Frequently Asked Questions
This page contains many frequently asked questions. Click on a tab below to learn more about each item.
The interchiller suits any make/model car or truck, any type of supercharger or turbocharger as long as the car has a water to air intercooler and is equipped with AC.
We have CNC connections that suit almost every GM based vehicle which makes them very simple to install. We also have plug and play kits for Chevrolet, Holden, Pontiac, HSV, Vauxhall, Jeep, Ford. If we don’t have a plug and play kit we can do your car with our universal kits.
No the chiller only suits cars fitted with AC. However fitting an AC system dedicated to just the chiller is very simple, any universal AC compressor and condenser can be used, in parts you are looking at $500-$800 and now you have an AC system.
Yes you can as long as the car has a water to air intercooler and AC. Or you intend to fit a water to air intercooler, the intercooler can be barrel style on your intake tubing if looking to save space.
With the comp solenoid that we install this physically blocks refrigerant flow to the cabin so you can run the system in 2 modes of operation:
1. cabin and chiller
2. chiller only (race mode)This stops any condensation dripping from the cabin evaporator and makes the system race track safe. For intercooler hoses we recommend braided hose as it will not condensate, if using rubber hose you will need to foam insulate your hoses to stop them from condensation. Braided hose it very good as it keeps the cold in and the heat out, resulting in colder intake temps
On a typical 20-25c (68-77f) day we expect to see 40-45rwhp with our interchiller, power gains at the track are often even higher, since cars build up heat-soak while staging and before a run. The chiller is cooling during this time and only getting it colder.The retention of HP will be more on a hotter day, we lost 77rwhp with the interchiller turned off on a dyno on a 37c (98.6f) day This indicates how much power can be lost on hot days or when the blower is heat-soaked. It is especially useful in drag racing since after you do your burnout your IAT’s are now very hot, you have no air flow and are only going to keep heat soaking the blower….where as with the chiller we can leave the line with 10c (50f) or less intake temps. It’s perfect for daily driving and has been in use on many cars now for several years daily driven.
490mm (19.29″) long 92.5mm (3.64″) wide 110mm (4.33″) tall (+ water fittings and TX valve attached to the core which are an additional 50-60mm (1.96-2.36")The chiller can be mounted in any orientation, upside down, right way up, vertical horizontal, on its side, 45 degrees, literally any angle and can be anywhere on the car. If required we can make smaller units if the car is limited in space (we have not had this issue yet) even the tightest of European cars we have made them fit.
The blower spacer plates will raise your blower up by roughly 12mm (0.47″) The belt tensioner should take this up, if not you may need to go 1/2 size larger on the belt. The LSA lid spacer will raise the lid of the blower up by 10mm (0.39″)
The faster the better, we have tested a variable rate intercooler pump on 2 makes of car at idle and at WOT the faster the flow rate the colder it gets. We will be selling our own intercooler pump very soon, check out our products page.
With the comp solenoid that we install this physically blocks refrigerant flow to the cabin so you can run the system in 2 modes of operation. 1. cabin and chiller 2. chiller only (race mode) This stops any condensation dripping from the cabin evaporator and makes the system race track safe. For intercooler hoses we recommend braided hose as it will not condensate, if using rubber hose you will need to foam insulate your hoses to stop them from condensation. Braided hose is very good as it keeps the cold in and the heat out, resulting in colder intake temps.
Our lead times are based on work load, please check with us when ordering.
For the comp solenoid we provide the solenoid and the switch only. We do not supply electrical wiring, 15amp inline fuse or a relay this should be supplied and installed by a qualified auto electrician we do not wish to be held accountable for dodgy wiring so we don’t supply it.
We supply detailed instructions and video on how to recharge the car correctly, many cars we provide a charge weight.
We recommend AC Delco 50/50 anti freeze, the freezing point is -37c (-34.6f) Since R134a boils off as cold as -26c (-15f) you will be unable to freeze the fluid into ice.
Typical install time is 6-8hrs Workshops that are experienced in installing them may get it completed faster. All installs are provided with step by step photo and video instructions.
In 99.99% of applications we delete the heat exchanger. The reason we delete the heat exchanger is because the intercooler fluid is so much colder than the ambient air temp that heat exchanger becomes a heater not a cooler. The only reason to retain the heat exchanger is if circuit racing the car.
Yes absolutely the chiller is designed for daily driving, drag racing, mile racing and power cruise. It can also be used for circuit racing when we put the heat exchanger on a bypass valve.
