Anyone made a cold box for a topmount IC? If you can prevent some (all?) of the engine heat getting to the IC then heat soak should be a thing of the past, no?

Alternatively, anyone actually fitted a fan to help with heat soak while the car is stationary? Impact on flow when car is in motion?

 

Believe it or not I had last few days the same idea as I am going to fit a MRT TMIC and due to bigger core size - I guess - it will suffer more than the OEM from heat shoak in traffic.
Or better/simpler idea is to put a shield between engine/ IC area that doesn't affect IC air flow when moving.
JIM

 

I have an adapted oil cooler fan fitted. But the space and packaging don't allow the fan to cover the entire bottom surface of the IC. The right-hand half where the lower Y-pipe runs is still pretty much exposed to the heat.

I find that in the tropical weather, fan plus IC water spray does help delay IC temp increase (I have a temp gauge tapped in the IC before the throttle body), but it will not prevent it. It does it's best in slow traffic 20-50kmh, where the fan's suction coupled with the water spray and modest forward motion, does pull the temp down to near ambient levels (ambient plus 3-5degC).

Hope this helps. MY01 JDM STI RA 37500kms.

 

RT, so you have it mounted underneath the IC sucking air downwards? Do you have it hooked up to a manual switch or auto based on the temperature?

 

Yes. Under the IC sucking air downwards into the engine bay.

Its controlled by a manual switch cos I'm a control freak, heh! But really, I didn't see the benefit of hooking up any auto control. If its hot, I turn it on; if I'm blasting, I turn it on. If I'm on the highway cruising to work, I leave it off.

 

Do you perhaps have any pics of the install? If not, what did you mount the fan onto (and where did you find the space? )?

 

Sorry, no pics taken. Bit hard to get them now as its under the IC.

A bracket/plate was made to mount the fan onto. This bracket fits over the entire bottom of the IC, and bolts onto the std intercooler mounts at each side. The fan is mounted under the left side of the IC, and big holes were drilled on the right side of this bracket/plate for air to pass downwards since there is no fan there. Not very scientific, but was the best I could do.

The only improvement I can think of at this point, would be to fit a smaller fan on the right side (a tight squeeze with the Y-pipe). A fan the size of a computer's CPU fan would just about fit. But I don't know of any which are weather proof and heat proof.

Hope this helps.