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intercooler or Blower cams 1st

  • Cx racing intercooler 1st

    Votes: 18 90%
  • MHS stage 1 blower cams 1st

    Votes: 2 10%
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Intercooler first. You have ALOT of options, air to air, air to water. Core size, heat exchanger, Killer Chiller?..... Figure out how much you want to spend and buy the best you can get at that price!
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
Intercooler first. You have ALOT of options, air to air, air to water. Core size, heat exchanger, Killer Chiller?..... Figure out how much you want to spend and buy the best you can get at that price!
I was thinking of going with the Cx racing 3 core. I was advised to go with this one about a year ago and it seems as if quite a few ppl who are using them til this day say that its a good product especially for the price.
 
I would go with at least a treadstone. The CX racing intercoolers work but all of the ones I've seen cause alot of boost loss. Maybe the one your looking at or the 4 core is better and has less boost loss? The less you have to pulley down the better..... I'm making 10lbs with a 3.6 pulley which is about optimum... I remember a member I think stahl? said his was about the same with an air to air. Dont remember for sure though what kind or if it was him. I will search back in some threads because thats what you want!
 
Discussion starter · #25 ·
I would go with at least a treadstone. The CX racing intercoolers work but all of the ones I've seen cause alot of boost loss. Maybe the one your looking at or the 4 core is better and has less boost loss? The less you have to pulley down the better..... I'm making 10lbs with a 3.6 pulley which is about optimum... I remember a member I think stahl? said his was about the same with an air to air. Dont remember for sure though what kind or if it was him. I will search back in some threads because thats what you want!
"treadstone" I will try to look those up tonight.
 
Treadstone is definitely better than CX, but atleast twice as much. Their intercoolers look top notch and perform well. I think you want a TR12 or TV250 if I remember correctly. Boost loss with the 3" cx cooler will be 2-3psi. Did you ever figure out why the blower only made 5psi with the 3.6 pulley? Maybe the boost gauge is off?
 
i say you need my stage 2 ported livernois heads with my Houston Performance 292's already installed and ready to go! ;)
How much?? Dale told me the news, congrats man! Sad to see you parting out your car, but very understandable.



OP, Why not do both? CXRacing 4 core i/c is pretty cheap. Like $250 with the piping. If thats not an option, I say since the air is getting cooler, I say blower cams 1st. Then intercool it by Spring time.
 
Discussion starter · #28 ·
Treadstone is definitely better than CX, but atleast twice as much. Their intercoolers look top notch and perform well. I think you want a TR12 or TV250 if I remember correctly. Boost loss with the 3" cx cooler will be 2-3psi. Did you ever figure out why the blower only made 5psi with the 3.6 pulley? Maybe the boost gauge is off?
It was reading 5 psi when i had the old belt tensioner on there. And the belt started squealing and breaking away. Since then I have a different belt and a new belt tensioner and it goes to 7+ psi after those two parts belt and belt tensioner got replaced so that had to be the problem. Before i got it replaced it/the tensioner was shaking badly at idle the new one doesnt do that period.
 
7 PSI at what RPM? I'm making 10 PSI at 6200 with an aftercooler setup on a stock motor. I'm running a v3 though which does have a slightly steeper step up but I would think you should still see 9PSI by 6200 RPM. Most cars I've seen with the whole aftercooler package lay down about 13PSI at 6200 and I've seen as high as 14 with a power pipe setup. The 9-10PSI is grossly under rated.
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
7 PSI at what RPM? I'm making 10 PSI at 6200 with an aftercooler setup on a stock motor. I'm running a v3 though which does have a slightly steeper step up but I would think you should still see 9PSI by 6200 RPM. Most cars I've seen with the whole aftercooler package lay down about 13PSI at 6200 and I've seen as high as 14 with a power pipe setup. The 9-10PSI is grossly under rated.
I usually glance down around 5500-5700rpm for a split second and then eyes back up ive never glanced down at it right before the shiftpoint @6000rpm but at or close to 5700rpm its at 7psi. Thats with the 3.60 pulley.
 
That sounds about right. I'm not sure where you shift at but centri cars almost always go faster with a little over rev. My car is alot faster shifting at 6200-6300 than 5800 (redline). That few extra RPM really helps to keep it in the boost. I've always thought of 6500RPM a good shift point for a street car that will last a good amount of time... the main reason I went with CMS stage 2 blower cams for my new motor but I will be pushing 14+ PSI behind it.
 