As example, look up both of these blowers so you understand it. When we were in the USA fitting a chiller on an LS9 blower, we got it running fluid temps were 0c (32f) and IAT2 was 10c (50f), after 30-45min fluid temp was 0c (32f) but IAT2 had risen to 51c (125f) After thinking the sensor had failed and swapping to other ones we found the issue. It was the actual design of the lid on the blower and the material type. We then swapped to an LSA lid with an adapter plate and the fluid temp was 0c (32f) and IAT2 held at 10c (50f) and did not change at all. Based on the design of the LS9 blower we would never have thought that would have been an issue but clearly it was, the housing of the charger was transferring its energy into the lid of the blower and the sensor was soo hot we could only hold it for 2-3 seconds. The LSA lid design obviously being a different thicker metal was not absorbing as much energy and not transferring its heat into the lid as easily. The sensor location on both of these blowers is very similar, the issue is purely based around the lid material. Now this sensor isn’t in the housing of the blower and it’s reading high. Where as other sensors can be at the back in the housing based on the whipple/harrop older style magnuson design or even in an intake runner. What we can sometimes see here is whilst the IAT isn’t cold, the actual true air temp entering combustion is cold. As example the guy with the LS9 blower was pretty upset that he couldn’t run the LS9 lid as he had it painted and the car was some what of a show car. We said to him if the temp is totally wrong say 65c (150f) and then peaking at 93c (200f) that’s fine its still a window for tuning, it’s the same as it being 10c (50f) and peaking at 38c (100f). The sensor is just not reading true, but the window for tuning is still the same window. Obviously he still swapped to the LSA lid as he wanted to see the cold temps on his gauges inside the car. However the circumstances are true, whilst the temp is showing a hot temp it is actually a cold temp. As long as it swings in temperature there is a window for tuning intake temps. Further to this we had a Mercedes C63 at a workshop here in Sydney, the blower had it’s own IAT sensor and then the mechanic fitted a second sensor in an intake runner and a 3rd sensor directly under the blower in the middle. He asked which one we thought was the coldest, and our answer was correct the one in the middle under the blower. Even though this location would be considered very hot as heat will absorb directly into the sensor from the engine all of the cold air exiting the intercooler is blowing straight on to the sensor. This is the most accurate location for the IAT sensor, to further make it read true you can insulate the sensor from engine heat with our thermal blanket. The original sensor in the rear of the blower was the 2nd coldest, but obviously not reading true, and the 3rd sensor in the runner was the hottest absorbing cylinder head temps etc into the sensor. Hope this helps you
Yes it will make a significant difference. We’ve seen up to 7c (12.6f) reduction in temps with the blanket added. The issue with a downwards discharge blower is the intercooler sits in the base of the blower, it is in direct contact with the 110c (230f) engine, heat rises out of the engine straight into your intercooler.
This is going to come down to individual car dealerships. We have 1 manufacturer here that can provide customers in writing that the chiller will not void new car warranty other than to the AC system. The reason this is possible is because the chiller isn’t achieving anything that the car cannot already achieve you are simply not driving in the correct climatic conditions to achieve it. Lastly dealerships generally like warranty work of any kind, they do the job and the car manufacturer pays for it, there is very little reason to void a warranty on the car. In addition if the chiller was the cause of the failure it would have to be proven to be the case as said above the only thing that will be voided is the AC system warranty.
No we recommend you use AC Delco Anti freeze either premix at a 50/50 ratio or water down yourself. This has a freezing point of -37c (-34.6f) R134a has a boiling point of -26c (-14.8f) R1234yf has a boiling point of -30c (-22f) So you are well within spec and will not freeze up. We have also tested as low as 15% anti freeze and found no benefit diluting it down.
Your AC does turn off at WOT at this point we are relying on your pre chilled coolant volume of fluid. Without a reservoir your intake temps even during a drag race will be colder than any heat exchanger has ever provided you with. However when you add a reservoir to the system the temps are even colder when at WOT. The goal at WOT is to be passing 0c (32f) fluid through your intercooler for the entire period of time spent at WOT, generally within 15-20sec of getting off the throttle we see intake temps back below ambient based on the size of the reservoir as a large majority rushes through and cools it back down again.
No we haven’t tried it, we also believe it will not work.
