Is upgrading the intercooler "a thing"?

[gatornek]

Warranty issues aside, the intercooler is probably the single most critical "choke point" of turbocharged performance. The OEM intercooler on my Mustang was absolute garbage as I would watch charge temps climb to 150 and just stay there with zero cooling during forward motion. It was night and day once I upgraded the intercooler. I've seen a couple of videos of removing the bumper off a Bronco Sport. One video had rivets involved (which is awful), while the other didn't. After that, there's the active grill shutter (which was also present in my Mustang, and that I ended up just removing....but not saying I wanna do that here). I see that there are plenty of options for the Bronco 2.3 and 2.7 for 3rd party IC upgrades, but googling is not really giving me anything on the 2.0

Thoughts? Ideas? Does anyone make a custom fit IC for the 2.0? Is bumper removal and IC installation just a complete PITA? Is anybody doing this on this platform?

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[ohiooutdoors]

Warranty issues aside, the intercooler is probably the single most critical "choke point" of turbocharged performance. The OEM intercooler on my Mustang was absolute garbage as I would watch charge temps climb to 150 and just stay there with zero cooling during forward motion. It was night and day once I upgraded the intercooler. I've seen a couple of videos of removing the bumper off a Bronco Sport. One video had rivets involved (which is awful), while the other didn't. After that, there's the active grill shutter (which was also present in my Mustang, and that I ended up just removing....but not saying I wanna do that here). I see that there are plenty of options for the Bronco 2.3 and 2.7 for 3rd party IC upgrades, but googling is not really giving me anything on the 2.0

Thoughts? Ideas? Does anyone make a custom fit IC for the 2.0? Is bumper removal and IC installation just a complete PITA? Is anybody doing this on this platform?

I think and intercooler wouldn’t be a bad idea but I would be happy with aftermarket charge pipes and down pipe.

 

[gatornek]

I think and intercooler wouldn’t be a bad idea but I would be happy with aftermarket charge pipes and down pipe.

I appreciate the input.

 

[Cwong]

I have a sport and focus almost the same 2.0. With the ST I had heat soak like crazy in the summer with the BS I don’t/haven’t noticed it. I have upgraded the inter cooler on the ST which is a night and day difference. Maybe reach out to some of those folks Depo, CP-e, misimoto.

 

[gatornek]

Just got the Badlands yesterday. I'll post a couple pics on my introductory thread.

I haven't had a chance to hook up my OBDLink MX yet so I can get a read on the charge temps. But yeah, if there's no heat soak, I'll leave well enough alone. But if it was like my Mustang, then I will definitely investigate harder & further to getting this done. I know there are a couple of threads lingering on this forum where people have done it.

 

[Blue oval fan]

You won't gain any additional HP. You will gain more consistent power because the larger intercooler is able to cool the charged hot air more efficiently. I haven't seen how the packaging is on the BS with the bumper off, how much extra room is there without having to hack things up? It's a BS running around town I don't see the need for a larger intercooler unless you are taking it to the track for back-to-back runs. When I lived in Orlando I never upgraded my Focus RS intercooler, never seemed necessary. Ford even blocked off a portion of the factory RS intercooler because it was too efficient and in humid climates, the blocking plate lessened the condensation buildup that would occur.

 

[gatornek]

You won't gain any additional HP

Correct. The intercooler doesn't generate more ponies. It keeps the PCM from pulling timing when temps get too hot; which this eco engine will assuredly do and with great gusto. This way your engine is able to perform at a high level when you need to consistently open up the throttle for whatever reason, that doesn't necessarily always have to do with being on the track....which, even in my Mustang, I never went to.

 

[Blue oval fan]

I would start with a data log as you mentioned before and see what the AITs are. I am curious to see that also. I just don't think a larger intercooler on a BS will do much of anything. Even on my old Fiesta ST with an upgraded DEPO intercooler, during normal driving around town, there was virtually zero difference from stock. With multiple hard pulls back to back or a spirited back roads drive the DEPO cooler did come into play.

 

[gatornek]

Ha!

I might have to make a VERY EARLY deduction here and confirm that this very well may NOT be "a thing".

Here is my first log during a lunchtime jaunt. Mind you, its near 90 outside and fairly muggy. So IAT is spot on.

IAT=intake temp
IAT2=charge temp (post intercooler)

BUT Wow! IAT2 is only 6 degrees higher. The stock intercooler on the Mustang would heat soak all the way up to 150 and even further if you weren't really moving around. This wasn't highway travel where you get that constant breeze. This was literally running a quick errand across maybe 8 miles of stop signs and trafic lights.

