What can I get away with without an intercooler?

[boynamedsue]

hey ther fellas, I'm fairly new to diesel and a total newby when it comes to mods. I have a stock 97 with out an intercooler and I'm wondering what mods I can get away with. I plan to go to larger down pipe and exhaust, 100hp chip, aftermarket turbo impeller and maybe propane injection. Can I do this wih out an intercooler? Any other opinions of this plan are oppreciated.

[01Crewcab7.3]

Most do intake, exhaust, gauges, and a chip. After that usually comes stage I injectors, at which point an intercooler is pretty much needed. I would start with the first four that I mentioned and go from there.

[351fifty]

Basically what he said and go with custom tunes, you should be fine with out an intercooler, that's what they came with and do great, but they will do better with one later on when your truck is ready for it

[Frostbite]

I think the weak point is the stock factory down pipe that is flattened between the engine and fire wall. This causes EGTs to become unmanageable. Yes, changing the down pipe is nearly mandatory before moving forward.

You also need gauges to be able to monitor where you are in your tuning process.