Anyone with an intercooled Vortech???

04torktech · Jun 12, 2011

Hey I installed a Vortech V2 a few months ago and am thinking about adding an intercooler. I would like to retain the same power but err on the side of safety and dial the boost back a bit (currently running 11psi on a 3" pulley). Anyone install an intercooler on their Vortech I am looking on a write up and more importantly the cost of the parts necessary!

'04 GT Sonic Blue

BBK Long Tubes w/ BBK Catted X Pipe
Flowmaster 50 Series
Vortech V2w w/ 3" Pulley (non-intercooled)
Kenne Bell Boost a Pump
Lightning 90 MAF
Anderson Powerpipe
Lucas 38 lb/hr. Injectors
NGK TR6 Plugs (gapped to .028")
Richmond 3.90 Gears
MGW Short Throw
FRPP 70mm TB
C&L Upper Intake Plenum

Car made 395rwhp and 394 rwtrq

swl987 · Jun 12, 2011

04torktech said:
Hey I installed a Vortech V2 a few months ago and am thinking about adding an intercooler. I would like to retain the same power but err on the side of safety and dial the boost back a bit (currently running 11psi on a 3" pulley). Anyone install an intercooler on their Vortech I am looking on a write up and more importantly the cost of the parts necessary!

'04 GT Sonic Blue

BBK Long Tubes w/ BBK Catted X Pipe
Flowmaster 50 Series
Vortech V2w w/ 3" Pulley (non-intercooled)
Kenne Bell Boost a Pump
Lightning 90 MAF
Anderson Powerpipe
Lucas 38 lb/hr. Injectors
NGK TR6 Plugs (gapped to .028")
Richmond 3.90 Gears
MGW Short Throw
FRPP 70mm TB
C&L Upper Intake Plenum

Car made 395rwhp and 394 rwtrq

I got a Paxton intercooler which is a expensive way to go. People on here can tell you a cheap way to go by getting parts on ebay, but it will probably be more of a hassle. I got my supercharger kit from modular powerhouse and after a year I got their setup for a intercooler. Unfortunately he closed up shop and moved to a place called Mr norms in chicago. He might sell you the parts and tell you what to do, but he wont give you a tune. His name is Tim. They have his email on mr norms website. I think I paid about $1200 for the intercooler, $260 for a bypass valve, and a new pulley. I dropped to a 3.33 pulley from a 3.6 pulley to maintain 9psi. So you could just keep your pulley and with a good tune have more power then you have now. You have to re-tune it. You could DIY it for probably half the price, but I paid more for piece of mind. The paxton intercooler is good up to1000 horsepower. So if you ever get crazy with your mods you won't have to change that. good luck

deftsound · Jun 12, 2011

I have the SQ trim and have a procharger 2-core intercooler and im pushing about 10.5lbs of boost. I got the intercooler off craigslist for cheap, i got a shop to install it because you have to bead weld all the piping together and of course get it tuned.

BlownStangGT · Jun 12, 2011

Check into tread stone. They make some awesome intercoolers! I installed one and love it. I have a 3.12" pulley and make 10 pounds but I don't have long tubes like you. Do a search on my user name and you will see a write up of my install when I did the install

darkside03gt · Jun 12, 2011

deftsound said:
I have the SQ trim and have a procharger 2-core intercooler and im pushing about 10.5lbs of boost. I got the intercooler off craigslist for cheap, i got a shop to install it because you have to bead weld all the piping together and of course get it tuned.

You dont have to have all the piping welded togeather unless your running crazy anounts of boost. I know of several people running 15psi with couplers. they key is having piping that has been beed rolled and most piping even the cheaper stuff usually comes that way. Good couplers are a must also.

To the OP here is a link to a good writeup on MF. FMIC install 2.0. doing it this way will allow you to keep the crash bar which is very important if you drive on the street and the track. That bar should never be removed IMOP.

deftsound · Jun 12, 2011

darkside03gt said:
You dont have to have all the piping welded togeather unless your running crazy anounts of boost. I know of several people running 15psi with couplers. they key is having piping that has been beed rolled and most piping even the cheaper stuff usually comes that way. Good couplers are a must also.

To the OP here is a link to a good writeup on MF. FMIC install 2.0. doing it this way will allow you to keep the crash bar which is very important if you drive on the street and the track. That bar should never be removed IMOP.

