THE SKID FACTORY - [QUICK TECH] Heat Exchangers Explained 

Learnt more here in 17 minutes than i did the 24 years i spent holding the torch for me old man.

Great. My only slight adjustment is the idea of thermal boundary layers. "things make heat, they heat air on surface, air blows over and rips that heated layer off" Sweet goodness, TSF is one of a kind on YT

If you ever wanted a change from spinning spanners everyday you would make an awesome trade school lecturer. The apprentices would be lucky to have someone with such a wide range of knowledge and real life experience.

Difficult subject, handled well. Thanks Al.

Al, super impressed by your statement that the AC evaporator absorbs heat (rather than cooling the air, which is probably what most people would say). Very science-y of you!

How about a video on turbo and exhaust Sizing relationship Or even a demo of your mig/tig skills

These videos are so helpful, maybe one about spark plugs and how to choose the right one after you've modified a car?

Fantastic explanations but what we really want to know is can you play it as well as moog

Hi Al! A great topic for a Quick Tech would be the evolution of ignition systems from breaker point distributors through CDI igniter systems with magnetic triggers and on to proper engine computers. A lot of shadetree mechanics hate engine computers because they don't understand them & their benefits, such as elimination of distributors and mechanical fuel injection as well as the flexibility gained in fine adjustments with air/fuel mixture, timing adjustments, etc.

Good explanation. A bonus would have been talks about an ice tank in the air to water intercooler setup to get temps below ambient. Keep up the great work!

My ex was a great heat exchanger, lots of hot air, yet still cold as ice...unfortunately, she really protested being shoved under the hood.

Extra tip: The more coolers you stack in front of each other, the less efficient they are. International learned this with the Maxxforce13 engine and a rad pack that was about 600mm thick. from front to back it went: -> A/C condenser -> Low temp rad (for the EGR & air to water intercooler) -> Primary air to air intercooler -> radiator/trans cooler -> Secondary air to air intercooler. The small gaps between them all would suck in all sorts of shmutz and it takes a good hour with a pressure washer to get it cleaned out.

Killer break down, this series is a really great addition to the channel! I think that most people believe that there's a WHOLE lot of black magik going on in the various cooling systems of their cars; but, the reality is that, as essentially laid out here, they're ALL just *radiatiators*, every single one of them! Whether liquid-to-air or liquid-to-liquid(remember elementary science class; both liquids and gasses are FLUIDS!), they're still just metal matrixs that allow two separate fluids to exchange heat between one another via a single metallic wall acting as the thermal transfer medium. Once you realize this, all of the voodoo magik goes away and things become much more simple to understand and diagnose. The only addendum that I would add is that, first, heat soak is a very relevant factor in any cooling system(and an explanation of what exactly 'heat soak' means) and, second, in a related minor correction, liquid-to-air intercooling DOES offer the potential of marginally greater cooling performance(lower charge air temps), particularly in an 'endurance' application. While an air-to-air intercooler will heat soak and normalize(while it starts out at ambient temperature, once operated long enough, the temp of the intercooler itself will average out somewhere between the higher temp of the incoming charge air and the lower temp of the outside ambient air, somewhat limiting its cooling/heat transfer ability), this heat soak isn't near as dramatic on a liquid-to-air intercooler because the whole system contains SIGNIFICANTLY greater thermal capacity thanks to the great density of water/coolant. Because you have a pretty large volume of coolant in the reservoir at ambient temperature, only the fraction of that coolant that passing through the intercooler(radiator) at any given time is being heated up by the incoming hot charge air charge, and that coolant then goes through another liquid-to-air heat exchanger(radiator) to offload most of that heat into the outside atmosphere, the entire liquid-to-air intercooling system takes a VERY long time to heat soak in comparison, and when it does finally heat soak(as long as there isn't a cooling bottleneck in the system mind you - it only cools as effectively as its lowest performing component) it normalizes at a much[relatively speaking] lower temperature than the air-to-air system does. This is why the vast majority of modern factory forced induction vehicles use the certainly much more complex liquid-to-air intercooling system while really only budget cars and giant diesel workhorses(and the odd anomaly of course) use air-to-air intercooling from the factory anymore. Don't get me wrong though, I don't mean to rant about this or anything at all, these videos are just a bit of a 'thorough summary' I would probably call it after all; and, explaining why someone/race teams/the factory would choose to use the quite complex, quite expensive liquid-to-air intercooling over air-to-air is certainly enough to confuse people just learning about automotive cooling systems. With that said, part of the reason that I leave these giant comments is in the hopes that someone who may have questions about "why liquid over air" and what not may come across it and learn a little something that they may not have known before - and, for that matter, if anyone has questions about liquid-to-air intercooling, feel free to ask because I do have experience with & knowledge about them(see some of my old uploads for an example of where I've worked if you have a credibility question or anything), I do LOVE to talk about this shit after all!

I would love a custom Air Con install video. Making lines (perhaps using AN?) mounting condensers etc.

That was a lot more interesting than i thought it was going to be.

