Trunk Mounted I/C Reservoir Questions

I guess I'm confused and need to be educated.

Please refer to the attached pic of Don's I/C reservoir I saw in another thread.

Does this reservoir increase the overall quantity of coolant for the I/C system or does the tank have a separate coil inside and the I/C coolant is separate from the ice/water mix in the tank?

Its just a big reservoir. You drain off some coolant and add ice to lower temps.
Ice melts after a run, drain some more coolant off and add more ice.

It's not like the old cool can from years back.

Ok, be patient with me.....

what prevents air pockets from entering the I/C pump supply line as the coolant sloshes around and ice from clogging (even with some type of screen) the supply line to the pump?

Has anyone ever considered using an aluminum coil of tubing inside the tank which would keep the I/C coolant separate from the ice/water mixture? No cavitation or ice to interrupt I/C coolant flow. The original I/C reservoir could still be used to monitor I/C coolant levels and would bleed air out of the system during initial fill.

Just an idea - I may be full of shit!!

Where can I get one of these? I have one on order from ST motorsports but I've been waitng for 4 weeks, I need one ASAP!

Kolb02 said:

Where can I get one of these? I have one on order from ST motorsports but I've been waitng for 4 weeks, I need one ASAP!

Click to expand...

pretty sure Don's is a ST unit

tmcolegr said:

Ok, be patient with me.....

what prevents air pockets from entering the I/C pump supply line as the coolant sloshes around and ice from clogging (even with some type of screen) the supply line to the pump?

Has anyone ever considered using an aluminum coil of tubing inside the tank which would keep the I/C coolant separate from the ice/water mixture? No cavitation or ice to interrupt I/C coolant flow. The original I/C reservoir could still be used to monitor I/C coolant levels and would bleed air out of the system during initial fill.

Just an idea - I may be full of shit!!

Click to expand...

the line from the tank to the I/C is at the bottom of the tank and always submerged. the pump is after this output line so no air gets in to the lines

so let me check for understanding

• The outlet hose of the intercooler core goes into the inlet (top) of the trunk mounted tank
• The outlet (bottom) fitting on the tank, which is constantly submerged, supplies coolant to the inlet of the I/C pump
• The tank has a ball valve which allows you to drain off heated I/C coolant and replenish with a mixture of ice & water
• The original reservoir is removed from the system and the new trunk mounted reservoir becomes the coolant reservoir for the entire system?

I was always under the impression the reservoir was the highest point in the system to:

• assist in removing trapped air
• to constantly keep the I/C pump primed with coolant

Where/how is the air removed from the system if the tank is now lower than the intercooler core?

What keeps the I/C pump inlet primed with coolant since the reservoir is no longer the highest component in the system?

Does this new trunk mounted reservoir require a 2nd I/C pump due to the added length of the hoses?

let me try to answer... I dont have it...and am going from memory, if I get it wrong please forgive me. I'm sure one of the guys who have it will chime in.

tmcolegr said:

so let me check for understanding

• The outlet hose of the intercooler core goes into the inlet (top) of the trunk mounted tank
• yes
• The outlet (bottom) fitting on the tank, which is constantly submerged, supplies coolant to the inlet of the I/C pump
• yes
• The tank has a ball valve which allows you to drain off heated I/C coolant and replenish with a mixture of ice & water
• yes - some have put a drain hose down thru the trunk to drop the coolant/water into a bucket placed under the car
• The original reservoir is removed from the system and the new trunk mounted reservoir becomes the coolant reservoir for the entire system?
• yes sometimes, some have added a reservior in the engine bay to be a high point to trap any air away from the system.

I was always under the impression the reservoir was the highest point in the system to:

• assist in removing trapped air
• to constantly keep the I/C pump primed with coolant

Where/how is the air removed from the system if the tank is now lower than the intercooler core? see above


What keeps the I/C pump inlet primed with coolant since the reservoir is no longer the highest component in the system?

Does this new trunk mounted reservoir require a 2nd I/C pump due to the added length of the hoses? no-but a bigger I/C pump is used.

Click to expand...

If I remember correctly there was someone (Mark) that had issues because he was using too high of an output of intercooler pump and it was causing caviatation in the lines

If the reservoir is no longer the highest component in the system what prevents the coolant from flowing back into the tank when the pump shuts off?

Wouldn't parts of the I/C system now have air in them?

Doesn't the pump have issues repriming itself?

Am I just making this whole deal overly complicated?

tmcolegr said:

Am I just making this whole deal overly complicated?

Click to expand...

LOL yes...................


here are a few threads on this topic


http://s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6307&highlight=trunk+intercooler+tank

http://s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9942&highlight=trunk+intercooler+tank

just as long as ur pump is below the tank gravity will feed the pump. I hav zero problems with my rear mount tank.

cooling lines

Tmcolegr, I am with you on this whole thing. I bought 2 trans coolers that I am putiting back to back for increase surface area and putting that in a tank in the rear. One of the other benifits in my thinking was that after I am done at the track or what ever, I can drain the water out and still have a sealed system and not carry around the extra weight. I am still going to keep my IC tank up front for burping and adding fluid.

akula52 said:

Tmcolegr, I am with you on this whole thing. I bought 2 trans coolers that I am putting back to back for increase surface area and putting that in a tank in the rear. One of the other benefits in my thinking was that after I am done at the track or what ever, I can drain the water out and still have a sealed system and not carry around the extra weight. I am still going to keep my IC tank up front for burping and adding fluid.

Click to expand...

That's exactly my thoughts - keep the I/C coolant separate, sealed and in tact. By keeping the original I/C tank up front the system would still operate as intended without any of the issues I previously mentioned. The lines would hold additional coolant as well as the remote (trunk) mounted aux. heat exchanger.

Only difference is, I was considering using my original Saleen heat exchanger, that I'm no longer using since I upgraded to the Afco H/E, inside the trunk mounted tank.

Kolb02 said:

Where can I get one of these? I have one on order from ST motorsports but I've been waitng for 4 weeks, I need one ASAP!

Click to expand...

+1 Mine is shipping tomorrow.

I went with this set up because I wanted the added capacity of this tank, while at the same time have roughly 50lbs of water-ice over the rear tires. After a 1/4 mile pass, I still have ice in the tank, water still cold, and the intake air temps are usually about 82-86 degrees when I pull up to the line, and anywhere between 96 and 104 degrees at the end of a pass.

I guess I am kind of confused when you use the word "coolant". I think of coolant as what is in the radiator. The I/C tank has nothing more then water and ice.

Inlet is at the top. The pump is mounted directly underneath the tank, so even when almost completely drained, the pump is still being gravity fed water at all times, to keep air out of the system.

The pump is moved from the stock location (front) to the rear, directly below the tank. The pump needs to "push" the water, not pull it.

When I first hooked up the system, I did have some air in the lines which worked its way out after a day or so. Ever since then, I have not had a problem with any air in the system.



When I turn the key on, but do not start the engine, you can hear the pump come on and the water flow. I never had a problem with ice blocking the line or whatever. However, when I fill the tank, I only drain about 2/3 of it, while 1/3 remains water. Then I fill it with ice and there is still plenty of water, (in other words, its not like slush)

+1 to everything Paul said. It is an excellent setup and works great for me.