Thread: W2a intercooler vs air to air

Hey guys im thinking.....going to install full width radiator into defender. Hence would like a full width intercooler. Has anyone fitted a water to air intercooler to a 300tdi? Are they supperior to and air to air? Anyone?. I have a vnt atm running 19psi...i do have a double core intercooler atm from alliposrt so will be getting rid of it soon if anyones interested. Only been on vehicle 1.2 years...

Originally Posted by Loading...

While a water to air is superior to air to air, it has the potential to go very wrong! If you have the room/space, a front mount intercooler is the safest option IMO.

W2A is superior? How? Once the water heats up, the cooling efficiency goes down (70+ degrees Celsius versus say 30). Any turbo that is providing boost a lot of the time should use A2A - eg turbo diesel, small capacity petrol turbos (most probably), turbo race engines etc. For turbo petrols that only use the boost at times (eg XR6 turbo) W2A is ok. But W2A is more complex. A2A allows the heat to dissipate quicker.