front mounted air/air intercoolers as the path from the turbo outlet to the inlet manifold can be much shorter than an air/air front mounted intercooler.

As the air/water intercooler contains an extra circuit for circulating the water these systems are more expensive due to the fact that there is extra piping, they require an additional radiator to cool the water and they also require electrical components such as a water pump and associated switches to control the operation of the water pump. The air/air intercooler is much more straight forward and is therefore cheaper.

Intercooler Manufacturer - Company Details

ABD

APEX'i
Our product lineup has improved once again proving that we are committed to bringing the newest racing technology to our customers. Newer electronics, more functions and more vehicle applications make A'PEXi products stand out from the rest.

APS
APS have over twenty years experience in designing and manufacturing turbocharger and intercooler systems combined with an extensive background in EFI engine management systems for select 4X4 and performance passenger cars. 

ARC

Autobahn88
The autobahn88 universal intercooler is constructed entirely of high quality 6061 aluminum and the core is 100% vacuum brazed. The polished aluminum end tanks are hand TIG welded for a perfect fit.

Blitz
The superbly designed Blitz intercoolers have been finely engineered to maximise cooling efficiency, minimise pressure drop, and reduce the chance of detonation.

Dads Custom Intercooler Tanks
We custom build Intercooler water and ice reservoir tanks,Fuel cells,Combo units To your specs.Turbo For drag racing,Street racing.Any thing you drive we can make a tank for.

We build custom intercooler tanks for everything,Mercedes,Crossfire,Mustang,Corvette,Talons,Subaru,Porsche,Eclipse,Tuners ect,any thing you drive we can make a tank for it.We have Battery replacment Intercooler tanks that go where your battery would be,we have half rounds that fit in your spare tire area,We also have some standard sizes in stock. We can also take your plastic tank and fab it out of aluminum.I guarantee the best price and quality around

Docking Engineering, Silverstone, Northants, UK
Docking Engineering is the leading UK supplier of motorsport cooling systems Formed in 1984, the company can provide a full range of services from a basic radiator core to full system design and manufacture Docking Engineering's products are used by the world's leading teams and manufacturers and have played their part in winning the World Sportscar and World Rally Championships as well as the Le Mans 24 Hours, Daytona, The Indy 500 and the grueling Dakar Rally. Equal Importance is given to the smaller teams and individuals whose participation is vital to motorsport From club mans to world championships, teams continue to compete and win with its products

Forge Motorsport
We are dedicated in applying our wealth of knowledge and technical expertise, gained through years of research and development, to create products that deliver the highest level of quality.

GReddy TRUST
The addition of a GReddy intercooler is one of the best ways to safely increase horsepower in a turbocharged engine. By reducing the engine's inlet temperatures, a denser air charge will enter the engine; this can make more horsepower at the same boost level and even more power at higher boost levels.

HKS
HKS Intercoolers improve both efficiency and power of turbo applications by rapidly reducing heat from the compressed intake charge before entering the engine.

Hyperflow
Specialist Intercooler Manufacturer - When we develop a new Intercooling system, we can confirm the function and Performance on the track and on the road.
Dealers:
Australia: MRT Performance
France: Distrex
Norway: Face Motorsport
Singapore: Universal Consultants
UK: AET Turbochargers
USA: XX Tuning

Injen
Injen Technology Forced Induction Hard Parts offer additional performance for the turbo charged vehicles ranging from Downpipes to Front Mount Intercooler Kits.
Dealers:
USA:
Australia: PSI Product
Canada: Lightspeed Innovations
Holland: JCP

Pace Products
We supply a wide range of high performance ally radiators, intercoolers, chargecoolers, & accessories.

Pace offers a range of remote-mounted oil pumps second to none. From single stage scavenge/pressure pumps, to complete dry sump kits (including our 'easy clean' oil tanks). The company designs and manufactures one-off oil pumps to customer specifications It is one of the UK's leading manufacturers and supplier of lightweight, high performance, alloy water radiators In straight curved and tapered form for cars, motorcycles, karts, aircraft and tanks. Pace manufactures and supplies a wide range of lightweight high- efficiency alloy intercooler and charge coolers. One-offs and batch work are a speciality. Both radiator and Intercooler cores can be manufactured in-house, to specific requirements

Spearco by Turbonetics
Not only do we make the complete ready to bolt-on kits as outlined in the Spearco section of this catalog, but with our extensive line of cores we can custom fabricate intercoolers for virtually any application.

Think Automotive ltd, Middlesex, UK
Think Automotive was founded in 1967 to produce packaged oil cooler Installations and has continued to expand into most aspects of high performance automobile plumbing. Today it manufactures the MOCAL range or air to oil coolers and associated products It also distributes Lamlnova, Setrab and Brise oil coolers making it the world's leading oil cooler specialists

Turbo XS 
When massive flow and cooling is needed, the Turbo XS Front Mount Intercooler delivers.

Intercooler Manufacturer Searches

Audi Intercooler
Audi TT Intercooler
Audi A4 Intercooler

Mitsubishi Intercooler
Mitsubishi EVO Intercooler
Mitsubishi Eclipse Intercooler

Nissan Intercooler
Nissan Skyline Intercooler
Nissan 200SX Intercooler
Nissan 350Z Intercooler
Nissan Pulsar/Sunny GTI-R Intercooler

Subaru Intercooler
Subaru Impreza Intercooler
Subaru Legacy Intercooler

Toyota Intercooler
Toyota Supra Intercooler

VW Intercooler
VW Golf Intercooler
 

Universal Intercooler
Intercooler Core
Intercooler Piping

Front Mount Intercooler
Top Mount Intercooler