Lets talk about intercoolers

[Dadillac]

I know what an intercooler does. And I have been reading some of the threads on here about intercooler swaps. But with that said I am in no way a turbo car expert and could use some knowledge. Pretty much every intercooler discussion includes a tune and whatnot. But lets get real freaky here. What would be the outcome of putting a larger intercooler into a bone stock Ecoboost car? No tune or other performance mods at all. Just an intercooler. What say you more knowledgable folks?

Don

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[PRG3k]

Probably nothing but better charge temps, even if you went with one of the larger cores. To slow down your spool time or any other negative effects would probably take an intercooler so big that it wouldn't fit without fabrication anyway. Maybe someone who's done it can chime in. A stock sized replacement is a good choice. Cools way more efficiently and similar volume to the stock unit.

 

[Chef jpd]

Stock size aftermarket intercooler will dramatically reduce your charge temps.
No tune required, and will keep your HP at its best.

 

[BLU-PNY]

I can't speak from a lot of direct experience, as I just got my CVF street intercooler installed yesterday. However, I have considered replacing the stock intercooler for almost a year and researched it extensively. I am still running the stock tune in conjunction with relatively mild intake and exhaust mods.

My car is a pleasure driver not a racer, and my goal has been to make it run better and more fun to drive without any reliability implications. More experienced folks even say that an upgraded intercooler and cooler charge temps is actually safer for the EB engine. Although I have only had the intercooler in for a couple days, I drove it for a couple hours and did several WOT runs through the gears as well as backroad cruising and Interstate driving. I am very satisfied with the results.

With upgraded intercoolers, the benefits of cooler charge temps and maintaining HP output without the engine retarding timing is pretty well documented. There are published test results to prove it.

I think the benefits go beyond that though, and my engine feels more responsive, revs quicker, stronger overall and stronger longer. By this, I mean that peak feels stronger and power does not drop sharply after 5200 like it did before. Useful powerband now extends well into the 6000+ rpm range. Yesterday was a pretty cool day for my post - install test drive. I am assuming heat soak was not that much of an issue for my evaluation and much of the improvement I observed was due to less restriction between the turbo and the throttle body due to the new intercooler. Comparing the core size and the end tanks of the new one vs. the stocker certainly suggests flow would be greatly improved.

I have read quite a few opinions stating that an intercooler upgrade is the best performance upgrade to make on a stock EB Mustang. I wasn't convinced, but I now think that is correct - especially considering performance improvements......and reliability……...


edit: read the thread titled "CVF Street Intercooler Driving Impressions" started by BlackEB2019 a few title lines below in this subforum. I responded there as well.

 

[PRG3k]

I have read quite a few opinions stating that an intercooler upgrade is the best performance upgrade to make on a stock EB Mustang.

Not just the best, but essential. The way the Ecoboost is set to run, it is always going to be hamstrung by heat soak to a degree, its just a question of how much. Its a super hot running motor. Most power adders don't matter if the air is too hot.
Boiled down, the performance of any Ecoboost equals a.) what the power train is capable of + b.) heat management.

 

[Vicr]

I have a ‘15 EB Premium 50th Anniversary car that I’m preparing for the track. I had a full race Vortech IC installed and have had no adverse issues without a tune. Charge cooling temps are waaay down and boost is up a tad depending on the weather. I’m a wastegate and some suspension mods away from a custom tune and then some non-covid track time.

 

[SouthernCyclone]

Not just the best, but essential. The way the Ecoboost is set to run, it is always going to be hamstrung by heat soak to a degree, its just a question of how much. Its a super hot running motor. Most power adders don't matter if the air is too hot.
Boiled down, the performance of any Ecoboost equals a.) what the power train is capable of + b.) heat management.

Then I would run a injection setup, either water injection for cylinder cooling or 50/50 water/methanol for cylinder cooling and air charge cooling.

 

[Cardude99]

I've ran an atm intercooler on my stock car for 11 months, nothing but benefits to it. It's a larger unit than stock by a wide margin. Absolutely no tune or other mods needed. Best first mod you can do. Now I'm tuned and it's only got better.

 

[Dadillac]

So what I have read here is that adding an IC is a good idea. What is a good IC for a daily driver that is never tracked but driven spiritedly on a whim? I removed the grill shutters if that helps when it comes to sizing

Don

 

[whatdoyoufeedit?]

Consider the IC a longevity/safety mod first and performance mod second. These engines are already glass as is being thin + open deck (along with the risks of Low Speed Pre Ignition) and the IC equipped on them is sized for a 175HP 1.7L engine. I soaked my stock IC just from normal daily driving on a 100 degree day (car threw a wrench light). If you are not hotrodding the car the CVF street IC is the best value; Ambient Thermal Management race IC or CVF Race IC if your power goals are higher down the road. Literally any aftermarket IC of your choice is better than the stock unit. Addendum: The "Street" style intercoolers also use the factory mounting points if stock style fitment is a necessity.

 

[PRG3k]

What is a good IC for a daily driver that is never tracked but driven spiritedly on a whim? I removed the grill shutters if that helps when it comes to sizing

Don

The picture below is all the units I've had on my car with the stock one thrown in for comparison. MAPerformance street on top, Levels, and then the FFTEC w the Garrett core on the bottom. The street units (the single tier stock-style as opposed to the double tall units) are more than enough for daily driving. I summed up my experience here: https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/the-big-intercooler-thread.15352/page-41#post-1513780 which is a good thread to read if you want. I call the small MAP unit the little intercooler that could. They all performed just about the same. The smaller units will heat soak quicker but will not get as hot as the bigger units. The big units will dissipate heat a lot quicker when getting into boost but I noticed their peak temps in traffic would climb higher than the smaller units, they're also heavier too, which is something to consider. Whatever you get I'd suggest looking in the classified section first as intercoolers are damn near a lifetime part and super cheap used.
View attachment 461030

 

[FreePenguin]

Also sales.. I got a brand new CPE FMIC for 275 bucks on Black Friday shipped, that's tax and everything.

ridiculous pricing! mine is a DD, no track or anything but I like the fact that the power is constant.

 

[lizardrko]

You would see better charge temps. Which from a driver perspective, the car will perform better in hot weather as in it will not seem as boggy. Also you will see a slight increase in power in the high RPM range. Definitely worth the investment, with or without a tune. Its a cooling mod, probably the biggest cooling mod you can put on a turbo car.

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