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D.I.Y. Intercooler Sprayer

36K views 29 replies 17 participants last post by  mouth 
#1 ·
Here is how to make your own Intercooler water sprayer.
For a lot less $$ then what you would pay if you bought it from STI or another after market Co. First lets start with what you will need. I got all of the stuff from Pep boy's....yeah, i know but at least I was not buying ghetto wheel covers or AC1 clear tail lights LOL.. Except for the micro switch which I got from Radio shack.

You will need:
1. bottle/ windscreen washer reservoir (I used a universal coolant over flow bottle)
2. A windscreen washer motor/ pump ( I used a universal GM model, washer motor)
3. A toggle switch, you know...the on/off switch (your choice here, pick what you like)
4. Wire and connecters
5. Vac. line (about 4 feet)
6. T. Fittings (for the vac. line, plastic ones are fine)
7. A 10 amp micro switch
8. Windscreen washer nozzles (2)
9. Wire loom

Now on to how to install it all.

Ok so here we go, first you will need to find a home for all this stuff.........this is the hard part. I have a Injen C.A.I. so for me I mounted the reservoir tank in-between the intake and the boost control control selnds. (there is just enough room) and then mounted the windscreen washer motor to the side of the motor bay right next to the reservoir tank. You may need to find a diff. location for the reservoir tank if you still have the stock intake.

Next you will need to run the wiring and mount the on/off switch. To do this you run a wire off the + side of the washer motor to the + terminal of the Batt. Then off the - side of the washer motor you will run a wire into the cabin and to the + term. on the micro switch.

You will need to mount the micro switch on the throttle (you may need to make a bracket to hold the switch). Then off the - side of the micro switch run a wire to the + term. on the toggle switch.

You can mount the toggle switch where ever you like, I mounted mine in the console in-between the driver and passenger seat. There is a cut out witch you can pop out. Then you cut a hole to put the toggle switch in. Once you have mounted the toggle switch you need to run a wire off the - term. of the toggle switch to a ground on the chaise of the car.

Now you are done with the wiring part of the install.

Now you need to run the lines and mount the nozzles for the water.

First you run a line from the reservoir tank to the washer motor. Then from the washer motor you run a line to a T. adapter which you should mount up by the hood scoop.

Now you have to drill 2 holes to mount the spray nozzles. You can see on the bottom of the backing plate 2 places to do this. They are both toward the outside of the scoop they angel back away from the scoop. I used a round drill bit and just kept going up in size until I got the right size. It is better to start small then make the holes to big.

Once the holes are drilled and the nozzles mounted you just have to run 2 lines off the T adapter to the spray nozzles.

Now use the wire loom to hide all the wires and you are done. Go back and check all the connections and fittings then fill the tank and you now have a intercooler sprayer that cost you about $50.00 instead of about $300.00

Enjoy
:D
 
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#5 ·
Any real benefit to a sprayer? Seems to me that if it's hot enough to make a diff in hp, then you'd need a lot of water to cool the intake charge back down- maybe there's just a lot of bling effect?
 
#6 ·
It works well enough that Subaru threw 'em on the STi. Having said that - I don't know anyone that has really used one to determine what type of positive effects they received from it.

Personal experiences, anyone?
 
#7 ·
returnofthejedi said:
I'd like to throw one in, but I'd like to use the switch from the STi- can that be done without using all the STi parts? In other words, I'd like to make my own, but use the STi switch.
yes, just order the single switch and it should include electrical schematics for wiring it up. You just need to make sure the switch is wired in series with the washer pump and you should be all set. The switch blank mounts in one of the dead switches in the dash.

chris
 
#9 ·
is2scooby said:
It works well enough that Subaru threw 'em on the STi. Having said that - I don't know anyone that has really used one to determine what type of positive effects they received from it.

Personal experiences, anyone?
yup.....some guy over at nasioc, over a yr ago did all kinds of testing w/the temperature on the intercooler...and found that the spray does indeed lower the ic temp, dramatically

i have a smart systems pretty much design in my head, but am too lazy to build it and get all the parts, hehe
 
#10 · (Edited)
Got my setup going pretty well. I haven't gotten to take it to the track yet but i'm hoping for some more consistency in my runs. I think heat soak effects all of us with TMIC especially stockers.

Here's the link full of pix and a reference to where i found out how to do this from an awesome guy on wrxhackers.com

http://www.hrstudios.net/dwyer/icspray/icspray.htm

Here are install instructions from quantum racing for their kit.

http://www.quantum-racing.com/Quantum Racing Intercooler Spray Kit Installation Directions.htm
 
#11 ·
Does anyone know where to get garden spray nozzles? I looked at Home Depot and Sears, cant find them anywhere. I just want something that will give me a fine mist.

I have everything else all set up;

-old legacy washer bottle and pump
-lines
-UTEC (for switch)
-custom homemade TMIC seal
 
#14 · (Edited)
(OT) Jrod, how is your stg4 w/tmic everyone keeps telling me FMIC FMIC you get TMIC now and you'll ebay it and get FMIC next spring... Bla bla... Do you get heatsoaked 24/7 like b4 w/stocker TMIC?

