Wagner Intercooler Installation

[52predator]

Good evening everyone. I wanted to take some time to share my experience and thoughts on the Wagner Competition Intercooler, https://www.wagner-tuning.com/produ...r-kit-ford-f150-raptor-10-gang-200001119.html

This is the second aftermarket Intercooler I have tried, and by far met my expectations for what I was looking for. The things which were important to me were:

Significant performance gains in flow and lower IAT2 temps.
Retaining all factory functionality of the OEM equipment such as air-directing shrouds and shutters.
A factory look.
Proper fitment.

I won’t go into everything in the instruction manual, but rather supplement it with some things I did during my install to ease the process along.

First step is grill removal. Same process as everywhere else, so I won’t go into detail.






Next I moved the transmission oil cooler up using the supplied brackets.











I also moved the horns slightly to clear the oil cooler by tweaking the bracket.





Next step was to remove the factory Intercooler and shrouding behind the shutter system. This process is also documented elsewhere, so I’ll skip the details.





I removed the upper Intercooler bracket, and began to trim the 24” hole out in the shroud. I traced along the shutter assembly as a guide. I cut the other issue at the fold, per the directions and measured 24” wide.








Next I had to install the upper Intercooler bracket for the new unit. It should be noted, this connected the bumper wing brackets, so they did a good job replicating the OEM upper IC bracket. Install was used by adding the rubber insulated bolts to the frame rails.





Next it was time to add the stock parts to the new IC. It’s definitely a quality looking piece.

















Installation was tricky...by myself. The unit, like most German engineered parts, is very close tolerance. There was a little bit of a learning curve, but what I learned was the top section, as it breaches the rectangular hole you cut in the shroud, needs to be tilted forward so it slides up straight. My jack bared the weight while I made small adjustments back and forth. The intercooler can go just before the IC reaches the top. It’s easier to not try to get the lower bracket up with it. Once the intercooler is all the way up, the upper bracket bolts will allow it to hang while you button up everything from below. You also need to trim the bottom of the fan assembly so it’s flat.










This last picture I love. Look how the IC seats right up against the factory shrouding, getting that forced air at speed. In my experience, this was an advantage the stock IC has because it aids in the ability to recover quickly after heating up. This feature is now carried over to this larger Core. This was not the case in my previous aftermarket IC.




Up top, I had to make an adjustment on the oil cooler pipe. To move it from resting on the IC, I trimmed the top 3/4 inch off the rubber hose, to pull it up higher, and turned the mounting bracket. Voila.














I’m very happy overall. I did not want to use an intercooler which blocked my radiator or caused me to remove the shutter assembly. In Arizona, heat is always a factor, and I feel I got the best of both worlds with the unit.

Thanks!
Matt

 

[Raptor911]

what IC did you use before?

 

[52predator]

what IC did you use before?

I had the CV Fabrications. The CVF was actually a great intercooler, especially for the price, and in their defense I could have trimmed the additional shrouding I had to remove, to make it flush against the unit. I did not know at the time the value there was for that feature related to recovery times. I found the CVF Intercooler did a great job during WOT to keep temps cool, but the rest of the time had stock-like performance, sometimes hotter. Again, this could be contributed to the lack of forced air into the unit (pictured below is the CVF installed). With the combination of this issue being resolved and CVF's customer service level, I would definitely consider them again as a simple stock-replacement unit. The fit and finish on that was great, I just needed more for what I am trying to do and how hot it gets here. Hope this helps.

 

[nikhsub1]

Wagner are no dummies. Stock size intercoolers, even of better design, are limited to ****** airflow. The wagner sticks up partially like a true FMIC does. The thing that I still don't understand is that wagner uses tube/fin design as opposed the bar/plate - the former is generally the better option for air to air intercoolers.

 

[Raptor911]

what does this comment mean >> With the combination of this issue being resolved

You had issues with their IC?

I had the CV Fabrications. The CVF was actually a great intercooler, especially for the price, and in their defense I could have trimmed the additional shrouding I had to remove, to make it flush against the unit. I did not know at the time the value there was for that feature related to recovery times. I found the CVF Intercooler did a great job during WOT to keep temps cool, but the rest of the time had stock-like performance, sometimes hotter. Again, this could be contributed to the lack of forced air into the unit (pictured below is the CVF installed). With the combination of this issue being resolved and CVF's customer service level, I would definitely consider them again as a simple stock-replacement unit. The fit and finish on that was great, I just needed more for what I am trying to do and how hot it gets here. Hope this helps.

 

[RW17FX4]

made this shroud for my CVF intercooler

 

[52predator]

what does this comment mean >> With the combination of this issue being resolved

You had issues with their IC?

I was referring to the issue of the lack of air rammed into the IC, due to the removal of the shroud extension. The way I had it, because I didn’t measure and trim that piece, the air wasn’t being forced through the unit. With the new one, it is thicker so it meets and seals itself to the shroud that couldn’t reach the CVF. Does this make sense?

 

[52predator]

made this shroud for my CVF intercooler

View attachment 141204

View attachment 141205

You definitely have more skill than I. Very nice looking!

 

[52predator]

Ok, here is the initial datalog. These are AIT2 (charge air temps post IC) from 3 different Intercoolers. The top is the Wagner, middle is CV Fab, and the bottom is OEM. The Wagner drops from 125 degrees driving around then at a stop, to 105 at wide open throttle from 0-60, reaching 105 degrees just over 60mph. At 63mph, temps climbed and reached 115 degrees at 95mph. Comparatively, the CVF drops from 125 to about 110 and climbs to about 113 during a similar run. Stock - 122 degrees drops to about 109 at WOT from 9mph - 43 mph, then climbs up to 134 at 85mph! This...is why the stock IC is poor and causes heat soak.

Over all, I think both the CVF and the Wagner did well on 0-95mph runs. The Wagner has what appears to be about a 5 degree advantage, which could be a little more since it was about 5 degrees warmer today when I tested the Wagner. I am looking forward to Gearhead Tuning taking a look at the log and seeing how it flows. It seemed like while I was driving around and watching the gauges, the Wagner stayed pretty cool during normal driving.

 

[Neil Casa]

I would be very interested to hear what the tuner thinks of the flow. I have a cvf and was thinking of cutting the stock shroud to fit closer to the core to aid in airflow the unit instead of around it....Let us know what you find out.
Neil