No but it sure does allow for some peace of mind knowing that there is no way that pipe is slipping out of the coupling when im out driving around,,,at high boost there is a lot of pressure in that pipe, not to mention vibration. I'm running a 3.12 size pulley and pushing 10.5 - 11 with the intercooler

JymboSlice · Jun 12, 2011

swl987 said:
I got a Paxton intercooler which is a expensive way to go. People on here can tell you a cheap way to go by getting parts on ebay, but it will probably be more of a hassle. I got my supercharger kit from modular powerhouse and after a year I got their setup for a intercooler. Unfortunately he closed up shop and moved to a place called Mr norms in chicago. He might sell you the parts and tell you what to do, but he wont give you a tune. His name is Tim. They have his email on mr norms website. I think I paid about $1200 for the intercooler, $260 for a bypass valve, and a new pulley. I dropped to a 3.33 pulley from a 3.6 pulley to maintain 9psi. So you could just keep your pulley and with a good tune have more power then you have now. You have to re-tune it. You could DIY it for probably half the price, but I paid more for piece of mind. The paxton intercooler is good up to1000 horsepower. So if you ever get crazy with your mods you won't have to change that. good luck

Where did you buy the paxton intercooler for $1200? From Tim?

darkside03gt · Jun 12, 2011

deftsound said:
No but it sure does allow for some peace of mind knowing that there is no way that pipe is slipping out of the coupling when im out driving around,,,at high boost there is a lot of pressure in that pipe, not to mention vibration. I'm running a 3.12 size pulley and pushing 10.5 - 11 with the intercooler

Piece of mind maybe but the use of quality couplers, beed rolled pipes and T-bolt clamps seems to work very well for more then a few people. On the other side of that how do you intend to dissasemble your setup should the need to do so arise? If you have one, two or three couplers installed to do so then having the piping welded isnt going to be all that bennifical IMOP because you still have a week point in the system.

The funny part in all this is that from what I have seen the coupler at the T/B is the most likely to pop off and you really cant get away with not running one in that postion. Having they pipes welded is just wasted $$$ IMOP. I think having tabs welded to each pipe and connecting them with strips of metal is more bennifitial.

04torktech · Jun 13, 2011

Thanks everyone for the info. I plan on doing it myself in my garage with most likely the help of my dad. He welds both steel and aluminum and I plan on learning in the near future so I will most likely weld beads around the tubes instead of couplers. However, a good point is made when it comes to possibly disassembling the kit down the road since having it welded together will make it harder. I plan on having it re-tuned where I first had it dyno'd. Also what is the deal with the new blow through MAF and BOV I have heard good things about the mini race is that true? Also this may be a dumb question but would it be possible to run a smaller pulley in conjunction with a waste gate so I got make max boost sooner than release the excess in the higher RPM's to make power earlier on. It would be similar to a turbo set up anyone ever really tried that?

JymboSlice · Jun 13, 2011

you're going to make max boost in the upper RPM range with a centrifugal supercharger.. you need to spin the thing to make boost. In the lower RPM range, it isnt spinning enough to make full boost. I think? If you're going with an intercooler, definently get a blow-thru MAF.

04torktech · Jun 13, 2011

@jymboslice

I understand with a centrifugal supercharger that your boost builds linearly with rpm. However by going to a smaller pulley wouldn't this effectively increase the slope of the boost vs. rpm graph? You would be getting more boost at a lower rpm with a 2.8 pulley opposed to a 3.6 and more peak boost up top. But in my case I am running a 3" pulley making a peak of just under 11psi of boost at red line which is the max I want to make given my set up. So my question is if I dropped to a smaller pulley (which makes more boost at redline) could I use a bypass valve (I mistakenly said wastegate before) to vent the excess boost above 11psi. Therefore my boost would increase linearly until the desired max boost was met (using the bypass valve) and the excess would be vented. I hope that was more clear.

deftsound · Jun 13, 2011

darkside03gt said:
Piece of mind maybe but the use of quality couplers, beed rolled pipes and T-bolt clamps seems to work very well for more then a few people. On the other side of that how do you intend to dissasemble your setup should the need to do so arise? If you have one, two or three couplers installed to do so then having the piping welded isnt going to be all that bennifical IMOP because you still have a week point in the system.

The funny part in all this is that from what I have seen the coupler at the T/B is the most likely to pop off and you really cant get away with not running one in that postion. Having they pipes welded is just wasted $$$ IMOP. I think having tabs welded to each pipe and connecting them with strips of metal is more bennifitial.

Let me rephrase, my entire setup is not welded just select pieces. But regardless i like knowing my setup is sturdy and not going anywhere.

swl987 · Jun 14, 2011

JymboSlice said:
Where did you buy the paxton intercooler for $1200? From Tim?

yes.from Tim keep in mind you have to take the blower off to change a belt

cronin49 · Jun 14, 2011

JymboSlice said:
Where did you buy the paxton intercooler for $1200? From Tim?

Indeed... I paid $5500 installed 4 years ago.... that's with all the bells and whistles needed, and then some.

Loftus · Jun 14, 2011

Get a Snow methanol kit AND the intercooler. Add cooling, power, and safety with 120 octane alcohol.

3ponyshow · Jun 15, 2011

I also got the Vortech from Tim in '04 which came with a 3.6" pulley and added the Vortech A/W power cooler in '06 which dropped the pulley to a 3.33". According to a conversation I had with a Vortech technician, the 3.33" pulley equates generally to 10 lbs boost, and they don't recommend anything smaller on a stock bottom end. If you're going to add the cooler (which is always a good idea) you may want to consider a larger pulley.

I think I paid around $1700 for the cooler.

Anyone with an intercooled Vortech???

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