Intercooler basics

[Johnson]

A good article here on the basics of intercoolers:

https://www.thedrive.com/guides-and-gear/what-is-an-intercooler

What interested me was the picture of the Lotus supercharger — I hadn’t realised this was an air/water intercooler. Anyone know the details (eg: where does the water circulate to, where is the intercooler radiator, etc)?

 

[wuster]

water running through intercooler is circulated to the front of the car to cool off, then pumped back to the air/water intercooler to cool the compressed air.

this way air doesn't need to be sent all the way around the vehicle to cool, then into engine
couldn't find a picture diagram specific to our car, but here's a generic one. Although they state supercharger, looks more like a turbo.

 

[Johnson]

That certainly revived an old thread!

Okay, so is the noise we hear when we unlock the car the intercooler water pump? I’d thought it might have been the fuel pump, but it does seem quite loud…