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New AWIC Work

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:55 pm
by Legacy777
Well I'm going to try and upgrade the radiator in my AWIC setup.

I pulled the bumper off. I'm probably going to notch the bumper beam about 1.5-2 inches. However I want to see what radiator I'm going to use first. The vertical radiator core support is in the way....but I'm not sure if that will be a big deal. I need to start looking at different radiators.

Also, I found that my bumper beam was barely bolted on. The shop that did the work when I had a small accident messed up the bumper beam. The welds on the nuts broke, and he had them just screwed into the metal. So I'll have to fix that too.

Here's some pics

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... cradiator/

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:07 pm
by stipro
I have a the factory radiator, and my idea was to notch the bumper beam as well. It should work just fine.

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:33 pm
by Legacy777
Do you have any pictures of the stock AWIC radiator? If not, could you take some?

Thanks

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:37 pm
by Adam West
I'd like to see how you do this josh. Need notching expertise for eventual front mount...

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:12 am
by stipro
Here's a few:
Image
Image
Image
Image

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:04 pm
by Legacy777
Thanks for the pictures!

Those are great.

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:39 pm
by evolutionmovement
What about mounting two smaller ones in the lower bumper in front of the wheels. There's a set of blocked out cooling holes under the blinkers that could aid cooling in that position.

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:58 pm
by Legacy777
ehh....I guess that's a possibility....but I don't think that would be optimal....plus require more hoses and crap.

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 3:30 am
by jefferson
It looks like you have plenty of surface area with the two radiators you have. Are they not enough? It also looks like you are running them in parallel rather than series. Wouldn't they work better in series?

I just located a good awic and am going to be looking for all the stuff to get the system up and running. Yours looks good so I was wondering why you were looking to change things.

Jeff

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:10 am
by stipro
Jefferson wrote:I just located a good awic and am going to be looking for all the stuff to get the system up and running. Yours looks good so I was wondering why you were looking to change things.

Jeff
I think he is worried/thinking about flow characteristics. A properly sized single unit usually posses less resistance to flow and cooling than multiple undersized units installed, regardless of piping arrangement.

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:40 am
by SubaruNation
:lol: you could also make a scoop on your fender and put one inside there ha ha ;)

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 5:49 pm
by Legacy777
Jeff,

The setup I have does work. When it's cool, the AWIC is cool to the touch. The colder the weather, the more impressed I am with the AWIC setup.

The pump I have flows a pretty decent amount. However having a small fitting size 3/8" really restricts the flow.

This post shows the different flow rates with varying size tubing & radiators
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 846#143846

I would like to find a radiator that has 5/8 - 3/4" fittings so the flow will be better.

I've also contemplated redoing the mounting for my pump. I don't like the fact that the pump is upside down, and also would like to have a small resevoir or surge tank right before the suction of the pump. I've got an idea in my head about that, but I need to see if I'll have room, and would need to do some fabrication.

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:35 pm
by jefferson
I put a pc 680 battery in mine for the lighter weight, but now I am thinking that I can use some of the room I now have there for a small tank.
I haven't got my awic yet. What size is the tubing coming off of that?

I feel the only downside to the awic is the weight. I have heard alot about them not being good for long durations of boost, but the 100,000 km record setting cars used the awic setup and they were on boost for 16 days. If the system is good I don't see a problem with them.

Jeff

Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:27 pm
by Legacy777
Tubing size is in metric, but the closest US size is 5/8" I believe.

The big thing with AWIC setups is, once you do heat soak the system, it becomes difficult to cool it back down. But otherwise they're great IMO.

I haven't had any way to monitor charge temps. But do know the system works well with cooler temps. In stop & go & city traffic temps are little warmer.

During the summer down here, the AWIC was hot....but don't recall it being engine temp hot.

Either way, it's always better to have more radiator capacity then intercooler capcity so if your temps do get a little high, you'll have a little extra cooling capacity to bring them back into check.

Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:25 am
by SubaruNation
i'm going to install a computer fan (the big kind) in my engine bay to prevent the heat-soak, i think it might be a good idea for the AWIC also.

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:37 am
by i_c_the_light
Legacy777 wrote:Tubing size is in metric, but the closest US size is 5/8" I believe.

The big thing with AWIC setups is, once you do heat soak the system, it becomes difficult to cool it back down. But otherwise they're great IMO.

I haven't had any way to monitor charge temps. But do know the system works well with cooler temps. In stop & go & city traffic temps are little warmer.

During the summer down here, the AWIC was hot....but don't recall it being engine temp hot.

Either way, it's always better to have more radiator capacity then intercooler capcity so if your temps do get a little high, you'll have a little extra cooling capacity to bring them back into check.
What is the metric size of the tubes? I've had a lot of sudden inspiration and this weird urge to want to do stuff to my car now that the front bumper is off and with all the bolt on bits of the RH front corner obliterated in a head on.

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:41 pm
by evolutionmovement
These common sizes interchange within the tolerance range of most tools.
5/16" = 8mm
7/16" = 11mm
1/2" = 13mm
9/16" = 14mm
5/8" = 16mm
11/16" = 17mm
3/4" = 19mm

Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:53 pm
by Legacy777
SubaruNation wrote:i'm going to install a computer fan (the big kind) in my engine bay to prevent the heat-soak, i think it might be a good idea for the AWIC also.
Unless the fan is rated for outside use....it will probably fail prematurely.

I had thought about putting a separate skinner pusher fan on.....depending on the room, I may....we'll see.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 2:11 am
by Boostedballs
I find that it's easiest to use a radiator and fan from a motorcycle. Then, the unit can be mounted almost anywhere and the parts are designed for severe duty. They are usually very compact as well.

I'm going to relocate my battery to the rear of the car and use the space for my AWIC.



check this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NINJA-25 ... enameZWDVW

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:16 am
by PhyrraM
Boostedballs wrote:I find that it's easiest to use a radiator and fan from a motorcycle. Then, the unit can be mounted almost anywhere and the parts are designed for severe duty. They are usually very compact as well.
Best idea I've ever heard about this subject! :smt023

Nice work, thanks!

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 1:21 pm
by BXSS
I mounted a motorcycle fan (thank you GSXR 1000!) pulling air on the underside of the TMIC on my OBS-T relayed to turn on with the radiator fans.

This caused the intake temp to increase about 3* so it came off.

Since I did not have the correct splitter for the TMIC the bike fan was pulling hot air from the rad/engine bay through the I/C & causing intake temps to increase.

I never tried powering the fan on whenever the car was on which may reduce charge temps, but I have alky injection on that car so the fan was really not needed.

+1 on the bike rads / fans working well for AWIC set-ups.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 1:39 pm
by Legacy777
Only thing I wish I could find out is details on size, thickness, etc. I guess I can look on ebay and see what I can find.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 1:53 pm
by BXSS
Make sure to get a flat one too because some sport bikes have curved radiators - my R1 had a curved radiator.

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2008 9:25 pm
by Legacy777
I bought a set of pwr exchangers.....and while their size is a little bigger then I wanted, I was hopefully to get them to fit. However when I got them, the exchangers are not square/plumb. The end tanks look bowed as well. For $210 a piece, I expect a lot better quality. I bet their welding jig is fubared. So back to the search.

Here's some pics
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... exchanger/

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2008 10:27 pm
by AWD_addict
What's the original application for those?

They look more than capable, even if the craftsmanship is sub-par.