What it's for
An intercooler only cools the charge as well as the air flowing across it allows. At low road speed, in traffic or between drag passes, that airflow drops off and intake temperatures climb. The Nexus intercooler system gives you two tools to fight it:
- Intercooler spray: sprays water onto the core. As it evaporates it pulls heat out of the core, which drops charge temperature quickly.
- Intercooler fan: pulls air through the core when the car isn't moving fast enough, switched on intake air temperature.
If you want the theory, see how intercoolers work.
How the spray gets armed
| Mode | What happens |
|---|---|
| Disabled | No automatic spray; only the manual switch fires it |
| Enabled - Always Armed | Sprays automatically whenever the activation conditions are met |
| Enabled - Arming Switch | Sprays automatically only when the arming switch is on and the conditions are met |
The Spray Manual Switch works in any mode and overrides the conditions, so you can hit the core before a pass or on a hot staging lane. The activation conditions themselves are set up in the spray node.
We like the arming switch mode on street cars. The spray only runs when you want it, so you don't empty the tank in traffic.
Indicator and fan
- Spray Indicator: drives a light whenever the spray is running, useful so you know when the tank is being used.
- Fan Enable: turns on the intercooler fan output, with activation based on intake air temperature. The fan node holds its settings.
Wiring connections
| Connection | Pin type | Our advice |
|---|---|---|
| Spray Output | DPO or other output | Switch the pump through a relay, not directly |
| Spray Auto Switch Input | AVI or SPI | The arming switch for the Arming Switch mode |
| Spray Manual Switch Input | AVI or SPI | A momentary button works well |
| Spray Indicator Output | DPO or other output | A dash light or a dash indicator |
| Fan Output | DPO or other output | Always through a relay; fans draw far more current than an ECU output can supply |
Checks before you rely on it
- Test each switch in NSP and watch the input change state cleanly.
- Make sure you have a trustworthy intake air temperature reading, since the fan depends on it.
- Log intake temperature before and after spraying to confirm it's doing something useful.
Running an Elite instead? See the Elite intercooler system.