On a blown or turbo charged engine the byproduct of compressing air is heat, so we are solving this issue with our interchiller.On a naturally aspirated motor the engine is breathing ambient air, when at wide open throttle the air speed is very fast and will be equal or near equal to the ambient air temp.If you were to cool this air charge prior to the engine, you would have to install an intercooler in the air flow path, this intercooler would then become an air flow restriction and actually cause the engine to lose air flow and HP.In order to over come the loss of air flow you would have to work out your current internal diameter of your intake tube and then make your intercooler such a size that it doesn’t restrict air flow into the engine, eg if you have a 4″ ID intake tube you may require an 8″ ID intake tube with a tube/fine design intercooler inside it (the air passages would need to be equal to the 4″ ID surface area so that you get the same air flow). It would also be a good idea to flow test your current intake tube and the new experimental intercooler to ensure no loss of air flow.This would then be a very large intake tube, and a very expensive experiment which may not actually work.We hope this helps answer your question.
(This is a copy and paste from a trackhawk facebook group)
Interchiller Vs InterchillerThis question is popping up a lot lately as people look for cheaper alternatives, I’m going to try my best to explain “some” of the differences without going into too much detail and actually teaching the opposition.1. You are fighting a VERY large heat source (your supercharger). Just like when you get a quote for a home AC system the HVAC tech will measure the room sizes of the home and determine what KW/BTU/HP rating is required to efficiently cool the home, when doing so a good tech will oversize the unit by 20-30%, the reason for this is because you want to be able to be cool on even the hottest of days, get the home cool as fast as possible and save electricity, once the home reaches the desired temp the system can cycle on/off.Now in the case with the supercharger your heat source is very large you need to be able to fight it effectively, the unit many of your refer to has a 1.5kw(2hp) rating ours is 5kw(6.7hp)The internal size of the smaller unit is 180ml for fluid and 180ml for refrigerant (6oz each circuit)The internal size of our unit is 1260ml for fluid and 1260ml for refrigerant (42.6oz each circuit)This makes our unit 600% larger in capacity.Using computation design we based our heat load between 37-65c (100-150f) and determined the required size of the unit, being a licensed HVAC technician I deliberately oversized the core by roughly 30%, this increases the speed of cooling and how cold it can actually get. Unlike a home AC system you are usually trying to only get the temp down to 20c (68f), the chiller is trying to get as cold as it possibly can minus -30c (-22f) if possible.2. You will have noticed guys who have installed our system say there is no impact on the cabin AC, this is for several reasons, you have a heat load going through your chiller, you also have a desired temperature differential between your refrigerant inlet/outlet, this is known as superheat.When you achieve or get closer to your desired superheat the TXV (thermal expansion vale) (this lets refrigerant into the core) it starts to close up, this is a good thing, the more it closes the more available refrigerant there is to the cabin AC, you are also creating a restriction at the valve, so as example the valve is at 20% open as it has achieved its superheat value, if on another example the superheat isn’t achieved the valve will be open 100% in an effort to try and reach it’s superheat value, if that valve is open 100% the path of least resistance for the refrigerant is to the chiller and as such the cabin AC suffers.So by oversizing our core, we can reduce intercooler fluid temps FAST, this means on a hot day when you get in the car and everything is heat soaked, just like a normal AC system within 1.5-2min the chiller and the cabin AC will have reached a comfortable temperature.By using an undersized core, it will be trying to achieve the superheat value with it’s valve open at 100% and it will continue to try and try until it reaches the temp, since surface area is so small (kw rating of the unit) this will take a VERY long time. Not to mention wont get as cold either.3. Because core size is so important this will be 1 of the determining factors in what intake air temperature you are able to achieve and also what cabin vent temperature you are able to achieve, as has been noted by many customers of the smaller unit, cabin AC is effected. That unit is always trying to achieve superheat and not reaching it’s goal, so cabin AC suffers.4. Our chiller core is our own patented design, what happens is when refrigerant enters the chiller it hits the base plate and only runs across a few of the lower plates, not using the entire surface of the system, we have created a distribution device which blocks this area and forces the refrigerant to distribute across the entire core, this results in a very good evaporation of the refrigerant, the more evaporation you achieve the colder the temps. This is something we are very proud of hence we have patented our technology.This is why you will see ice forming on intercooler fluid lines, the ability to get colder faster from not only a larger core but also even evaporation resulting in colder temps and colder temps faster. (see images attached showing testing) The same cannot be said for the other unit.5. System layout and components: the smaller system uses water hose clamps on