IDI in the FAST LANE or Water/Air Intercooler Report

[ocnorb]

Thought it was about time to give a little report on how my www.frozenboost.com system is working out. I will update this as it becomes necessary and add pictures when I can.

My decision to go water/air was arrived at after spending hours with a tape measure trying to figure out how to fit an Air/Air intercooler in my 1986 slantnose. With the A/C it just seems near impossible. (In fact I would like to see a successful install) SO the water/air seemed like the next best thing.

Wanting quality components I did a bit of research and came to the conclusion that the small company in Colorado known as FrozenBoost had a good reputation.


Here is what I ordered:
1 x Water to Air Intercooler DIY Kit 600 HP
- Remote Filler Cap: Include Remote Filler Cap
- Radiator Type: Switch to Type 118 w/7" Fan
- Pump Type: Bosch Cobra
- Intercooler Inlet/Outlet: SAME SIDE (Type 3)
- Installation Kit: Include Water Lines and Fittings

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Everything arrived about 48 hours after I ordered it!

The basic 600HP kit comes with a 24"x13"x1" radiator. I wasn't sure if I could fit it, and I wanted the install to fit behind the front bumper, so I changed my order to the Type 118 radiator, which is 26"x7" and 2" thick.

The order also included an upgrade to the Bosch pump which was probably unnecessary, but I tend to migrate towards quality as value when possible.

I installed the system the weekend before Labor Day during an all out effort to get the truck ready for a 5 day vacation to Moab. The scenery was spectacular, the comraderie exceptional, and the experience priceless. SO yes, we made it!

The installation was very straightforward. I apologize for not documenting it better, but as stated above we had a deadline to meet. I used a typ4 intake elbow that I purchased from a good member here and pulled the old snail off for the last time. The gasket on the new intake elbow was toast and Russ was too far away to get me the right one in time, so I cut one from a silicone boot that was the right diameter until I can get the part here.

Here is a shot of the test fit with some junk 3" silicone I had laying around:

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(I will get some better photos up later this weekend.)

As you can see the air/water intercooler will mount just above the pump. There is a 2" to 3" adapter boot running into a 3" aluminum elbow and then through another straight silicon coupler to the IC. So, only 3 boots total needed!

Next came the mounting of the water radiator. It fit very well behind the sway bar and below the stock A/C condenser. No blockage of airflow to anything!!

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We tested that the sway bar would not hit by jacking the truck up and forcing the sway bar as far back as possible- it still has 1/4" or so of clearance!

The pump was mounted in the frame horn next to the radiator. The recommendation was to put the pump as low as possible in the system. Wiring was taken care of by adding a relay to a 'Key On' wire found behind the brake booster area. This means that the pump is running whenever the ignition is on- some systems are more elaborate and only come on during boost, some with 2 speeds depending on load. Only time will tell how this one lasts.

The next job was to cut some airflow holes in the front bumper:

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Not quite done dressing it up yet. I put some hose protectors on the sharp bend where the radiator turns to go to the pump. In the future this may get changed, but I did not have the fittings and was under the gun to get it running.

 

[ocnorb]

SO HOW DOES IT WORK???

The initial test drive (empty) showed that no boost was lost and the truck seemed to pull a little harder/smoother. Hard to tell much empty.

So we loaded up the trailer and we moved to Beverly...wait no we just went to Moab.

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The trailer weighs about 7500lbs. The Willys is around 2600 or so. Add in water, fuel, food, tools, and personals and I am guessing the trailer was loaded to around 11,500 lbs. Not sure what a CC dually weighs, but I would put the Gross Combined between 18K - 20K. Good load for a test.

SO HOW DOES IT WORK??

It dropped my towing temps by about 300 degrees on the 95F degree day that we left. Good, but a little disappointing. Our route took us up Spanish Fork Canyon, which is a 40 mile long 3000+ foot elevation gain. As we entered the canyon the sun was setting and temperatures came down. The temperature drop made a huge difference in how well the Intercooler lowered the EGT's. I was able to pull most of the grade in this canyon in 4th gear, which would have been IMPOSSIBLE before. The summit did require a 2nd gear 32mph assault... it is pretty steep.

The trip home also showed that the unit was marginal in high temps. It was 93F when we climbed out of Moab towards Green River. It was tough to get out of 3rd gear; as soon as I shifted to 4th the EGTs would climb fast. Along I-70 we were able to maintain 70 mph in 5th gear with 1000-1100 F EGTs. In the rolling hills the EGTs would drop rapidly on the downhill side and then creep back slowly as we climbed the next roller.

It seems as though the longer the hill, the less effective the IC became...almost like a heat soak. Need to add a temperature gauge to the radiator and an Inlet Air Temp gauge to really see what is going on.

My current (untested) theory is that my radiator is not getting the kind of air flow it needs. It has the sway bar running across the front, and it has a bit of blockage from the cooling radiator casing in the back. I am thinking about adding another small radiator that will block part of the A/C condenser to see if it helps.

Empty test #2:
Tonight I took the truck empty up Parley's Canyon on I-80 towards Park City. I was able to pull 5th gear and 75 mph with EGTs around 1000 until the last steep hill to the summit! Passing everything in sight as we went!!
Some traffic slowed me down and I downshifted to 4th and held 70 mph over the summit as my EGTs just touched 1200!! This was while running about 9 psi of boost.

BIG IMPROVEMENT! My old set-up would barely maintain 50mph up that same stretch in the winter when the air was colder!

I really think that adding a second radiator will help with the hotter days and the slight 'heat soak' sensation that can be seen on long uphill slogs.

Overall I am very impressed with the kind of torque that this truck was able to lay down when the temps were cool. The other big bonus was that we did not burn enough oil in the 500 miles to even bother adding any, even though the truck was running at max output for hours on end at times!



4 thumbs up for the FrozenBoost IC for now... Hoping that a better radiator set-up will allow 5 thumbs in the near future.

 

[towcat]

this is going into tech articles

 

[Ididriver]

you had no loss of boost with the intercooler??
it looks great man.