Is an intercooler worth the effort?

[Dgc333]

In the automotive industry intercoolers are pretty much exclusively air to air. Kind of hard to carry a supply of chilled liquid with you.

FWIW, most factory super charged v8 motors have air to water intercoolers between the super charger and the intake manifold. The Mopar Hellcat, Chevy ZL1 and Mustang GT500 come to mind. These vehicles will have a radiator at the front of the car that cools the coolant that flows through the intercooler under the super charger.

Engines with ProCharger type superchargers (looks like a belt driven turbocharger) and turbochargers most always use an air to air intercooler.

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[Blmpkn]

If someone has a habit of occasionally driving in a 'spirited' fashion.. an aftermarket intercooler is always a worthwhile endeavor.

 

[airline tech]

I need help understanding here. The Ranger has an air to air charge air cooler (called a CAC at Deere). It seems the term is used interchangeably with intercooler.
Is the intercooler discussed here in addition to the CAC, or a replacement? Is it air to air or air to water heat transfer? Mostly does the intercooler reduce intake manifold air temp lower than the CAC (alone?).

It's all the same - Ford Calls it (CAC) - Charged Air Cooler, most call it simply (Intercooler)

Pressurized (Charged) air from the Turbo flows through the (CAC - Air to Air) and is cooled by the airflow across it before being induced into the intake.

 

[harringtondav]

Deere adopted them in their diesel machines when they were chasing EPA tier regs for diesel emissions. I reckon if CAC's improved power/efficiency Deere would have justified the cost before then.
ATD's/DEF, EGR etc compromised economy and performance and raised cost/price. But the EPA fines were an act of God that most diesel mfgrs. had to deal with. Caterpillar held off as long as possible, burning EPA credits and paying the fines. ....don't know if they ever threw in the towel.

 

[dtech]

When I took a gander under the hood of the wife's turbo roo I was surprised to see a thin diminutive intercooler perched atop the engine, (where at one time the spare tire used to sit) gotta wonder about heat sink on a hot day sitting at a long red light, but the plumping is shorter than a front mount and I understand wrx has had it ontop the engine for a long time.

 

[harringtondav]

Our 2014 Dart 1.4 turbo Aero (Fiat) has a CAC and an interesting feature where a small electric circulating pump cycles coolant through the turbo for a few minutes after shut down.

 

[KNI]

Our 2014 Dart 1.4 turbo Aero (Fiat) has a CAC and an interesting feature where a small electric circulating pump cycles coolant through the turbo for a few minutes after shut down.

Reminds me of an old Subaru, where the manual stated that you had to idle the car 5 minutes before shut down in order for the turbo to cool down. In cases that you actually used it so that it heated up in the first place.

Kind of dead giveaway that "This drive I might have bended the rules, regulations and road safety guidelines a bit."

 

[Racket]

Bumping this thread just to insert my opinion since I swapped not just the intercooler but the charge pipes too.


As others have said it doesn't provide significant power increases by itself but what I perceive is it changes the way power comes on. I could claim it feels more refined and less lunge-y off and on the gas. In the intake scheme on my truck I've tweaked the factory intake a little and added the GFB DV+ to further change behavior. All this is married up with the custom tune from Unleashed.

This has happened over time and frankly I've long forgotten how the truck drove when I took it off the dealer's lot.

The CVF intercooler was the last add on and during highway driving I recovered a tiny bit of gas mileage. Not enough to justify the cost, but it didn't hurt.

 

[Av8or1]

I love my CVF!

Do you really love the CVF or are you just saying it because you saw it?

 

[Justamessenger]

Like the OP, I am a new owner, 6 weeks, and about $2k into a $5k budget. I will get OBD II temp gauges to monitor IAT and EGT before justifying an intercooler, but 100 degree temps are common 3 months out of the year.

 

[Superspirit]

Do you really love the CVF or are you just saying it because you saw it?

I relay love it. My truck has been tweaked quite bit. CVF, intercooler charge pipes, downpipe. Gibson exhaust and Unleashed tune. Little truck rocks!

 

[Av8or1]

I relay love it. My truck has been tweaked quite bit. CVF, intercooler charge pipes, downpipe. Gibson exhaust and Unleashed tune. Little truck rocks!

Just a joke from a movie.

 

[taildraggerpilot]

It was a total pain in the ass, but truck runs strong.

 

[RangerPNW]

It was a total pain in the ass, but truck runs strong.

I'll echo this, was a pain in the ass to install especially since no one makes GOOD instructions... I went with the Elliot Specialized Performance unit, which didn't come with directions (it was only 400 bucks for intercooler and piping). Ended up using Mishimoto's instructions which were still terrible but I expected that after installing their catch can (which might have been a bigger pain in the ass than the intercooler). However now I know I'll get consistent performance which was the ultimate goal.

My Focus ST benefitted hugely from a properly sized intercooler, so knew the Ranger would also appreciate it as well. I don't regret the decision to get one, just wish I gave myself a full weekend to do it. Also if you're going to install a new grill, this would be the time to do it... I broke about half the clips on my Lariat grill, but fortunately still enough on there to hold it in place.

 

[Dhouse]

It was a total pain in the ass, but truck runs strong.

That looks really nice. I watched a video that showed you have to cut a lot of plastic out of the way on the truck to fit the larger intercooler. Did you have to do that? I haven't found a good video that shows a step by step to get this done. Probably because its such a pain. I'm surprised that Stage 3 hasn't made one.
I've already installed a new grille, so hopefully I want ruin it when I do this.

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