So this is very shocking data right off the bat that lets me know that the stock IC does what the engine needs it to.

I'll continue to keep logging and observing. I will post if something changes regarding an intercooler and the 2.0.


Another sidenote observation is the OAR. Its "average gas" per the PCM. The PCM uses the OAR to access respective boost and timing tables. The better the gas, the more agrressive the PCM will be.

I don't think you need 93. But 91 will probably make a difference. I will let you guys know.

 

[tjbronco]

On older cars (many old Saabs) I have replaced Intercoolers with larger ones and picked up a lot of horsepower. Keep in mind the main reason you want cooler air is not because of overheating - it is because cooler air is more dense and packs more air molecules per square inch of area into your cylinder. On something newer like the Bronco Sports, I would not know if the computer would still limit the horsepower output to what it is factory rated at. But I would think the intercooler would help performance - assuming the factory installed intercooler is not optimal.

 

[Meanderthal]

Correct. The intercooler doesn't generate more ponies. It keeps the PCM from pulling timing when temps get too hot; which this eco engine will assuredly do and with great gusto. This way your engine is able to perform at a high level when you need to consistently open up the throttle for whatever reason, that doesn't necessarily always have to do with being on the track....which, even in my Mustang, I never went to.

A larger intercooler can free up a few ponies. If that larger intercooler has less restrictive flow, which if it was built well, it should. Now we aren’t talking about big gains but every little bit adds up. It’s the same reason that people upgrade charge pipes.

 

[gatornek]

A larger intercooler can free up a few ponies. If that larger intercooler has less restrictive flow, which if it was built well, it should. Now we aren’t talking about big gains but every little bit adds up. It’s the same reason that people upgrade charge pipes.

In my ecoboost experience, charge pipes don't do a lick for performance because there's no inherent cooling design. It's not about restrictive air flow. It's about the fins and channels of an IC which allows that hot, compressed air that spools off the turbo to cool. "Air flow" is truly only critical in naturally aspirated cars with MAF programming. These cars are MAP. All they care about is the amount of pressure at the intake manifold. Charge pipes here would be strictly for aesthetics for those who like a bit of chrome in their engine bay. I have a nice chrome set on my Mustang.

 

[gatornek]

Keep in mind the main reason you want cooler air is not because of overheating - it is because cooler air is more dense and packs more air molecules per square inch of area into your cylinder

I don't understand what you're trying to say here.

This is kind of like saying "the main reason you want more money is not because of all the bills you pay - it is because more money gives you the flexibility to buy whatever you want"

No one is talking about "overheating" in terms of block temperature because your coolant isn't doing its job. Hot air makes for p!ss poor combustion. From thermodynamic law, if you compress air, it will get hot. If turbo cars didn't care about trying to keep the air temp down, they wouldn't stick a big 'radiator' between the turbo and throttle body, like they DON'T on naturally aspirated cars.

 

[Mark S.]

While not directly meant to provide cooling for the engine block, an intercooler does have an impact on engine temperatures. Cooling the air charge provides two primary benefits: to increase the density of air entering the cylinder, AND to reduce the likelihood of preignition.

 

[Meanderthal]

In my ecoboost experience, charge pipes don't do a lick for performance because there's no inherent cooling design. It's not about restrictive air flow. It's about the fins and channels of an IC which allows that hot, compressed air that spools off the turbo to cool. "Air flow" is truly only critical in naturally aspirated cars with MAF programming. These cars are MAP. All they care about is the amount of pressure at the intake manifold. Charge pipes here would be strictly for aesthetics for those who like a bit of chrome in their engine bay. I have a nice chrome set on my Mustang.

Yes, the main purpose of an intercooler is to provide cooler air to the combustion chamber. My point was that even if the air is getting cooled (as you showed) by the stock intercooler, that stock intercooler could restrict airflow which makes the turbo work harder. The turbo is driven by the exhaust gasses, so if it is working harder to provide flow to the intake, it is restricting the exhaust side more (meaning the wastegate is more closed). That means, potentially more back pressure in the cylinders during the exhaust stroke On a naturally aspirated engine, the intake tract is important because the air flow is driven by vacuum created by the engines cylinders. So the more restriction in the intake the harder the engine is working to pull air in. In both cases, any air restrictions lead to more work required to fill the cylinders with air.

So, a larger intercooler with less restriction, will allow the engine to work more efficiently. Even if it is not supplying significantly cooler air than the stock unit.

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