Intercoolers for dummys

[Black dawg]

I used the pipes off a powerstroke, I was concerned about lag with the pipes being 3". the boost gauge moves slower at first, but then gets up to 10 psi pretty fast. The biggest suprise with my install was how much power was added at low to no boost levels.

 

[Agnem]

The biggest suprise with my install was how much power was added at low to no boost levels.

Bingo!

 

[david85]

That would be good news too considering how much time I spend at 1-2 PSI while cruising.

 

[reklund]

I'll chime in with my experiences:

I've got the ATS intercooler kit on my truck. I originally had it hooked up to my old non-wastegated 088 kit with some custom ugly piping I made. It worked well, but I couldn't make over 5 psi with that old turbo no matter what I did. It did add a bunch of usable power while pulling- keeping the EGT's down.

Now it's hooked up to my Aurora 2000 kit, and what a difference! While the aurora kit made 12 or so PSI without the intercooler hooked up ( I ran it without the IC for a few weeks while making new adaptors, since ATS no longer made them) it still makes between 8 and 10 and the truck runs great. Can't get the fuel turned up enough with my current setup to get the EGT's over 1200º no matter what I do. Plenty of power, especially cruising unloaded at about 70mph. The truck is a joy to drive now, power-wise. Loaded, with about 7500lbs, it's still no new Powerstroke or Cummins, but it runs strong and doesn't drop too much speed on the long grades.

In my opinion, intercoolers should have been included from the start, with any turbo kit on these IDI engines. It made such a difference in usable power its hard to describe.

Ryan

 

[91crew]

I just bought this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0458039674&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Its a 28x8.5x3.75 core with 2" inlet and 2.5" outlet. I think the dimensions should be good for this trucks air flow.

 

[david85]

The size difference also makes sense from a cooling standpoint. Its almost a scaled back operation of the AC system. By opening up the pipe on the way out, heat gets drawn in. Seems that the smaller pipe should be on the turbo side, and larger one on the intake side.

Looks like a good score.

 

[RLDSL]

All this talk about running a smaller IC has me wondering if the IC I yanked off a Volvo gasser might not do the job? The thing is 24.5"x15.5"x1.5" with 2.5" inlet and outlet and it was off a 2.4L engine that used to punch out around 30lb boost at up to 6000 rpm , when you start figuring in that the truck would only be running at about 1/3 the boost and 1/2 the rpms, even given the engine size increase, things are starting to look like they might balance out in the wash

 

[david85]

Based on the discussion so far, I think your answer would be yes. I'd love to get my hands on an intercooler like that for the diesel ranger.

 

[f-two-fiddy]

If it were Me, I'd stray away from anything OEM. We all know how OEM engineers work.

Efficiency is the key with an intercooler. Almost all oem's are designed to meet certain criteria and that's all. That's why You see $1600 upgrade IC's for almost all turbo vehicles. There's that much room for improvement.

 

[typ4]

Russ, are you stating that I should cut my intercooler per your size preference? I have yet to cut mine and I was going to copy what you currently have in your truck.

Yes

 

[david85]

Does that include powerstroke or other OEM diesel intercoolers?

 

[f-two-fiddy]

The PSD IC's are notoriously inefficient.

 

[typ4]

The only reason I cut mine down was to uncover the condenser and radiator.

 

[ameristar1]

Instead of running an air/air intercooler, how about a liquid to air style.

 

[lpennock]

The PSD IC's are notoriously inefficient.

So are they worth using on a IDI turbo or would it be better to get one of the smaller after market models.