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Vortech Intercooler

Vicr

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Anyone else running a Vortech Intercooler? Maybe I’ll be the first to run one which can support 1000HP and the heat of an Arizona desert.
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Hellman109

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Ive not seen a block that can support 1000hp so its a bit of a moot point. A quick look at the kit and the number of bends in the pipe to fit what looks like a generic intercooler to the Mustangs pipes doesn't look so great to me honestly, especially for the price.

Id spend half on an ETS or similar and the other $500 towards something else.
 
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Vicr

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Ive not seen a block that can support 1000hp so its a bit of a moot point. A quick look at the kit and the number of bends in the pipe to fit what looks like a generic intercooler to the Mustangs pipes doesn't look so great to me honestly, especially for the price.

Id spend half on an ETS or similar and the other $500 towards something else.
Ive not seen a block that can support 1000hp so its a bit of a moot point. A quick look at the kit and the number of bends in the pipe to fit what looks like a generic intercooler to the Mustangs pipes doesn't look so great to me honestly, especially for the price.

Id spend half on an ETS or similar and the other $500 towards something else.
Who said I was going to try and put 1000 hp into my motor. Duh. I’m going to be running the car in 100 degree heat and on the track. A $500 Intercooler can’t hold up to either. So what’s your point?
 

Cardude99

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Who said I was going to try and put 1000 hp into my motor. Duh. I’m going to be running the car in 100 degree heat and on the track. A $500 Intercooler can’t hold up to either. So what’s your point?
I have a $500 intercooler and it holds up to the heat just fine. I would save the money on the vortec unit and go with something else and save a few hundred. But if you feel the need to go that route then i await your results.
 

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I don't understand why you guys need to change the intercooler on these cars ? Is it just because of track usage ?
My car is tuned and and I get IATs 40 degrees C or lower on the street and I live in South Africa trust me it gets hot as hell here too.

But then even if its for track usage if youre getting severe heatsoak and high IATs then chances are you need a larger radiator and transmission and engine oil coolers too.

Out of the turbo cars ive owned the Ecoboost Mustangs intercooler is pretty decent and quite nicely places for airflow too.
 

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Hellman109

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Because IATs have exactly ZERO to do with the intercooler or turbo.

IATs are picked up straight after the air filter, before the turbo, before the intercooler, and should be within a couple of degrees of ambient air temps when moving.

You need to measure Charge Air Temps with a Cobb Accessport or such. This is the temp at the throttle body which is post-turbo and post-intercooler.

When CAT's go up, the engine pulls timing and thus power.

I really wish they would remove IATs from the gauge cluster as they mislead so many Mustang owners.
 

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Ah f*ck thats very confusing, but then why do the IATs get so high when idle ? I would have though if its at the airbox then its not going to get THAT hot when sitting in traffic but ive seen it go upto to 80C +.

In any case, i still think the stock intercooler is pretty good, on the street ive never really noticed heatsoak as long as im at a reasonable speed. Compared to my other turbo cars the Ecoboost mustang IC holds up well.

However now based on what you explained im wondering what the actual temps are on mine. Maybe there are gains to be had for street use for me.
 

Hellman109

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Ah f*ck thats very confusing, but then why do the IATs get so high when idle ?
Because heat from the engine bay starts to get sucked in and heat soak through the CAI box. When you move its all air from the front which is ambient temp.

ive never really noticed heatsoak
But you basically cant unless its really bad. Saying that, at normal street use you probably wont heatsoak it on the stock tune unless you push it hard for a bit, like 5+ seconds at WOT which honstly wont be that common on the road as that would push you above hte legal speed limit basically anywhere. As soon as you tune though, it wants to push more boost and more spark and then those charge temps come into play hard and retard timing and all that nice power gain from the tune is eaten in heat management by the engine.

I have a big turbo, and track my car and both push my current stock location intercooler too far really, was fine on stock turbo but not anymore. Ive seen CATs get into the 50c range when ambient is like 15c on track. But thats not normal use.
 

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As @Hellman109 posted above, IAT (Intake Air Temperature) is related to your CAI (Cold Air Intake). When you aren't moving, your pipes in the engine bay start to heat up and transfer heat to your intake air. Additional you are picking up air right there at the grill so radiated heat from the radiator and the road also contributes to those elevated IAT's. Your charge temps are what you should be monitoring, usually with a hand-held tuning device, to determine how efficient your IC (intercooler) is at reducing that IAT to something approaching ambient temperature, which is a measurement of the outside air temperature. The closer your charge temps are to ambient the more power you will make. That is why you will see so many on this forum replacing the OEM IC. It is undersized, and inefficient, resulting in it being quick to heat soak, and slow to cool back down. When replacing the IC, you are looking for a unit that will cool the air from the turbo to something approaching ambient without adversely affecting flow due to either a larger volume or poor flow characteristics. In a nutshell, heat = pulled timing = reduced power. Obviously, if your ambient is 110 degrees, its going to suck for making power anyway, but all the more reason for a larger and more efficient IC, since putting 150 degree air into your intake will make you think you're driving a Yugo.
 

