Bigger intercoolers already available

Yes, but no tuning yet. I'm not certain that a larger intercooler won't increase power on a stock tune but I bet it takes a tune to see the full potential.

I like the end tanks on the Airtec. The Mountune is a tube and fin core, not plate and fin, I would want to see test results before I buy that one.

The big one is just huge, I wouldn't use it unless it is truly needed.

I am waiting to see what Cobb uses/comes up with.

Dave

I am not saying which intercooler might be better.
However size does matter in two ways.
Since it is difficult to compress air, too large an intercooler could cause a reduction in pressure or less boost.
Also a larger intercooler could require cutting or removal of the OEM ducting that directs air not only to the intercooler but also to the radiator itself.
So you could be increasing the cooling of the air charge but causing the engine to run hotter and the ECU would dial back the power.
Some of you are concerned about warranty issues so I would not recommend anything that cuts or alters any OEM ducting in any way.

Dave

I know that Ford has done some very undersized intercoolers but its a matter of diminishing returns. I'm sure the stock piece is optimized for performance/cost within the packaging constraints.

When you don't care about cost so much, things get different but still there will be a point where you max out the packaging, then you really have to weigh the pro's and con's of going huge.

The piping leading to and from the intercooler is a big deal also, air just doesn't like flowing through long straight tubes. Boundary layers build up and your flow suffers so short is better.

Years back when I owned a '02 Mini Cooper S JCW we did some testing with different intercoolers.
We found that the "Tube & Fin" vs. "Plate & Fin" made little difference during dyno testing.
However during actual road testing we found that the "Plate & Fin" took longer to heat soak but also retained the heat longer.
Where as the "Tube & Fin" did heat soak quicker but dissipated the heat much faster.

Since I don't normally run at WOT for long periods of time.
I do believe I would prefer to have the heat dissipate faster.
But that is just my opinion.

Dave

Another intercooler now available with some good info on why they went with this design

http://forgemotorsport.co.uk/content.asp?inc=product&cat=&product=FMINTST180

And this one in the states (lease expensive to date)

http://levelsperformance.com/products/ford-fiesta-st-front-mount-intercooler-upgrade

wash said:

I know that Ford has done some very undersized intercoolers but its a matter of diminishing returns. I'm sure the stock piece is optimized for performance/cost within the packaging constraints.

When you don't care about cost so much, things get different but still there will be a point where you max out the packaging, then you really have to weigh the pro's and con's of going huge.

The piping leading to and from the intercooler is a big deal also, air just doesn't like flowing through long straight tubes. Boundary layers build up and your flow suffers so short is better.

Click to expand...

You sound like an automotive engineer?

No but when you comb over junk yards and study parts interchange looking for budget power, you quickly find that most OEM Ford parts like from a T-bird SC, Turbo Coupe or Mercur are almost maxed out at fairly disappointing stock power figures and not designed to handle sustained heat soak or high output. They are often built weird for packaging reasons and most of the time its better to buy aftermarket instead of scavenging.

moshaholic2 said:

Some intake temps in Celcius now available for the AIRTEC intercooler:

Fast Ford magazine intercooler test - measured in degree's C

• Standard
• Run 1 Intake temp turbo into intercooler 140 out of intercooler into engine 85
• Run 2 Intake temp turbo into intercooler 131 out of intercooler into engine 92
• Run 3 Intake temp turbo into intercooler 140 out of intercooler into engine 97

• Airtec
• Run 1 Intake temp turbo into intercooler 140 out of intercooler into engine 31
• Run 2 Intake temp turbo into intercooler 150 out of intercooler into engine 38
• Run 3 Intake temp turbo into intercooler 152 out of intercooler into engine 39

Click to expand...

IATs reduced by >50%?!?

There's some power available here for sure.