Intercoolers for dummys

[razorback]

its a little more complex and expensive, but i think its a better system overall. it would be like having a seperate cooling system (small rad, small elec pump, etc) just for the air from the turbo. it will save you room as well over the fmic, especially those that have to mount the ic in front of the radiator/ac fins.


its actually very similiar to the lower temp cooling system on the new ford 6.7 motor.

 

[david85]

yeah, I'm begining to see the logic in the idea of a split cooling system since the low temperature coolant would make a great tranny cooler too. Using 190F fluid to cool a slushbox does seem a little counter intuitive even though thats the norm.

Reason I'm thinking of it is the usual problem with intercooling seems to be physically fitting the darn things in the nose of our trucks. And no, I am NOT going to sacrifice my AC to get an IC.

There is some space left right in front of the brake MC, and with some imagination, it might be possible to install a powerstrole style water expansion tank right on the rad to free up the normal place for the stock expansion tank. Maybe the intercooler could fit there?

Also very tempted at the concept of eliminating much of the lag/pressure drop problems relating to conventional intercoolers. Not sure, but I think it might be possible to install one of these right ont top of the engine where the air filter housing normally sits. Is there 4.5" of room up there?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Turb...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Eaqually unsure about this next thought, but the "radiator" could in theory be any water rad, right? Maybe something from a small 4 popper import? Would a small single row aluminum rad actually work? They are usually quite flat and "should" fit in front of the main rad. Dang thats a lot of coolers up front

 

[Agnem]

I suspect it is Chinese, considering the price I paid. It has no stampings on it, which is unusual for stuff made there. Unfortunately when you buy on ebay, you are taking a chance on whatever it is. Chinese or not, the reality is there probably is not an American made intercooler that met my requirements. I was prepared to spend the $1200 on a Hypermax kit, but conversations with them confirmed it would not work with the wide rad. Hypermax wants $600 for their intercooler alone. I did my fab with a good number of their parts, and I probably have about $400 worth invested in U.S. made stuff to go with it. It works great, and I see no problems with it over the long run. It's made out of alluminum so...

 

[f-two-fiddy]

The Thing is with our engines, and only pushing 10-15Lbs of boost. The PSD sized IC's are waaaay overkill. Just trying to keep the IC full of air is going to be a chore for the Turbo.

I've said it a million times, if You have to raise Your boost in order to over come the pressure loss of an IC, Your not making much of an improvement. Might even be going backwards.

A higher effciency 8'"X24"X 4" IC will cool our intake charge much better than a 30"X30"X3" PSD IC. With less pressure drop

 

[Slade]

powerstroke IC installed

 

[david85]

powerstroke IC installed

Holy crap that thing is huge!

 

[FordGuy100]

powerstroke IC installed

Which PSD intercooler is that?

I have a 6.0 PSD intercooler to go in. We shall see how big that one is

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

Which PSD intercooler is that?

I have a 6.0 PSD intercooler to go in. We shall see how big that one is

Looks like mine from the 99 PSD's.

 

[Slade]

It's from an 01 7.3, the 6.0's are bigger yet.

 

[Agnem]

Did you do any before and after measurements Bob? I'm curious if yours yielded similar results as mine.

 

[Slade]

I lost boost I could pull about 11or 12 before and now with the waste gate cranked all the way I only get about 8 max. I don't remember how much I turned up the fuel before I did the IC but pulling the trailer up pretty steep grades I would run up to 1200 deg pretty easy and have to back off. Now I seem to be able to keep my foot in it and not go over 1150 on the same grades. I guess if I turned the fuel up a little more I might get more power and boost?

 

[Agnem]

You should loose some boost, due to the denser air, but power goes up proportionally. I lost 2 pounds, and could really feel and see the increase in power.

 

[towcat]

I top out a 6psi if I really worked the motor hard. Upside is the motor pulls hard all the way to the governor. It used to start dropping off at 3k rpm.

 

[david85]

Interesting. I thought the lost boost was because of the added restriction. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[zpd307]

restriction will actually increase boost. as you make make everything more efficient; ie- intake, heads, exhaust, your boost will go down but you make more power. boost is a measurement of restriction.