AC lines, inferior fittings and hydraulic ball valves. You’ve probably seen pictures of installs where you can notice water hose clamps, this is a big no no in refrigeration. On a worst case scenario day your AC system can reach 330-350psi, whilst you may not lose the entire AC charge, it will leak out over time, water clamps can also lose tension.For this reason we use burgaflex hose/fittings. Their patented system is very good. They have a fitting which has 6x 360 degree bite sections on them, this enables the hose to bite into the fitting and seal 6 times. We’ve literally pulled these apart after several months of using them and we have to cut the hose off the fitting even after we have removed the clamps, because the hose itself is biting so hard into the fitting it will not come off.How hard? during SAE J2064 testing the hose and fitting was tested up to 2500psi, at this point the hose burst open, however the fitting, crimp (connection) remained in tact.This is a perfect seal. As such Burgaflex have a warranty that basically says if we use their fitting, clamps, clamp locators and hose they warranty their system from leaking. As such we pass this warranty on to you since we have warranty why shouldn’t you?6. Layout – continued we only use refrigerant solenoids on our AC system, hydraulic ball valves are not intended for refrigerant and simply have no place on any AC system.7. There is a lot more that I could share and have shared with some of you via phone etc however it would then just be teaching the opposition how to fix their issues.I will say this, if you present the smaller kit to any qualified HVAC technician along with it’s instructions they will break out in laughter at several design flaws.These design flaws are IMPOSSIBLE to be made if you were qualified or even if you were a 14yr old 1st year HVAC apprentice. The level of misunderstanding the backyard producer of this has is unbelievably evident.I am not kidding, show someone other then myself who knows about HVAC and they can point out several things that will scare you. Once you understand the flaws you can see that eventual failure of the AC compressor will occur and that system function is never going to be optimal.I haven’t named names in this, and I didn’t want this to be a slagging match however, you guys keep bringing up questions like what are the differences. Why is one more expensive?If you want an explanation here it is, believe it or not that’s up to you, but as said take it to someone else who knows what they are doing and they should be able to explain why the smaller system will not work correctly, not just based on it’s size but based on flaws within the design. Once you understand keep it to yourself and don’t teach the idiot making them.I would love to tell you in this message, if you see here and here they are doing this and it will result in X,Y and Z you would then understand, but by doing so I will be educating them. I have explained in detail to certain members of this group the flaws whilst I have asked them not to tell anyone what the flaws are they can confirm the flaws are real and are a major issue, Armin, Simon, Wayne (please confirm of deny but don’t go into detail online or in private)As we have said before we receive emails from their customers on a weekly basis, asking for help or to change out the system due to poor function, even within this group you have an example of this on a trackhawk, with it not getting cold and cabin AC non existent after 3 attempts to fix the system…Lastly: Being based in Australia we are required by law to be licensed, we are unable to build refrigeration equipment, purchase of handle refrigerants if not licensed. In the USA, there is no legal requirement, hence the lack of skills and knowledge.Our system is based on our skill set, we have proven ourselves at the track, on the dyno, and in VIDEO on a multitude of platforms. We have Australian and American workshop/customer recognition that our product works as described on many platforms from Merc, Audi, GM, Dodge, Jeep, Toyota and even systems in UAE where temps reach 55c (131f). (I know you guys see a particular make of car as being a possible variable, to us it’s just an AC system, before we did the trackhawk kit we told you what the results would be, and those results were correct, no car is more special than the next, it’s just an AC system vs a heat load)When we first came to market in 2014 we actually had to work our butts off within the American market as interchillers have a bad name, AC compressor failure, gimmick, snake oil, doesn’t get cold, cabin AC doesn’t work. I’m sure the backyard builders business has grown along side our growth.As you can see we have nearly 50,000 followers on facebook https://www.facebook.com/ForcedInductionInterchillers/ our reputation is key.At the end of the day we want you to get the most from our product, all kits come with warranty, we are available online, phone and email to help answer any questions before/after sale and technical support. We also offer a full refund if you install the kit and cannot get it working for whatever reason, simply take it off and let us know where to send the courier to pick it up from.We stand strongly, proudly behind our product and it’s results, our goals in this order have always been:1. Cabin AC performance
2. Intercooler fluid temps
3. HP gainI really hope this helps answers some of your questions, I apologize for not being able to go into depth on certain aspects of system design, the length of this post and if this comes across as bagging out another product. But as said you guys keep asking and nobody is willing to give the answers on a direct comparison.