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I don't understand why you guys need to change the intercooler on these cars ? Is it just because of track usage ?
My car is tuned and and I get IATs 40 degrees C or lower on the street and I live in South Africa trust me it gets hot as hell here too.

But then even if its for track usage if youre getting severe heatsoak and high IATs then chances are you need a larger radiator and transmission and engine oil coolers too.

Out of the turbo cars ive owned the Ecoboost Mustangs intercooler is pretty decent and quite nicely places for airflow too.
Yes, if you run one of these on the track, the intercooler will heatsoak and the ECU will pull boost/timing.

A larger radiator is not needed, especially if you have the PP, which comes with a larger radiator. The coolant temp never moves beyond the middle of the guage, on track, in 90+ deg temps. Yes, an oil cooler is probably a good idea. On hot days at the track, my oil temp moves into the "yellow" range, which I understand to be 280 deg. That's pretty hot.

I have only owned two turbo cars, a 1986 944 Turbo (still own) and this Mustang. The 944T was rated at 220 hp at 10.8 psi of boost. The intercooler is over twice as large as that of the 2018 Mustang, which is rated at 310 hp at just over 20 psi of boost. I wasn't surprised that the stock Mustang intercooler was not up to extended high boost operation.
 

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Cardude99

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I don't understand why you guys need to change the intercooler on these cars ? Is it just because of track usage ?
My car is tuned and and I get IATs 40 degrees C or lower on the street and I live in South Africa trust me it gets hot as hell here too.

But then even if its for track usage if youre getting severe heatsoak and high IATs then chances are you need a larger radiator and transmission and engine oil coolers too.

Out of the turbo cars ive owned the Ecoboost Mustangs intercooler is pretty decent and quite nicely places for airflow too.
If u think the stock intercooler is sufficient then I think your doing it wrong lol. It heatsoaks after one good pull.
 
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I've read several posts here and on the Mustang Ecoboost Forum of guys installing a low(er) priced intercooler (as well as other parts) and then only to need to upgrade when they found out that intercooler wasn't performing to their needs. I've always been a firm believer in buying your second ____(insert word here) first. When a shop that specializes in Mustangs recommends a certain part then I'll follow that advice just as I expect someone coming to me for advice in my line of work will take it. After pricing the ATM intercooler and then adding on decent charge pipes the ATM was within $100 of the Vortech which comes with it's own charge pipes. If a guy who builds Mustangs for a living tells me to go with the Vortech well I am going to do just that. The car goes in 8/12 for the upgrade and I won't look back and I certainly won't have to worry about needing an upgrade when tracking the car in the Arizona heat.
 

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Okay ive not really noticed the heatsoak, as I said I do on other cars ive had.

But i certainly believe what you guys say, as a result im going to try get a hold of an IC and try it and see if it makes a difference. A store here sells the Garret Mustang Ecoboost IC, seems like a good unit so ill try get my hands on one.
 

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I've read several posts here and on the Mustang Ecoboost Forum of guys installing a low(er) priced intercooler (as well as other parts) and then only to need to upgrade when they found out that intercooler wasn't performing to their needs. I've always been a firm believer in buying your second ____(insert word here) first. When a shop that specializes in Mustangs recommends a certain part then I'll follow that advice just as I expect someone coming to me for advice in my line of work will take it. After pricing the ATM intercooler and then adding on decent charge pipes the ATM was within $100 of the Vortech which comes with it's own charge pipes. If a guy who builds Mustangs for a living tells me to go with the Vortech well I am going to do just that. The car goes in 8/12 for the upgrade and I won't look back and I certainly won't have to worry about needing an upgrade when tracking the car in the Arizona heat.
The vortec is a stout unit, looking forward to see how you like it. Maybe I'll see u around, do you ever attend any autox events? It would be interesting to see if there is any difference in feel between ur vortec and my atm, though idk what mods you have currently.
 
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Vicr

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The vortec is a stout unit, looking forward to see how you like it. Maybe I'll see u around, do you ever attend any autox events? It would be interesting to see if there is any difference in feel between ur vortec and my atm, though idk what mods you have currently.
Sam, I won’t be in AZ until 2021 full time. We’re retiring in Yuma for winters and will be trailering the Stang to Chandler to run the road course. Between now and then I’ll be modding the car for optimum performance and no “looks /sounds cool” stuff. Once done with performance mods I’ll have it on the Dyno to see results.
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