Best intercooler

[btsb032304]

So i think im going to replace my stock intercooler. wondering what the best one is. I have been thinking about using the banks since it comes with bigger piping and a high ram intake which i do not have at this point but i am not opposed to any other brands.

[jetjock15]

I have banks and it works great, quality kit.

[kcoyner]

No complaints with my Banks. A lot of members dis Banks stuff, but IMHO the intake filter, Intercooler and high ram intake are all quality made products. What makes mine great is that I bought both kits out of salvage for real cheap and the stuff was all like brand new!

k

[PGreenSVT]

The bigger pipes of the Banks are a drawback as you loose velocity of the air charge. Personally I think the design of the Banks elbow stinks, I'd get a Spearco.

[Karls03]

Originally Posted by kcoyner

No complaints with my Banks. A lot of members dis Banks stuff, but IMHO the intake filter, Intercooler and high ram intake are all quality made products. What makes mine great is that I bought both kits out of salvage for real cheap and the stuff was all like brand new!

Unless you're towing or making HUGE boost (50 psi+), then the OEM intercooler is going to be just fine. I bought a Banks techni-cooler and plumbing for my 2003 used. The fit and finish was great, but I don't tow enough to justify buying it new.

Originally Posted by PGreenSVT

The bigger pipes of the Banks are a drawback as you loose velocity of the air charge. Personally I think the design of the Banks elbow stinks, I'd get a Spearco.

Unless you open up the hole in the intake manifold, a larger elbow means NOTHING! If I had done more research, I would have left my OEM intercooler in place and run the No Limit plumbing to clean up the air flow into the intake.

Here's the bottom line: DO NOT buy an aftermarket intercooler if you are looking for SEAT OF THE PANTS PERFORMANCE GAINS. If you are, then you are in for a let down. A larger intercooler on these trucks is like a bigger radiator in your hot rod, it's good for cooling (lower EGTs) when you're on the loud pedal and that's about it.

[btsb032304]

I would have left my OEM intercooler in place and run the No Limit plumbing to clean up the air flow into the intake.



meaning No Limit Diesel here in Illinios?

[TooMuch03]

Originally Posted by PGreenSVT

The bigger pipes of the Banks are a drawback as you loose velocity of the air charge. Personally I think the design of the Banks elbow stinks, I'd get a Spearco.

The spearco is a nice unit. hellman intercoolers are also supposed to be good. the larger piping on the Banks is not needed. I have never had a problem with mine. I remember someone doing a test comparison a long time ago and finding that the spearco had quite a bit more pressure drop across it than the Banks intercooler did.

[PGreenSVT]

Originally Posted by Karls03

Unless you're towing or making HUGE boost (50 psi+), then the OEM intercooler is going to be just fine. I bought a Banks techni-cooler and plumbing for my 2003 used. The fit and finish was great, but I don't tow enough to justify buying it new.



Unless you open up the hole in the intake manifold, a larger elbow means NOTHING! If I had done more research, I would have left my OEM intercooler in place and run the No Limit plumbing to clean up the air flow into the intake.

Here's the bottom line: DO NOT buy an aftermarket intercooler if you are looking for SEAT OF THE PANTS PERFORMANCE GAINS. If you are, then you are in for a let down. A larger intercooler on these trucks is like a bigger radiator in your hot rod, it's good for cooling (lower EGTs) when you're on the loud pedal and that's about it.

Yep I replaced my CFM+ Largemouth and pipe with the No Limit CAC. That is really the best Cold side solution out there.

Originally Posted by btsb032304

I would have left my OEM intercooler in place and run the No Limit plumbing to clean up the air flow into the intake.

meaning No Limit Diesel here in Illinios?

Yep, Mike does a good job with these and will build in any additional bungs you may want for a water/meth setup or boost reference etc.

[PGreenSVT]

Originally Posted by TooMuch03

The spearco is a nice unit. hellman intercoolers are also supposed to be good. the larger piping on the Banks is not needed. I have never had a problem with mine. I remember someone doing a test comparison a long time ago and finding that the spearco had quite a bit more pressure drop across it than the Banks intercooler did.

I haven't seen that Adam. If you find a link I'd be interested. The AFE Bladerunner is supposed to be a nice unit too but it is actually a bit smaller than the others.

[TooMuch03]

I have been looking, and I can't for the life of me remember where I saw that I guess I will keep looking lol

Also, we can't forget about the Mishimoto intercooler. It is smaller too, but still works good.