I put ice IN as well as on top of my blower/intake/plenum. I have a PFab IC reservoir, so I pack it full of ice and just top it with distilled. And I also have two bags, double bagged in jumbo ziplocks, so no leaks and I lay them on top, if I have a crew to pass them off to before I'm up. Cold is good.
i wouldn't put any ice in the blower b/c of hydro lock, but ice on intake, blower, and in the intercooler will help. Colder air is more dense and has more oxgen molocules and will create a better flame, i belive the raitio is for ever 1 degree u lower the temp you gain 1 hp but don't quote me on that if you want exact # i can look it up for you
I've done it from day one from the recommendation of others. Ice bags can't hurt, as long as they don't leak, they do take the edge off the heat coming from the intake/blower area. I datalog intake and downstream intake temperatures and they stay low enough to always get my max timing, even on second and third runs. Will an ice bag get you a tenth, maybe not. Is it practical for a solo trip to the track, carrying a cooler big enough for 3-4 bags of ice and DR's, maybe not, but I bring a truck for my drag wheels and tools, so I just throw on a big fishing cooler. Having a routine to focus on make passes very similar, and for me that includes fighting heat soak as best as I can. It could give you a little more confidence and that might get you a tenth with a hole shot. Quick passes come with repetition, practice and confidence in your car and cooling it as best I can between passes is just what I do for an edge.
I don't agree, the oversize IC reservoirs are made to use ice in at the track, they have screens so you are feeding the SC a supercooled 35* charge of water, just as you are blasting down the track. It is a very effective trick to help the heaton cool the intake charge and it IS worth HP usually lost to heat and pulled timing, especially on repeated runs. The "chiller box" plus an HE upgrade, don't make HP, they save it from being lost to heat.
saved HP = quicker times
just my 2 cents.