ok, there's this guy who said that he's got a water cooled WRX. What's so special about being water cooled and aren't all turbocharged WRX's water cooled? Please explain or some links maybe, thanks.

Maybe he's talking about a water cooled injection system for the intercooler, or an air to water intercooler..other than that...i agree that all wrxs are water cooled.


My two cents

peace

i know someone who's doing an air-to-water intercooler conversion so likely thats what he was talking about. the only other think i can think of is an intercooler waterspray kit that keeps the intercooler cold in hot conditions or at idle.

can someone send me a link or explain how this actually works? Thanks

The 22b and some versions of the STi use a fine mist water sprayer, that at full boost and wide open throttle sprays water onto the intercooler.

All it does is help the intercooler work better, and lower in the intake charge.
Its not exactly exotic technology, and is more of a fix for what is really just bad intercooler location.

i know about the spray for the intercooler and i've seen how that works, i'm just curious of there's something else like the air-to-water intercooler.. that sounds more like what the guy was trying to say and i'm just trying to find out how that works and what makes it special. thanks for your opinions

Well then he has a water to air intercooler.
They were standard on the Legacy GT and RS. (Turbo models).

Have a look at this: http://homepages.tig.com.au/~robs/Intercooler1.htm
its for an MR2, but the it still works the same, and this page has some nice diagrams.

The turbo charger would be water cooled. Water cooling as well as oil flowing through for cooling/ lubricant, prelongs the life of the turbo and would keep the oil in better condition by allowing it to stay at lower temperatures and help resist deterioration.

i found this off a link on i-club:

Air to water is a better but more complex systems. It better controls
transient temperatures due to the high thermal mass of water.
It is the fact that water has a 13 times better heat absorption capacity
than air that allows such compact coolers to be mounted near to the
engine, reducing the internal volume and therefore response of the inlet
system.
Also the major limiting factor with large and therefore efficient air to
air units is pressure loss. A large cooler produces a low outlet
temperature but may lose 2 to 5 Psi across the matrix, this offsets the
colder denser charge reducing its effect and increasing compressor work,
and therefore compressor outlet temperature, Spot the downward spiral
here!
With a charge cooler (water to air) the main unit is small yet efficient
( 75 - 90 %) and easily sited. The rejection of the water's heat to the
atmosphere can be done with a vast radiator at the front of the vehicle
and still have no losses on the inlet charge air. The only loss you get
is the Cd on the car as you are trying to force a lot of cooling
air(ambient temp) through a bloody big hole in the bumper. The
requirements for a successful air to water system is a high water flow
rate >1200 l/min and thoughtful placing / plumbing of components.


a bit techy but hope it helps.