Discussion starter · #32 ·
That sounds about right. I'm not sure where you shift at but centri cars almost always go faster with a little over rev. My car is alot faster shifting at 6200-6300 than 5800 (redline). That few extra RPM really helps to keep it in the boost. I've always thought of 6500RPM a good shift point for a street car that will last a good amount of time... the main reason I went with CMS stage 2 blower cams for my new motor but I will be pushing 14+ PSI behind it.
I have my WOT shift points at 6000rpm. I always though the safe max limit on the stock motor was 6000rpm I think i read or someone told me that a few years ago thats part of the reason i have it set at 6000rpm. But i have been seeing on here alot that ppl have been pushing it past that point quite often.
 
Every motor is different. I shift mine at 6200-6300 and as high as 6500 before. I also sprayed about 20 bottles at it though on 125 and 150 setting before going blower. Its not all in the tune but it does help. I bet you would be surprised at how much harder it pulls the next gear when you over rev it a bit.

Anyways not go get off topic too much. Look up treadstone. I think they are one of the better budget intercoolers out there. Alot of guys have had good luck with the CX racing ones though. You just dont want to end up with a 3" pulley and only 9lbs.
 
I lost between 7-9 lobs of boost on the high end (6500-7500 RPM) with a CX unit, the new Bell cooler has less than 2lbs pressure drop at 25lbs!!!!

We plumbed gauges at the blower volute and manifold for this comparison. Kind of sickening to see 27lbs at the blower and less than 20 at the intake:mad:

However, the cooler did do ok at boost levels under 16-18lbs. I just wish I had made the initial investment up front and did it rite from the get go. Fabbing up plumbing the correct way w/o couplers and clamps is time consuming and frustrating. I have changed it 3x's over the years.

I say Bell or Treadstone and consider that mod done forever.......You wont be wondering down the road if its the cooler causing issues with boost loss, popping off couplers due to added back pressure when you get off the throttle or turbulent air washing out the maf etc etc.
 
It was reading 5 psi when i had the old belt tensioner on there. And the belt started squealing and breaking away. Since then I have a different belt and a new belt tensioner and it goes to 7+ psi after those two parts belt and belt tensioner got replaced so that had to be the problem. Before i got it replaced it/the tensioner was shaking badly at idle the new one doesnt do that period.
What tensioner did you go with? Gates? Dayco? Ford? My stocker shakes at idle too and was thinking of replacing it when the intercooler goes on. Mine made 9psi on the dyno but never after that. Gauge usually reads about 7psi. I've seen 8psi a couple times.
 
I have my WOT shift points at 6000rpm. I always though the safe max limit on the stock motor was 6000rpm I think i read or someone told me that a few years ago thats part of the reason i have it set at 6000rpm. But i have been seeing on here alot that ppl have been pushing it past that point quite often.
I was shifting at 6k when i went to the track. Many have told me to bump it up. Will try 6200 next year.
 
I lost between 7-9 lobs of boost on the high end (6500-7500 RPM) with a CX unit, the new Bell cooler has less than 2lbs pressure drop at 25lbs!!!!

We plumbed gauges at the blower volute and manifold for this comparison. Kind of sickening to see 27lbs at the blower and less than 20 at the intake:mad:

However, the cooler did do ok at boost levels under 16-18lbs. I just wish I had made the initial investment up front and did it rite from the get go. Fabbing up plumbing the correct way w/o couplers and clamps is time consuming and frustrating. I have changed it 3x's over the years.

I say Bell or Treadstone and consider that mod done forever.......You wont be wondering down the road if its the cooler causing issues with boost loss, popping off couplers due to added back pressure when you get off the throttle or turbulent air washing out the maf etc etc.
Ya at low psi the cx 3" cooler is fine. Even Tim Barth was surprised how well this ebay intercooler performs at lower boost levels. He has installed and tuned a few of these.
 
Discussion starter · #38 ·
What tensioner did you go with? Gates? Dayco? Ford? My stocker shakes at idle too and was thinking of replacing it when the intercooler goes on. Mine made 9psi on the dyno but never after that. Gauge usually reads about 7psi. I've seen 8psi a couple times.
Its a Dayco tensioner from advance autoparts. and a gates belt from oriely.
 
Discussion starter · #39 ·
How much?? Dale told me the news, congrats man! Sad to see you parting out your car, but very understandable.



OP, Why not do both? CXRacing 4 core i/c is pretty cheap. Like $250 with the piping. If thats not an option, I say since the air is getting cooler, I say blower cams 1st. Then intercool it by Spring time.
yea I was planning on doing both and having both of them done by next spring if all goes well. I was just trying to figure out which would be better to do first even though the other will be done like 4-5 months after the other. And your last point is the logic I was thinking of bc of the weather change and i drive my tbird mainly in the summer. But it seems as if its being laid out that regardless of those factors that the intercooler needs to be next before the cams.
 
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