Coolant for W2A Intercooler? Gauge for IAT?

Hi All,
 
I wanted to get some opinions on running coolant in W2A intercoolers, some people run straight water, some people use 50/50 water coolant mix and I have also read people adding products like Water Wetter / Motul Mocool to increase cooling efficiency.
 
I was also thinking about adding a IAT  sensor and gauge to monitor the temp in the intercooler, I already have a IAT in the inlet manifold but can't really find a gauge that can read it besides my Microtech hand controller.
 
I have also read some people argue that IAT is a waste of time and just use a AFR gauge but due to MR2's engine bay temps I do like the idea of being able to check the temp of the intake air.
 
Thoughts?

Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking of doing, I have one IAT sensor in the manifold and mount one in the hot pipe and intercooler to see how well it's cooling the air, that way I can try to further improve the system more, like running a spal fan on the heat exchanger or adding a larger reservoir if required.
 
WIDEMR - Are you going to run a reservoir or ice box in your setup ??

I guess it depends on how you interpret the feedback from the IATs. If the system is not functioning correctly the IAT is not going to tell you what you need to address to achieve the performance you are after. I would focus on designing the system properly from the start otherwise you might end up chasing your tail. When I say design I mean the diameter of the pipework, getting turbulent flow through the IC and HE and ensuring there is enough volume of water in the system. My advice is dont over analyse it.
 
In regard to the fluid additive, I wouldnt get hung up on this. The temperature of the fluid before cooling is not going to be a lot more than ambient, and you will never get the cooled air at or below ambient without ice or similar. The fluid doesnt need to work as hard as the engine cooling system. I would fully test and satisfy myself that the system is functioning correctly with normal water before I try anything fancy. I found I was pulling apart my system a lot and trying new things, if that was filled with water wetter or coolant it would have been very messy and expensive by the time I got it right. Once you know its optimised, maybe try water wetter or similar and test the difference it makes.
 
 

I ran a sensor just before the throttle bottle on my W2A setup, but in the end i changed it to water spray. The ST205  W2A had a water level sensor in it which I blocked off. At one stage I considered putting in a temp sensor, but thats monitoring the water temp not the air temp. I used coolant in mine. When it was running in "The Beast" it was also using coolant. Seeing as that car was running over 300kw and was a HKS engine I thought I would not argue with all that and just follow their example. One thing I had to put together myself was a separate overflow as when you switch the engine off, you get heatsoak ane the cooler boils. So I found it better to have its own bottle I think rather than sharing the stock one.
But Ive ditched that setup now.

The setup I had was great, never get heatsoak on street driving. On hot summer days, it would always hold boost well because of this setup. Looked stock also. 
 
However the last two times I went track it got heatsoaked. I could have probably done some things to insulate it etc but i pulled it out and in went the boot mount cooler. I got a different turbo, manifold, and stuff done so I thought might as well do this too.
 
The thing about having a water temp sensor in the W2A, is even if its hot there is nothing you can do. Let the water circulate and let the fan blow. This is why I didnt bother with the water temp. Air temp yes, good to know what air temps are going in I guess. Thats just me.
 
Dont get me wrong, I like the setup. If no one buys my W2A setup I might consider keeping it in case I build another MR2 down the track or for a GT4.