For over 18 months I've thought of painting "Fool" under the 'I Bought A Jeep' sign at the Aspley dealership. I noticed a couple of days ago though that it has shut down. Even the sign is gone. Good thing too.

Quick tech subject: Engine sensors and what they do with the focus on what ones are good, common, cheap that can be adapted into your modified car for ECU’s Etc Cheers guys 👍

@The Skid Factory did a good job demonstrating at 8:29 why this one has been sacrificed, it has lost almost all of its sound and tune, so will not align the molecules in the right direction for maximum cooling efficiency, meaning less boost and less power! Always ensure that your coolers are tuned correctly to your vehicle.

I too would like to see a subject on brakes, to show to most people out there that quad pots aren't necessarily better than a bigger rotor with twins etc. Cheers for another well explained video 👍

How about a video on different types of LSD? I'm enjoying these quick techs!

Good video One thing I’ve tried to explain to turbo diesel owners is the difference between intercoolers for petrol turbos and turbo diesels. Petrol turbos (street cars) tend to use bar and plate intercoolers because they are designed to act as a heat sink, due to fact that the turbo is usually on for short periods of time and the absorbed heat can dissipate between periods of boost. Turbo diesels are on boost all the time and the intercooler has to dissipate the heat constantly, so the tube and fin design is the most efficient for turbo diesels (whether top or front mounted) and can be a lot smaller and lighter than a bar and plate intercooler. Many aftermarket dealers promote their bar and plate intercoolers as being better than a tube and fin, but they neglect to note that what they sell are substantially larger units by volume than the tube and fin intercooler they replace. If you had a tube and fin intercooler of the same volume, it would be far more efficient. However, tube and fin intercoolers can’t be made as simply as bar and plate, which come from China in great slabs that are just cut to size; so it’s much easier to produce a bar and plate intercooler than a tube and fin one. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Al you should look into being a trade school teacher. So much knowledge you have and explained much better then the teachers I had when I was at trade school

Information delivered in a very easy to understand way.

I always appreciate it when Turbo Yoda speaks the wisdom. Keep up the good work. Thanks

I was expecting moog to waltz in and pluck one like a harp.

It's worth mentioning water/air charge cooling can allow you to get intake temps below ambient air temperature by using ice in the systems header tank, this is mostly used for short term affairs like drag racing.

arguably the perfect video.... throughly go through the basics of heat exchangers, the different types and why they are used. what more could you ask for?

I sympathise Al. trying to put all your intuitive knowledge into words, while infront of a camera. never the less, you did a wicked job. cheers for the skid factory! you guys are great

Topic i'd love to see covered. Wrapping/coating exhaust parts, worth it?

The quick tech episodes are brilliant 👌. Learning so much. Thanks fellas!

This answered a lot of questions I’ve had over the years. Thanks Al and Woody, another great video!

Thanks again Alan for another QUICK TECH, makes my day , keep them coming

Sick video, love these segments

You explained this far better than I could. I'll be sure to share this with anybody who asks me.

Awesome Al, your a better teacher than you probably realise. Really enjoyed this one.

Thanks Al, really enjoying your Channel. Hope you and Woody keep at it.

Very well explained as usual, thanks boys 👍

Awesome work lad keep it up

Very well done guys

Good stuff lads.

Very informative..Thanks Al

Great video i really like your quick tech its great to get some insight from someone with so much experience. I think a good video would be showing a list of parts you commenly adapt and repurpose in your conversions such as the bmw thermo fan switch in your other epoisode its very interesting to see what can be reused form other cars rather than buying aftermarket. Either way keep up the good work this is some of the best automotive content on youtube !

Snowmobiles have heat exchangers above the track under the tunnel. When the snow kicks up it helps keep the engine from overheating.

Excellent video

Quick Tech subject suggestion: Bolt on EFI systems, ie: FiTech, HolleyEFI, FastEFI, and Msd AtomicEFI. A simple do's and Don'ts and bang for your buck for those like myself that still have Carburettored engines. TIA Boys. Keep up the good work.

Great video. Thank you.

Loving these videos guys! Love seeing Mr yodas presenting skills come along way from the old mx5 turbo days. Would love to see gearbox episode, explaining the difference between dsg boxes, multi clutch boxes etc. Peace ✌️

Well described. Well done.

Al has explained the insanity that is Project Blinky👍

Variable timing or 16 valve would be great subjects for a quick tech

G'day Alan well explained, often a hard subject to explain in simple format, so as to not talk above comprehension, of those just starting out on the road to discovery beyond the ignition key and seatbelt, configuration.😉🙂👍👍

Al is the best! Thank you so much! Also Woody! Muchos kudos to you too!

Good stuff!

Great vid👍🏼

Turbo Yoda !!! How about a topic on selecting the correct Turbo for your application 😜👍🇦🇺

Tech tip on dry sumps would be good.

Nice! I'd never really given much thought to the construction of heat exchangers.

Not one mention of thermodynamics. Cool to see the inside of the various types.

This was great

More quick tech please, if you could do one on choosing a water/air intercooler pump I would appreciate it.

