Intercooler sprayer.... idea.

[Nakazoto]

Alright, so let me see if I can explain my thought process.

It first started when I was procrastinating at work. I was thinking about how I was flogging my little super turbo on the super hot day yesterday. It was all first, second and third gear flogging too, so there wasn't a whole lot of airflow going on, but there was a lot of boost getting thrown around. Then I remembered that my buddies STI Spec C had a factory built in intercooler sprayer. Then to procrastinate even more I read a lot. I started thinking that an intercooler sprayer and a radiator sprayer that activates at wide open throttle could do quite a lot to keep temps in check on hot days. This would (theoretically) allow me to flog it on hot days and be able to shelf that niggling little voice in my head that keep screaming "heat soak".

So I got to thinking. I don't want it to activate and just dump water all over the intercooler non-stop. That doesn't give the water any time to evaporate and pull the heat out of the intercooler (or so I've read). But, more importantly, I'm lazy and hate refilling things, so I wanted to find a way to make the bottle last longer while still being effective.

No here's where I always mess up, when I get excited about designing something I like to pretend I'm an engineer and that I have a clue what I'm doing (which I'm not and I clearly do not, haha). That didn't stop me from drawing pictures, haha.

First thing first, yes that is a pink bunny pillow, it's awesome. Second, let me explain. My thoughts are if I can have it trigger on whenever I hit WOT (still contemplating whether to switch this to a pressure trigger set for 10 psi or something) I want the pump to cycle on for 2 seconds then off for 2 seconds. Best way to achieve this is through a 555 timer. I just picked some values for resistors and the caps but that will all change depending on what I can get my hands on, at any rate, there's enough flexibility in the design that no matter what caps I get I can work with the resistors to get the timing right. So, +12 comes out of the battery, hits the master kill switch so I can turn the whole system off 99% of the time. Next it hits either the wot switch or an override switch. The override switch is so I can turn it on get some spray happening without having to hammer the throttle. Then it hits the 555 timer circuit and cycles the relay on and off at 2 second intervals.

For the pump I'll pull from the washer tank and run black vacuum hoses so they'll practically disappear in the sea of vacuum hoses under the hood. I'll also run an in0line pump hidden somewhere. My idea s to hide it all well enough that aside from two discreet switches inside you wouldn't have a clue that I've tampered with anything.

I'm not completely sold on this idea yet and still not entirely sure how much it will help. Also, I've heard some people say that using washer fluid is tops cause it wont freeze and has slight traces of ethanol in it that evaporates nice and fast. I've also heard people say that that is stupid. At any rate, regardless of if I even ever build this or not, I got some quality procrastination in today, so win all around!

So, hit me guys. What do you think? Worth it, waste of time? Cool? Lame? Where can you get you a pink bunny pillow?

Cheers
David

 

[Eliot]

I think its a great idea! well the idea anyway, im not sure about all the electrics and what not, I'm more of an engine person than electrical. The only thing I can suggest is changing the top mount inter-cooler to font mount to keep it cooler and rather than have the water spray out, try and get a few nozzles that spray a mist so that it covers a wider surface area and the water supply last longer.

 

[NeX]

using a set of injectors might be perfect for this.

people already use this method but spray NOS on the intercooler, which is a waste of NOS really.

 

[Nakazoto]

Popping over to a front mount is definitely the best way to ensure cooler temps, but my ultimate goal is to keep the car as close to factory as possible. I want to be able to pop the hood and have it look 100% original under there. I'm thinking if I hide everything well enough, no one will even be able to tell, yet when I hammer it on a hot summer day, it runs like it's a crisp autumn day instead!

If I can find some good mist nozzles I might get started on this project. The electronics actually scare me the least, I've always been the odd man out that loved to do wiring on a car, haha.

Expect more on this as I venture on out to random garden supply stores!
Cheers
David

 

[Shaun]

Would love to see this in progress....

Excellent procrastination aswell! (Y)

 

[pork]

I may not be following this right, but wot Iv got in my head that you need is an adjustable timed solenoid, I use them for pneumatic systems at work, they have a adjustable time setting, plus a 'test' (overide) button that you can activate as and when you want.

