The Differences Between Air-to-Air and Air-to-Water Intercoolers

What's the best intercooler, air-to-air or air-to-water? What are the advantages of different types of intercoolers?

Modern engines are trending towards downsized turbocharger solutions. In order to make power efficiently, air temperatures need to be cool before entering the engine. Turbochargers compress air, and doing so increases the air's temperature, decreasing density. That's where intercoolers come in, which use ambient air to reduce the temperature of the air used for combustion.

There are two main styles of intercoolers, air-to-air and air-to-water. Both are effective, but they each have their own distinct advantages with regards to packaging, efficiency, turbo lag, throttle response, and of course cost. Check out the video to learn more about how these systems work, and perhaps decide which solution might be best for your own projects!

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[vali]

"im not in my bed room... Im outside! I did it mom!"
Ahh good for u
*cries in the corner of his bedroom*

[soveu]

Jason said 36 times "cool" and the video is 280 seconds long
That gives about one "cool" per 7.8 second
So I can say it is
a very *_cool_* video

[AdamAdamHDL]

So the air to water system has an intercooler for your intercooler. Got it

[kern]

I have a newer BMW with the B58 engine and air-to-water cooler. I was so excited to get it. It performs great, response is awesome, and less to worry about when upgrading.

Then at 1000 miles i noticed the aux coolant tank that supplies the cooler was dry. Come to find out BMW only put a level sensor in the main tank and not the aux tank. So I had no warning that it was dry outside of a forum thread where several people said they found theirs was empty. So I had my first dealer visit 3 months into ownership.

Great idea. But it's always going to be a BMW.

[letrolldesbois]

*I did it mom !*.

Pure gold right there.

[anderslolle]

I was worried about the whiteboard for a second there...

But Jason always has one with him 😎

[snazy]

Theres a different sized white board for all occasions

[camarz]

This dude is amazing! He really knows how to simplify anything that’s automotive. I was trying to understand why a air to water intercooler uses a heat exchanger (I was confused thinking the heat exchanger was for the air also) then his video helped me understand the heat exchanger is for the coolant. Excellent video!

[Killatunga]

That is some beautiful scenery in the background

[abel]

You got a like from me purely for the "I did it Mom" statement.

[johnclary]

Also in performance applications you can run the coolant through a reservoir filled with ice after the radiator to get intake temperatures below ambient after compression, and make the ice last longer than just using the reservoir.

[CaptCommandoXII]

I'm totally new to BMW engines & they've introduced me to the concept of air-to-water intercooling.
I watched a video of Mat Armstrong BMW M5 rebuild & was fascinated by that engine.
Up to now I've only known air-to-air intercooling.

This video really broke it down for me & now I'm obsessed.

Thanks so much for the info 👍🏽

[yaberwoocky]

i had this car for a few days to try, and i have to say i absolutely loved every minute of is

[exothermal.sprocket]

For all the added complexity of air-to-liquid intercooling, they may as well just run plumbing to the trunk for an ice-tank and really get that air cooled off.

Just run air-to-air with a front-mount water spray device to get temporary power increases by evaporative cooling of the external core surfaces.

[abrarulhaqkhan]

I am also a student in Auto field but . Follow your videos to improve our knowledge

[rxcosmo]

It's good to see you remake old videos!! It was needed to be honest! You are much more experienced now regarding YouTube.

[RS-nqxk]

Intercooler on top of the engine. Is that the Subaru Impreza WRX kind of placement?

[IainWandersButIsNotLost]

Great stuff Jason. I have not seen a better explanation of the differences. For me, I'd take the simplicity of the air-to-air intercooler. Coolant and cooling system failures can quickly lead to catastrophic consequences which I assume would be less so in terms of an intercooler, but still the potential for more coolant leaks alone is enough for me to avoid the system.

[JaZoN_XD]

Yo dawg, I heard you liked cooling stuff, so I used an intercooler to cool your intercooler so you can cool your intercooler while you cool your air

[bholm]

The cool thing about air to water is that you can get an aftermarket setup to drop the coolant temps using the ac system. Puts more strain on the ac but temps are below ambient.