Buying a intercooler. Does it matter if its for a turbo or supercharger?

MustangOwner · Aug 27, 2007

Okay so i'm gonna be buying a intercooler here for my V-1 S-trim and i was wondering about whether it makes a difference if the kit is make for a turbo or a supercharger. For example, some ebay auctions say turbo mustang intercooler, and others say turbo or supercharger intercooler. Does that mean any intercooler kit would work on my blower? Also, i thought about going with Vortech's "power coolers" but decided they are way to spendy and i want one mounting up where my a/c condessor use to be.

And... Which is better for the street... Air 2 Air or Air 2 Water? The water/ice ones you have to refill correct? That doesn't seem very street worthy to me. Seems like i'd drive around and it would run out and i'd have to fill it up... not cool ha. Also what kinda hp do you gain from the Air 2 Air?

BLOWN 5.0 FOX · Aug 27, 2007

air to air is the best for street, expect to lose a few pounds of boost but your temps will drop dramaticly. The point is colder air= denser air which gives you more power, and lowers your chances of detonation due to a high temp intake charge. I rock an air to air , the piping is the hardest part.

Mr. Rustypwnz · Aug 27, 2007

lol, this is funny!!! an intercooler is an intercooler man, it dosent matter. as far as a engine mount ic, go with the power cooler, it will cool the air very well!!! as far as an air 2air, you have to run custom piping on a vortech setup to mount it up front.

BLOWN 5.0 FOX · Aug 28, 2007

no the power cooler is mostly for the track. Eventually the "cold water" heats up and it really is ineffective at cooling the intake charge. If he wasnt a street car Id say water to air but for mostly street, a good tune with an air to air is a bonified way to dial in your fuel curve.

Mr. Rustypwnz · Aug 28, 2007

yeah thats true, I personally would go with a air 2 air.

SmockDoiley · Aug 28, 2007

Wow, slow95, dont try to sound too much like a jerk. Go air to air. An intercooler is an intercooler, and those ads are just trying to market to turbo guys. The plumbing is actually really easy. As far as losing boost, the point of the intercooler is that you can make more power with less boost at a safer air temp for your engine.
If you want great advice, don't ask her, go to turbomustangs.com or now called theturboforums.com.
Good luck

MustangOwner · Aug 28, 2007

Alright thanks for the help guys. Air 2 Air it is. So i'll loose some boost but gain the hp back with the cooler temp? Or will the cooler temp allow me to run more boost which in return equals more hp? Its an lx with a saleen lower valance. I'll have to measure so i can see what core size i could fit in there?

1991vert · Aug 28, 2007

91FoxSaleenGTLX said:
Okay so i'm gonna be buying a intercooler here for my V-1 S-trim and i was wondering about whether it makes a difference if the kit is make for a turbo or a supercharger. For example, some ebay auctions say turbo mustang intercooler, and others say turbo or supercharger intercooler. Does that mean any intercooler kit would work on my blower? Also, i thought about going with Vortech's "power coolers" but decided they are way to spendy and i want one mounting up where my a/c condessor use to be.

And... Which is better for the street... Air 2 Air or Air 2 Water? The water/ice ones you have to refill correct? That doesn't seem very street worthy to me. Seems like i'd drive around and it would run out and i'd have to fill it up... not cool ha. Also what kinda hp do you gain from the Air 2 Air?

make sure it can handle the amount of HP you plan to throw at it. if you run too much boost through a cheap one it will balloon

MustangOwner · Aug 28, 2007

I see, who makes "quality" parts? And say i ran that Vortech Boost cooler on the street. Couldn't i just make a bigger resivoir so i could run it longer? I mean i drive it a max of a half hour around.... I just like the simplicity of it But i can do a air 2 air as well. Anybody make a kit for a fox?