 

[Daniel]

Damn, this project is good! I love the ideas (Y). However, pink bunny pillow? fwn

:laugh:

 

[aLLeKs]

However, pink bunny pillow? fwn

:laugh:

I think we need a picture of this... definetely

 

[Daniel]

I think we need a picture of this... definetely

More than the need for another picture of this gorgeous Super Turbo? fwn

 

[Nakazoto]

Thanks guys for the comments!
Sorry for the massive MIA, work has been out of control lately! Anyways, I decided to go to the electronics district and buy some parts. It is, how you say, on like Donkey Kong!

After inhaling a lot of solder smoke, I ended up with this. Things to note, I originally had a potentiometer planned, but I pulled it out and ran with a resistor to make sure everything was working right. I eventually reverted back to the potentiometer so I could adjust the amount of time on and off.

A whole lot of ghetto wiring! Also, full throttle switch, master switch, override switch and potentiometer back in place on the board.

Alright, testing! Kicks the little light on and off at adjustable intervals with the override switch and master switch both on, just as planned.

Override switch off, but full throttle switch pressed gets the light flashing as well!

The only visual change inside the car. Ignore the green wire falling down in the back, I hadn't hooked it up fully yet, haha.

Full throttle switch.

Board mounted to the inside of the dash, still reachable from the drivers seat so you can adjust the on off timing, but completely invisible unless you're a serious contortionist! Also to note, I used double side tape for everything as I wanted nothing permanent and no holes, so I could rip it all out in a matter of minutes if I got sick of it. Not sure if this will backfire on me and have the full throttle switch falling off. We'll see. I may upgrade to zip ties on the full throttle switch in the future.

Motor mounted.

Alright, at this point I hooked up the washer tank with a T on it and tested it out. Thing went haywire! I think the amperage load on the motor is too much for the little relay I'm using. It was crazy, just randomly flipping on and off with no rhyme or reason! I'm going to try having the little relay kick on a bigger, automotive relay and see if that fixes the issue. If not, maybe the wire I'm running to the wire got scraped somewhere and is intermittently shorting out to ground. At any rate, I didn't have time to further pursue that as my girlfriend's new car showed up!

More on that here: http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/47014-My-girlfriends-new-March!?p=486725#post486725

Anyways, more on this intercooler idea madness to come in the near future!

Cheers
David

 

[sr20bud]

nice im sure you will sort it keep us posted (Y)

 

[Nakazoto]

Alrighty! Finally got it all sorted.

I was having trouble with the draw from the washer motor being enough to pull voltage away from the controller board (since the 12 volts for the pump was being pulled from the 12 volts for the control board) causing the 555 timer to go haywire. So, I doubled up on relays, one on the inside on the control board and an automotive specific relay under the hood. This fixed the issue right as rain. The interior relay sends 12 volts to the bigger relay under the hood. The bigger relay kicks on and 12 volts direct from the battery hits the washer motor, completely isolating the washer motor load from the controller board.

My whole goal with this was to keep it as incognito as possible, and with the washer bottle in, you can't really tell its there! Everything hides nicely under the bottle.

Looking from a different angle you can see the washer motor, but since I used one from a 280ZX, it looks pretty factory.

This is my mounting for the nozzle on the hood scoop. It seems pretty solid. I'll check on it every couple days to see how well it holds up.

Ran the line, it's the clear silicone line that runs right beside the factory black washer nozzle line. Some day in the future I'll buy some proper washer nozzle hose and run that instead for an even more invisible look.

Kind of hard to see, but you can just see the nozzle through the hood scoop. Plenty of clearance between it and the intercooler and it seems to spray directly onto it.

Haven't really had a chance to test it as it's raining like crazy outside right now, and not much need for an intercooler sprayer when its cool and raining outside, haha. I reckon I'll give it a shot on a hot day after sitting in traffic and letting the intercooler heat soak a bit.

And that's how you build a completely unnecessary and overly complicated intercooler sprayer!

Cheers
David