Yes but the difference between a hot day, say 25C and a cold one, Say 5C is only a difference of 20C which is only a small difference compared to between the hot and cool side of the intercooler. I think I am right in saying that the cool side is usually around 50C in an engine running maximum boost. And remember that maximum boost could well occur at less than
1500erpm under load.
It is certainly not obvious to me. The cooling fan moves a large volume of cooling air even when stationary.
As soon as it warms up (which it will if there is no air
But there is always air movement when it is needed even with electric fan equipped vehicles like my TD6.
There will never be a constant supply, it varies with speed and particularly where the fan switches on and off. The intercooler is effectively a radiator and will cool by heat soak for a while even without significant air flow. In any case, many [most] modern electronically controlled engines will have an intake air temperature sensor which will control the fan indirectly along other systems.
That depends on whether the intercooler was at its limit to start with. Most diesel intercoolers are not fitted to enhance performance as much as to lower emissions. This usually leaves a fair degree of scope for tuning without increasing the intercooler size. Apart from which, since we are talking Land Rover here, these vehicles are designed to work hard and to tow hard in adverse conditions and in low gear range with hardly any natural air flow and in high ambient temperatures.
Of course it will get hot. It is a heat exchanger for goodness' sake and it needs air. That is why it is situated in the air flow and usually in the area where air is pulled by the cooling fan. There are exceptions, such as the old Isuzu Trooper 3.1 which had a top mounted intercooler which had no fan. Now this, you would think would be quite ineffective in the adverse conditions I describe above. However I have run this machine for 14 years and towed improbable loads in very hilly conditions and have never seen the power decline. This may be due to the heat soak effect combined with the possibility that the intercooler is there primarily to reduce emissions rather than to allow greater fuel injection leading to more power per-se.
Huw