Will a Bigger Intercooler Add Horsepower? Everything You Need to Know

A turbocharger is a great way to add power to your driving experience, whether you are racing on the track or racing down the highway. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that your car’s engine is already incredibly hot; and, if you add a turbocharger, it gets even hotter. That being said, all of the hot compressed air that a turbocharger emits needs to be cooled down somehow, and that is where a turbo intercooler comes in handy. An aftermarket intercooler is oftentimes an overlooked addition to any car, but is extremely helpful in optimizing the performance of your vehicle.

What Is Heat Soak?

Excessive heat soak is something you will want to avoid at all costs, especially when the solution is simple: just upgrade your car’s intercooler. Why? Well, extreme or unnecessary heat soak increases the risk of detonation and can cause big losses in power due to high charge air and cylinder temps. With more spirited driving and high-horsepower outputs, these problems become even more common. This is just one of the reasons why you will want to find an upgrade for your vehicle’s stock tube-and-fin intercooler.

Swapping out your car’s factory intercooler (or charge-air cooler) with a larger or upgraded version is a great way to safely add horsepower in a turbo engine. By lowering engine inlet temps, denser air charge will enter the engine making more horsepower at similar boost levels and higher. This is one of the best ways to keep your car running at its coolest lap after lap. And we all know that the cooler air your car breathes in, the better it will run. After all, the intercooler is a crucial part of your vehicle’s performance as its main purpose is to remove heat from intake charge and maintain high levels of efficiency and functionality.

What Does an Intercooler Do?

One could say that intercoolers are similar to cold air intakes in some ways, especially when it comes to their main purpose. The primary job of your intercooler is to cool compressed air coming from your turbocharger or supercharger before it enters your engine to keep it running optimally. In case you didn’t already know, when you compress air it heats up. Turbochargers are also naturally very hot because half the unit has exhaust gases running through it.

The whole point of a turbocharger is to force compressed air into your engine which allows for more fuel, and ultimately more power. There is one problem, however, hot air can cause detonation and is less oxygen dense than cool air. Air that is forced into your engine by the turbocharger is naturally going to be very hot since the turbocharger itself is hot and compressing air naturally makes it hotter. The turbo intercooler is designed to cool this hot compressed air down to a more reasonable temperature before it enters the engine.

How Does an Intercooler Work?

Turbo intercoolers work similar to radiators, by using fins to extract heat from the core of the intercooler. This then cools down the compressed air and supplies the engine with additional oxygen in order to improve combustion. Cooling down the compressed air also makes the engine more reliable by regulating the air-to-fuel ratio. In order for this to work effectively, airflow through the fins is required, which is one of the downsides of air-to-air intercoolers, but this issue is typically so minor that it doesn’t affect real-world performance.

What is the Difference Between an Air-to-Air and Air-to-Water Intercooler?

Typically, an intercooler used in an automotive application will either feature an air-to-air or air-to-water design. So, what is the difference between these two different types of intercoolers? Keep on reading to find out.

• An Air-to-Water Intercooler

• An air-to-water (liquid-cooled) intercooler uses water to cool down the compressed air. Water is pumped throughout the unit, removing heat in the process as it moves throughout the system. As the water heats up, it is filtered out to the radiator or through cooling circuits before it is cooled off again. A liquid-cooled intercooler is much smaller than an air-to-air intercooler, making it a great option for engine bays without much additional space. Also, since water absorbs heat better than air does, this type of intercooler is ideal for a wider temperature range.

• An Air-to-Air Intercooler

  While an air-to-water intercooler has much greater cooling potential, the liquid will eventually become too hot unless an auxiliary radiator is used. For this reason, most intercoolers you’ll find on turbocharged vehicles use an air-to-air design. This type of turbo intercooler uses cooling fins and the airflow coming in from outside the vehicle to cool down compressed air. Air-to-air intercoolers are affordable, simple, lightweight, and the most popular choice for car enthusiasts.

How an Aftermarket Intercooler Helps

To keep production costs down, oftentimes the OEM intercooler is fairly small. It will typically get the job done, but as soon as you start increasing boost pressure or adding bolt-on modifications, the OEM intercooler can hold you back from unleashing the true potential of your machine.

Adding a larger intercooler without any tuning will not really add any power, though. The charge air temperature will be lower resulting in denser air, but the larger intercooler can add a slight amount of drag which can somewhat negate any power gains.

The real magic of installing an aftermarket turbo intercooler is the ability to run a more aggressive tune without running into detonation. A larger intercooler is also less susceptible to heat soaking, which means you can stay out on the drag strip or race track longer without losing power.

Do Intercoolers Add Horsepower?

To put it simply: no, a turbo intercooler will not really add any horsepower to your car but it does influence it. More air equals more power, so to speak. Furthermore, it gives you much more wiggle room for a more aggressive tune without the risk of harming your engine or throwing those pesky check engine lights. 

It should be noted, however, that too large of an intercooler can actually do more harm than good. If you have an extremely massive intercooler, you will cause more turbocharger lag and more drag inside the whole system. It’s therefore important to do some research and find out which one may be best for your vehicle.

FAQs

• Will a Bigger Intercooler Increase Power? – Without proper tuning, an intercooler by itself won’t increase power by any substantial amount, because your OEM ECU tune may not increase boost or ignite timing when it sees safer charge air temperatures.
• What Does an Intercooler Do? – The job of your intercooler is simple – cool the hot compressed air coming from your turbocharger before it enters your engine.
• Will it Decrease Boost Pressure? – Depending on your application, the size of the turbocharger, and the size of the intercooler, it’s possible to see decreased boost pressure after installing an aftermarket intercooler.
• Do I Need a Tune? – Technically, no you don’t need an aftermarket tune with an aftermarket intercooler for the majority of applications, however, we highly recommend installing an ECU tune or piggyback system to capitalize on your lower charge air temperatures.

Luckily, you will almost never run into this problem as spatial constraints will force you to run an intercooler that typically isn’t too much larger than the factory unit.

Purchase an Aftermarket Turbo Intercooler From Vivid Racing

A turbo intercooler is a needed addition to the car of anyone who is serious about driving and their car’s performance. OEM intercoolers just do not get the job done, and a high-quality intercooler helps you push your car to the limit without worrying about detonation or heat soaking. Vivid Racing is proud to offer a huge selection of intercoolers from the most respected names in the industry, including AWE Tuning, Wagner Tuning, and much more!

Not only that, but we are proud to offer affordable prices and outstanding customer support to help you find the turbo intercooler that is perfect for your car’s unique needs. If you are interested in learning more about how an intercooler works or would like to purchase a turbo intercooler, contact Vivid Racing today by calling 1-480-966-3040.

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