Have a 6.0 cooler in truck now and looking to upgrade. some coolers seem like your paying for name rather than functionality. So I have been doing some looking, Mishimoto, Banks, AFE, CXracing. Anybody have a preferance and why?

 

My truck came with the Banks cooler installed by previous owner. It is well built.

I don't know your'e reasons for changing out coolers is there a problem with the 6.0 cooler?

IMO, If you are changing it to improve performance you may not see much improvement for the $$ you spend. For example a WW2 or Clays billet wheel is 1/4 the cost of a new inter-cooler and will drop EGTs and add H.P. as well or better than the inter-cooler.

 

I went with the DI intercooler for my F-250 about 8 years ago, did a great job at reducing my EGT's while towing, about 150-200 degrees.

the Big DIIC Intercooler

The Hypermax Tapercore is a little larger than the DI and a bit more efficient, but it costs about 2K.

Hypermax Tapercore Intercoler

All depends what your using the vehicle for and what HP level you plan to have.

 

Shattered... WHY do you want to replace your 6.0L intercooler? Ford won an industry award for the design of that particular intercooler. A lot of 7.3L owners "upgrade" to the 6.0L intercooler that you are now wanting to upgrade out of. Is it worth it?

Like CGMKCM, I have a Banks Techni-Cooler. Unlike any other intercooler that I've seen for this application, the Banks intercooler has the smoothest and roundest end tanks. The Banks end tanks are not plastic, nor are they welded flat sheets with square edged interior seams and corners like many of the aftermarket intercooler metal end tanks are made with. These square corners are a necessary evil for boutique manufacturing of a low volume part, but are not optimal in reducing turbulence to air flow.

Just like the air flow passages of engine heads can be optimized via "porting and polishing" the Banks 7.3L intercooler end tanks are fully radiused, with no hard corners or edges. This is made possible because the Banks end tanks are one piece cast aluminum, not flat pieces of triangular cut sheets welded together to make a tank. Airflow characteristics following smooth radiused edges have long been proven to be superior.

That all being said, there are other intercoolers that have more surface area, like the HyperMax TaperCore. Yet one has to balance the needs of all the equipment in the truck... and the limited access to cooling air that the 5 heat exchangers upfront must share. It isn't about just cooling the charge air. The engine radiator fluid, the A/C, the transmission, and the power steering all share the same access to cooling air.

One reason I didn't upgrade to the 6.0L transmission cooler is that it intersects with air flow through the intercooler. One reason that I don't like the TaperCore is that it intersects with the airflow of any version of transmission cooler. As it stands now, the V10 transmission cooler I upgraded to, while larger than the original 7.3L tranny cooler, is still not so large as to intersect with the Banks intercooler.

Therefore, the intercooler does not have to deal with the heat rejected out of the transmission cooler, and cross flow through the transmission cooler is not restricted by the presence of yet another heat exchanger (intercooler) immediately behind it. The two heat exchangers are on separate flow paths not intersecting with each other. This separation may increase the net cooling efficiency of both.

Personally, I'd leave your 6.0L cooler in place, unless the plastic end tanks were cracking or separating from the exchanger.

 

Thanks guys, lots of good info. I'm getting ready for studs, sticks, turbo, up-pipes, just want to keep things as cool as possible.

 

Sweet!


I'm starting to throw a bunch of pay checks at the Excursion as well. After the injectors, turbo, studs & valves I will take the DI intercooler out of the F-250 and put it in the Excursion then will put a Hypermax Tapercore in the F-250 since I mostly use that for towing.

 

That's exactly what I'm using mine for. Towing. Lots of big mountain passes.