Many vehicles that are fitted with superchargers or turbochargers are also fitted with intercoolers, essential in cooling the manifold airflow into the engine from the turbo or intercooler. All of this is designed to improve the power output of the engine, and, today, in the same vein, installing the best tuning boxes in the UK is a simple process that allows you to extract the true potential of your vehicle's engine.
How do intercoolers work?
Air, or sometimes coolant, is forced through a series of plates and fins in the intercooler, which transfers the heat to the surrounding atmosphere, thus cooling the air or fluid. This is used to cool the air passed to the vehicle's intake manifold and its cylinders, providing for better combustion and enabling the engine to run as efficiently as possible.
Do intercoolers create additional horsepower?
The degree to which the intercooler cools the air that is forced into the inlet manifold determines the extent to which the engine's combustion creates energy. Very often, factory-fitted intercooler settings may not offer the optimum performance from your vehicle's engine as manufacturers have to go for 'safe' settings across a range of target markets. The good news is that if you are dissatisfied with the power of your vehicle, there are ways to make it more efficient.
Research shows that it is possible to improve the power output of your vehicle's engine by 1% for every 10 degrees that the temperature across the engine drops [1]. For this reason, upgrading your vehicle's intercooler is a valid option for improving its power output.
What other options are there?
Upgrading a vehicle's intercooler is only one way of improving engine output. When performed in isolation, there should be some benefit, but combining an intercooler upgrade with an ECU remap can multiply the effect.
ECU remapping is a process that fine-tunes the output of your vehicle's engine to deliver optimum performance. It unlocks its true potential and allows drivers to experience increased torque, greater horsepower and can even make a vehicle run more efficiently.
Getting the best tuning boxes in the UK
The best tuning boxes in the UK are those that allow you to customize the performance of your vehicle to suit your intended purposes. Perhaps, increasing horsepower is your number one priority, or maybe you have fuel economy in mind. If you fit an ECU tuning kit, optimizing the performance of the engine accordingly may be the modification that appeals to you the most.
If your vehicle is on a hire purchase agreement, under manufacturer's warranty or if you are likely to sell the vehicle in the near future, you are unlikely to want the expense and hassle associated with making wholesale and notifiable engine modifications. Permanently modifying the power output of your vehicle is something that your insurance company will wish to know about, and it may have implications for your monthly premiums and warranty.
In instances such as these, you may be better served by opting for a plug-and-play kit that you can install yourself. These clever units are designed to interact seamlessly with your vehicle's ECU and allow you to tailor the performance of your vehicle.
The kits offer drivers a range of parameters to modify, which can include improving the torque, horsepower, and fuel economy of the vehicle. A major benefit of these kits is that because they are removable, they are classed as being temporary modifications and whilst you should always notify your insurance company of any changes, the implications are likely to be less significant.
Plug-and-play ECU tuning kits help a vehicle's engine perform optimally without placing additional stress on its mechanical or electrical components. Because they help a vehicle perform efficiently, they can actually improve the life expectancy of your engine.
Summary
If your vehicle's intercooler does not perform in the manner that you would like, you could consider engine remapping as a method for optimizing the performance of your vehicle. When combined with an intercooler upgrade that enables air to be cooled and compressed more efficiently, you will see noticeable improvements in the performance of your vehicle or improvements to its fuel economy, depending upon the settings chosen.