Did you run your vf34 b4 the TMIC went on? I'll be doing this next week and i'm wondering if you had any special utec maps or tips to watch out for running it with out a upgraded tmic?

(/OT)

BTW if you get the ones that are called orbital something get the part number referenced off this site

http://www.dooleyprinting.com/brsc/ic_sprayer.htm

PN# 61032D - Orbit Drip Master Mist Sprayers (2) - $1.97 x2 - $3.97

I wouldn't put all 4 in i don't see the need for it you'll spray hecka h2o with just 2 nozzles maybe get the 4 just to have 2 spares or something.
 
#15 ·
xylem007 said:
(OT) Jrod, how is your stg4 w/tmic everyone keeps telling me FMIC FMIC you get TMIC now and you'll ebay it and get FMIC next spring... Bla bla... Do you get heatsoaked 24/7 like b4 w/stocker TMIC?

Did you run your vf34 b4 the TMIC went on? I'll be doing this next week and i'm wondering if you had any special utec maps or tips to watch out for running it with out a upgraded tmic?

Thanks for the part #

I ran the VF 34 with stock TMIC in the winter so I didnt have any issues with heat soak. I just ran the TXS stgf IV base map. When I first put the TXS TMIC I ran the txs stg IV TMI map and it ran great. I would get some serious heat soak on real hot days if I sat at some lights for a long time. The passenger side of the TMIC would get really hot due to the stock size IC shroud.

I have since modified my shroud to feed cool air to the entire surface and no longer suffer from heat soak (unless the car is parked with a hot engine) Feels cool to the touch on 90 degree days, even from stoplight to stoplight.

Now I am doing the DIY water spray mod which will allow me to tweak the tuning even further for my hot weather UTEC map.
 
#19 ·
As for the "does it work" issue.

Remember that the hood scoop is ramming air onto the IC.

Have you ever got out of a pool and noticed how could it was?
Well, that's what an intercooler will feel, except 50X more b/c metal is a better conductor of heat than a human, and an IC has 50 times more surface area (fins) than a person.

Bingo, doesn't matter what temp the water is, water has a sky high specific heat ratio and the IC is a HUGE contact area.


O yeah, I want to see someone use a 2 liter soda bottle for a WI resevoir, MUAHAHAHA that would be the most hardcore DIY thing ever!
 
#20 ·
O yeah, and if you want, using the windshield wiper fluid will theoretically be even better, since it's got alcohol in it for antifreeze.

Heck, spraying rubbing alcohol onto the IC would be l33t: you'd get the heat disapation plus the evaporative cooling, someone try this...
 
#21 · (Edited)
I dunno dumping a highly flammable liquid onto things very close to a very hot object seems dangerous.

Plus I know alcohol isn't effective as water for cooling purposes.

On 99% of computer watercooling setups water is always used, with just a little bit of water wetter. Alcohol would be so much safer, but it would conduct very little heat.
 
#22 ·
Chunks said:
I dunno dumping a highly flammable liquid onto things very close to a very hot object seems dangerous.

Plus I know alcohol isn't effective as water for cooling purposes.

On 99% of computer watercooling setups water is always used, with just a little bit of water wetter. Alcohol would be so much safer, but it would conduct very little heat.

whoops...i just ignored the fact that alcohol is high flammable :D

yes alcohol isn't as effective as water in having a lower specific heat, but it does evaporate much better and latent heat of vaporization for anything >> specific heat.

So fine, a non-flamable liquid with a melting temperature of <150 degrees F at atmospheric pressure would be da bomb.
 
#23 ·
he is exactly right

Use window wash fluid OR water wetter solution. nothing more is needed. Also, alcohol content in standard isopropyl rubbing alcohol is too high. and it IS HIGHLY flammable. you engine on fire is not intelligent.filtered Water during the summer, windshield washer fluid during the winter.
 
#24 ·
My dad just went through all those mechanical engineering classes on IC design and heat transfer. He said spraying just a little water on the IC and letting it evaporate would be better than continously dropping water on the IC. The idea is that water as it evaporates pulls 540x the heat energy vs water being sprayed on the surface and collecting at any point in the IC and beading together. I think putting two STI nozzles in my setup was a bad idea heh..

Any opinions on that idea? It might be better to use a different substance that would evaporate quicker but you could spray constantly.
 
#25 ·
no water or washer fluid is fine

in fact. alcohol is damaging to paint. to boot, washer fluid usually stays liquid when water begins to freeze. meaning its subzero in temp. and you dad is right about it evaporating. race car engineers make the spray amount just enough to coat the top of the intercooler, then evaporate. the next shot comes when the throttle needs boosting . or a cooler air charge. you need to coat it lightly. not saturate it.
 
#26 ·
xylem007 said:
He said spraying just a little water on the IC and letting it evaporate would be better than continously dropping water on the IC.
Any opinions on that idea?
I think water is fine, unless you're worried about freezing (dont really need it at those temps anyway). I think your dad's theory would be correct for sitting at a light with no airflow. I usually use short bursts of the IC spray so it can evaporate totally in that situation.

When moving at speed, I think its OK to keep it on constant at high boost. So much air is moving through the core that water should never accumulate to the point where its not efficient.

Also; Fine mist > coarse mist
 
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