Lovely stuff 👍 Quick tech suggestion: The break system. What the break booster does and so on. 👍

Awesome video as usual. I was hoping to see something about Laminova cores or heat exchangers.

You think you understand and then the skid factory blows your mind

not even 1 minute in and my car is being roasted. Nice. That's how u know it'll be a good video

Cool story Al!

So informative. Maad

Love it.

Theres is always some little info nugget i take away from you guys. I never considered engine oil/engine coolant heat exchange, was to do with a more even expansion rate! The more you know, cheers boys👍🍺

Thank you for one more educational video! I do not know if it was already suggested, but can we expect a quick tech on the different ways to feed fuel to the engine (i.e. carburetors, mechanical injection, electronic injection, mpi and direct injection)? All the best, cheers!

i enjoyed this video very much

THANK YOU FOR DETAIL VIDEO

Man.... Combustion etngine and cooling liquid parts... WOW... Great learning... Thanks...

Love the show guys!! Can you please do a "how to rebuild a turbo" video :) and can you repair cracked p-18 rear housings off subarus hahah

Great video , would love to hear your opinion on water injection and water spray set ups for inter coolers on street cars .

Speak more bout intercooler dimentions please mate. OEM intercooler limitations, when to upgrade, and what to take into concideration when upgrading.. Thanks for the vid. Love the channel. 👍

I would like a deeper look into the different types of piston rings (& perhaps pistons) used in car engines.

I have a Silvia eBay edition. Any chance of a quick session on compressor mapping. Love your work.

Yay, more things I never needed to know but glad I do 👌👌👌

Love how you put things into an easy way for dumb asses like me to understand with out being condescending. Love the channel love the videos. I've been forwarding the links to your merch to my wife to get me but the hint isn't being taken. I guess if you want something done right you should DIY

I like that the mrs takes off at mach 10 with no warmup. I've seen it!!

Saturday night science. Cheers Al

Great video . I understood most of it all ready but many people have now gained. Keep it up. You could try explain how an automatic works. 🤔

Nice mate I am sorting out that stuff now. I'm putting a lsa in my gq patrol Ute. 👌💪

Hi Guys, I'm enjoying these tech tips. Can you do one about turbo setups? top mount, bottom mount, remote mount etc....

The young fella at Vague Industries uses a water to air heat exchanger for his twin turbo 5.3 Hilux, but in his reservoir he has an A/C evaporator which is still plumbed into the A/C, he says it brings the water temp down so far that he has to use antifreeze in it. Its a clever way of getting it consistently super cold, but the complexity of it is huge, and trying to keep the little scroll compressor reliable wouldn't be easy I'm sure

Thanks, Al, I’d been struggling with efficiency of my chargecooler, for some reason I’d not made the connection of the importance of making sure *all* the airflow goes through the heat exchanger, despite having the engine fans on permanently. I sense that I’ll be making a shroud in my near future!

love your work guys. theoretically, can you modify the existing a\c core to fit inside the indirect cooling unit? does it have enough cooling power?

Good one mates!

Fuel injector types and sizes for different applications would be a good subject

I remember Al showing us some settings on the Haltech software, but a Quick Tech video on setting up a brand new Haltech would be great. I'd like to use a Haltech in a build I'm planning, but coming from the world of carburetors and push rods, it would be nice to see a run through of what's necessary to get your car running to get it on a trailer and over to the tuner. Cheers

just when you think you know everything, you learn some sh*t....thanks, super informative........many love, much props

I feel like I'm in a really engaging TAFE lesson

The bit about your Mrs jumping it cold and flogging it made me laugh. My Mrs used to cold flog my old XR6T any time she borrowed it lol I cringed every damn time.

Great info can u cover charge pipe sizing please , why cold side of intercooler is best larger than hot side .....would be really intresting , thanks guys 😊

You could elaborate on the water to air coolers a bit. They have some advantages. More heat capacity (more BTUs absorbed from the charge air, before "soaking" the cooling components and allowing charge air temps to increase). Also, the coolant can be cooled below ambient temperatures using water ice added to the reservoir, or by utilizing the air conditioning system to refrigerate the coolant.

Great video Al. I love your channel you're making good stuff. I would like a video about transmission. Not about how transmission work. Rather about what transmission you use and why you commonly use old automatic transmission instead of new ones like zf 8hp or a Mercedes 728.9 for example. I'm sure there's a good reason why and I would appreciate if you can explain. Thanks

Maybe not a quick tech subject, but would love to see some videos on wiring cars to Al's standards.

Hey Guys another great explanation from the Al meister as always. Keep up the great work. If you get a chance to do a bit of a tech tip about compression ratios for both n.a and turbo applications that would be great. I'm looking to either build an n.a stroker to go in my E34 525i or turbo or maybe even both?? Either way the compression ratio will need to be changed to suit and I just can't figure it all out....theres a lemon squash in it for you if you can help! 😋

Good explanation. Which intercooler system gives the highest ∆ in temperature?

Love all the S13 references ( I just brought one).How after market ECU's differ in the way they work from OEM ECU's in next Quick Tech?