Foxfan88 · Aug 28, 2007

91FoxSaleenGTLX said:
Alright thanks for the help guys. Air 2 Air it is. So i'll loose some boost but gain the hp back with the cooler temp? Or will the cooler temp allow me to run more boost which in return equals more hp? Its an lx with a saleen lower valance. I'll have to measure so i can see what core size i could fit in there?

cool dense air charges may make lower boost numbers, which isnt bad at all. it will still make the same power as before if not more. BUT with cooler air temps you will be able to push more CFM through the compressor without putting strain on the engine.

people forget but boost isnt what makes power. its the additional air flow from the power adder. boost is just a measurement of restriction. an intercooler will give you cooler air, allow you to run more boost. running massive amounts of boost without one will just cause problems and does nothing. you get to a point where it will make boost but the pressure heats up the air so much it reduces the power output and cancels out the effect of the boost. cool the air and keep the hot air away and run more boost safely

speedytang · Aug 28, 2007

I would not worry about restriction of the intercooler because mine dropped only .25 psi @ 5psi and .72 psi @ 10psi so you will be OK. Air to Air is a much easier install the only problem with the Supercharger with the rear facing discharge is all the bends and no room. You could purchase the side discharge parts from Vortech which makes things cleaner and easier to install.

SVT32VDOHC · Aug 29, 2007

I would think air to air would be good.

j-z · Aug 29, 2007

if its street driven more than half the week i would just go with a fmic air 2 air.... air 2 water are more for drag cars. with a water setup, you constantly have water flowing through the intercooler core. its not like it just sits in there and gets heat soaked... it has a pump that pumps the water to a (forget the exact term) radiator almost for the intercooler though. its alot more simple with running just a fmic. and if you were turbo, you wouldnt lose any boost if you took your WG source from behind the throttle body. but since youre belt driven, you have no choice... i love turbos

MustangOwner · Aug 29, 2007

j-z said:
if its street driven more than half the week i would just go with a fmic air 2 air.... air 2 water are more for drag cars. with a water setup, you constantly have water flowing through the intercooler core. its not like it just sits in there and gets heat soaked... it has a pump that pumps the water to a (forget the exact term) radiator almost for the intercooler though. its alot more simple with running just a fmic. and if you were turbo, you wouldnt lose any boost if you took your WG source from behind the throttle body. but since youre belt driven, you have no choice... i love turbos

The car is driven maybe twice a week at the most. Just to the local car show everything thursday and a spin around town. I woudln't mind dumping water in it... I see on ebay they sell a bigger resovoir... how long do you think that it last before a refill?

BLOWN 5.0 FOX · Aug 29, 2007

thats how i did mine. But there is more than one way to skin a cat!

85_SS_302_Coupe · Aug 29, 2007

I would go with the front mount air/air. Arguing water vs. air is pointless unless you're building a serious aftermarket race engine, since an air/air will support enough boost to split the block in half. If your engine is serious enough then you'll know if you need the air/water (total overkill on a street car IMO). Of course one man's racecar is another man's street car, so to each his own i guess.

MustangOwner · Aug 29, 2007

BLOWN 5.0 FOX said:
thats how i did mine. But there is more than one way to skin a cat!

Picture didn't show man. retry it. Thats how you did what?

MustangOwner · Aug 29, 2007

85_SS_302_Coupe said:
I would go with the front mount air/air. Arguing water vs. air is pointless unless you're building a serious aftermarket race engine, since an air/air will support enough boost to split the block in half. If your engine is serious enough then you'll know if you need the air/water (total overkill on a street car IMO). Of course one man's racecar is another man's street car, so to each his own i guess.

Well i just like the simplicity of it... You don't have tubes running all over, it just mounts there. My engine will have over 500hp. The thing with air 2 air is i can't seem to find a quality kit that doesn't hack up the fenders or bumpers. The cores are usually to big. Isn't the power cooler better then a air 2 air anyway? I think i'm gonna call vortech and ask them how long the resivoir lasts before you need to refill it. Worst case is i just bring a bottle of water around with me i guess?

FastDriver · Aug 29, 2007

No. In a street car, you need to go air-air. Air-water is a no go unless it's one of those old air-water-air, which is still dumb to me.

85_SS_302_Coupe · Aug 29, 2007

91FoxSaleenGTLX said:
Well i just like the simplicity of it... You don't have tubes running all over, it just mounts there. My engine will have over 500hp. The thing with air 2 air is i can't seem to find a quality kit that doesn't hack up the fenders or bumpers. The cores are usually to big. Isn't the power cooler better then a air 2 air anyway? I think i'm gonna call vortech and ask them how long the resivoir lasts before you need to refill it. Worst case is i just bring a bottle of water around with me i guess?

The problem is that a "one size fits all" kit has to be able to fit every car....you'll get a cleaner install with a custom pipe routing, but that' might cost a little more.

Buying a intercooler. Does it matter if its for a turbo or supercharger?

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