Drop Intake Temps Fast With A VMP Trunk-Mounted Intercooler Ice Tank

Running a 7-second drag car requires serious cooling to maintain optimal performance. A large, trunk- mounted ice tank can ensure steady, reliable performance when you push big boost through an air-to-water intercooler. VMP Performance spent 15 years racing, and they learned exactly what cooling hardware survives track abuse.

Keeping cold water flowing sounds easy, but ensuring that it happens throughout the rigors of a race weekend required thorough testing, research, and development.

“It (ice) comes in many different forms from large cubes to small chipped pieces, and it’s very easy for it to clog a pickup,” Justin Starkey, of VMP Performance, explained.

The team solved this flaw by putting a fine mesh screen inside the tank to block dirt and keep chunks from restricting the lines.

Safely securing equipment like this for the racetrack often requires drilling through the factory sheetmetal. To avoid that, the VMP designed its trunk-mounted ice tank to bolt directly onto the factory spare tire mount. They also upgraded to an oversized threaded cap, which prevents the lid from sticking during temperature shifts. Another design fix involved the water return line. Pumping warm fluid over the top creates air bubbles that ruin cooling efficiency, so they routed the return below the surface level.

Evacuating the water from melting ice is required maintenance between rounds. As such, VMP placed the drain valve slightly above the floor, leaving enough water to protect internal components.

“This keeps you from draining it completely dry and then losing prime on the pump,” Starkey noted. Leaving some liquid inside ensures the system stays primed before adding fresh ice for the next run. They also routed the plumbing so the inlet faces forward, forcing water inside during hard launches.

Upgrading the air-to-water intercooling system on a boosted vehicle eliminates endless headaches in the staging lanes. Adding a vent fitting stops internal pressure from locking the cap tight, allowing for racers to quickly top off the tank with fresh ice.

Installing a properly engineered trunk-mounted ice tank guarantees consistent intake temperatures on every pass. Dialing in these details keeps the supercharger happy and unlocks maximum horsepower when the green light drops, and VMP’s Trunk Ice Tank kit makes all of that easy.