Intercooling extras?

[mycarsucks]

Aside from the costs of the intercooler, pipes, adapters, clamps, and the normal things that come to mind when intercooling, what other costs come into play? I've heard lots of people mention that electric fans are neccisary. Does this apply to front mount intercoolers? Why are electric fans neccisary assuming they are neccisary? What other costs am I missing? I'm about to embark on the big IC challenge, and want to be 100% positive that I can accomplish it with now big surprises.

 

[TurboRegal84]

You need to install and Electric fan because if you don't then there will be no room for the IC, and the pipes if you use the large factory Clutch fan, and large plastic shroud....plus with an elec. fan you can control when you want it to go on, and off...thats a big plus....when your sitting there in the pits you can let the fan run to cool off the car!

 

[mycarsucks]

Well, are there any other costs that I'm missing that anyone knows about?

What are the common fan kits to put in these cars? Is there a tailor made kit? Now that I know I'll need an electric fan, I assume that I will also need an 87 ECM to control it as well? Or could I just trust myself to turn it on?

 

[TurboRegal84]

Your better off upgrading, and letting the ECM do the control....when out with friends you can sometimes forget to turn on the fan, and that could cause the car to over heat.......Also...with the 87 ECM you can run Scanmaster2!!!!!


For an Elec. fan talk to Brian Weaver (posting name Bweavy) he usually has a few laying around!

HTH!

 

[cool 84]

It depends on how complete the kit is. The Spearco kit is complete and will work with the stock fan in place. The plumbing goes aroud the fan. The way I did my Ford IC it would also work with the stock fan if I wanted it to. As for extra costs you will need a better fuel pump if you don't have one and adjustable wastegate since the boost will fall a couple psi with the intercooler. Any extra hoses and clamps can be bought at a local diesel shop. The fans out of Fieros with AC are the exact same fan as the 87 GNs except they don't have the low speed resistor which you don't need anyway.

 

[mycarsucks]

Cool84, once again thank you. As I plan to model my setup after yours, I feel much better knowing that you believe I can still use the stock fan. It eliminates so many more extras that I hadn't planned on when saving for this project.

I remember you once mentioning that you had no problems with the new Ford IC versus your previous front mount. Did you personally stick with the stock fan, or go with electric. If you did go with electric, do you believe the stock fan truly is sufficient. (Wish i could find those pictures I saved)

 

[SLOW_85]

Being in Wyoming, I believe you have a mild climate.
Stock fan or even a heavy duty fan would prolly be enough.
You can always add the electric fan later if necessary.
Here in Ok with the heat in the 100's in summer, i have run
either or both with pretty good cooling.
In traffic with A/C I see about 180-190 on the hot days.
HTH

 

[cool 84]

I put the electric fan on my car a month after I bought it because it was in the trunk when I bought the car. I had no problems with the mechanical fan cooling and I've always thought a mechanical fan pulls more air than an electric. But the extra room is nice when working on the car and it makes the engine look even smaller when people want to see it.

With the Ford IC my car would stay at 160 degrees while cruising without the fan on as long as I kept my speed at 40mph or above. I couldn't even think about turning the fan off with the Spearco IC. Since the Ford unit is bigger than the radiator there's no tanks to block airflow and the core is pretty thin. It came as a FM on the trucks from the factory so I figured it would have to let air pass through it pretty freely.

In the Spearco pictures it shows their intercooler with the mechanical fan so I know it would work.