Here are some of my thoughts...
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Originally Posted by JasonR
Do you guys think Bar & Plate style fmic are better or Tube & Fin? Which manufacturing technique offers better heat exchanging properties? Many factors go into this comparison so lets compare the 2g Greddy tube & fin big fmic to 2g Slowboy bar & plate big fmic. Also keep in mind that the i/c piping design is different. Slowboy has a shorter distance from turbo/fmic/bov/throttle then Greddy because Greddy utilizes the area where stock intercooler used to be, then upper i/c piping goes to throttle. Which one do you believe is better even though both are very good fmic's.
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It really depends upon what you consider better. Are you looking for a better cooling charge? less pressure drop? better air penetration (less c/d)?
Tube and Fin cores allow air to pass through them easier. This allows for a cooler charge to make it to the radiator (in a fmic application) which will help aid in the prevention of overheating. The reason they do so, is due to design. Where-in a bar and plate (and a plate-tube and fin core) are more squarish, the tube and fin core almost 'points' outwards, thus piercing the air easier.
A tube and fin core makes a 'V' while the bar and plate make an '[]' shape and the plate-tube and fin makes a 'W' shape. Therefore they rank in order.
1) tube and fin
2) plate-tube and fin
3) bar and plate.
This is in the c/d category as well as cooling running engine factor. Granted how the nose of the car is shaped will change the efficiency and mounting method of the intercooler and radiator greatly. The more direct of a path airflow has to the intercooler, the greater the efficiency. To thick of a core can sometimes 'trap' air from getting through it, as well as to drastic of a mounting angle. These problems can be overcome by allowing for more surface area in a trade off of thickness.
Next section...how the air moves through the intercooler.
The faster the air can get through the intercooler core the better. This pretty much sums up 'pressure drop'. When the air has a hard time dividing up through the runners, pressure drop goes up 10 fold. Plate-tube and fin cores are the best in this situation. They allow the air only once choice, that is to split and enter the core. This is usually based on the manfacture, but mostly the plate-tube and fine cores result in the least amount of pressure drop. Second in this category is the bar and plate. They sometimes make the air do a 90 degee split then enter the tubes, but it usually works out. Lastly the tube and fins are the worst. Air usually has to do a 180 when it doesn't grab a tube right away, bounce back against the endtank, and go back at the tube again. Not the greatest idea when it domes to pressure drop. Manafacture methods can sway these results on way of the other, but this is in general.
So.. when it comes to pressure drop.. Plate-tube and fin #1, followed by bar and plate, then tube and fin in a distant third.
Next we actually talk about cooling.
Bar and plate are by far the best at cooling an air charge. They displace more heat then the other two examples widly available. A few changes within the manafacture method will change the outcome, but overall bar and plate is better at getting rid of heat. A properly made tube and fin core can beat out a plate-tube and fin core as well as a bar and plate, but overall most manafactures don't construct them correctly and when they are, the usually cost quite a bit.
Actually I am getting tired of posting so i'll sum it up.
There is no better one. It really comes down to a multitude of options. Bar and plate cores are good overall if constructed properly. Granted they are the most prone to leaks, if the endtanks aren't attached correctly, but overall they are better. Plate-tube and fins are also awesome cores. Tube and fins can be the best, but usually aren't due to the expense of making them correctly.
I didn't even get into the other very very important aspects of intercooling, like endtank design, fin design and shape (louved vs straight...spacing, amount of fins etc)..piping sizes, coupler use..bend radius's..etc.
Most of the time the only hamper on awesome intercooling is money. That is of course if you don't go insane and use to large of an intercooler.
That being said, a few manafactures out there stand out. Also try to find out of the 'pressure drop' advertised is static or dynamic. Static is best defined as 'flow bench aquired' pressure drop numbers where dynamic actually is closer to real life and takes into effect the entire design of the intercooler, from basis (tube and fin vs bar and plate), to fins..etc..
That being said, here are a few manafactures and what I think of them..
Spearco intecoolers.
They are widely available and are actually good stuff. They have realitivly low pressure drop numbers, have a wide range of cores available and in general are a great option.
Btw they are a high efficent pierce fine design on the inside and out. This results in awesome efficiency in the air charge department as well as low pressure drop.
PTE use a bar and plate style core. they are widely available, very economic, and when paired with good endtanks can flow very well. There core choices aren't as vast as spearco, but they do hold there own.
Those are a few of the companies I have done research into, google does wonders, so does being on ALOT of boards.
other companies worth mentioning:
ARE cooling- aluminum radiator and engineering. Australia based company. From what I have gathered, have awesome intercooling making functions but aren't the most economical choise. They can pretty much custom make any core you need, and are a good choice for the 'budgetless' project.
ARE cooling
The greddy cores are also widely used, and I"ll let others chime in on those, as I have very limited research into them as well as experience.
Also this information only applies to air/air applications, air/water is a completly different ball game where you can get over 100% efficiency if you do it right.
Hope it helps, otherwise enjoy the ramble.
Good day to all.
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