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Ford F-150 EcoBoost Intercooler 2011-2014

  1. Cool Air for the EcoBoost - Intercooler Pipe R&D, Performance Testing

    Cool Air for the EcoBoost - Intercooler Pipe R&D, Performance Testing

    These intercooler pipes are now available!
    Click here to buy them from our website!

    As the old cliché goes, some things just go together like peas in a pod. Peanut butter and jelly. Cold beer and tailgates. Intercoolers and intercooler pipes; you just can't have one without the other. If you followed along with our 2011-14 F-150 EcoBoost intercooler thread, you've probably been waiting for an update on our intercooler pipes for a while now. Well, the wait is over.

    Fabrication

    Pipe-Fab-22

    In the last post, fabrication ended for our prototype cold-side pipe. Since then, we've been busy fabricating the hot-side piping and testing. Steve and Mike whipped up a hot-side prototype using the same process as the cold-side

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  2. Cool Air For the EcoBoost - Intercooler R&D, Part 8: Test Fit and Dyno Data

    Cool Air For the EcoBoost - Intercooler R&D, Part 8: Test Fit and Dyno Data

    Greetings, folks, and welcome to the post you've all been waiting for! We've made a ton of progress lately on the Mishimoto 2011-14 EcoBoost Intercooler, so I am happy to present you with a detailed update. As such, I will cut right to the chase so that you can see what we've been working on.

    Oh, and I almost forgot - we threw this thing on the dyno and I've finally got some numbers for you! Before we get to that, let's take a look at how this intercooler looks in its final guise and see how it fits in our 2013 test subject.

    Ford F-150 EcoBoost Intercooler; Factory Review

    As a refresher, this is the factory tube-and-fin unit that we are replacing. You can see that it is rather small and as a result, does not make very efficient use of the space behind the front bumper, which is ample, but unconventional in shape. Check out our first blog post in this

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  3. Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 7: Cold-Side Pipe Fabrication

    Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 7: Cold-Side Pipe Fabrication

    Having already obtained precise dimensions from the factory piping and our test vehicle, our engineering team has begun the arduous, but rewarding process of developing and fabricating intercooler piping for our '11-14 F-150.

    Cold-Side Intercooler Pipe Fabrication

    Fabricating the cold side appears to be less of a challenge than dealing with the hot side, so we decided to start there to get the ball rolling. Following the path of the factory piping, we began fabrication at the intercooler side of the pipe and worked our way up toward the throttle body.

    Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler pipe fabrication
    Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler pipe fabrication

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  4. Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 6: Pipe Fabrication

    Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 6: Pipe Fabrication

    Along with creating an awesome intercooler for the EcoBoost (EB), we also want to improve upon the pathways through which air travels to and from the charge air cooler. This will involve replacing factory components that route from the turbocharger to the intercooler and from the intercooler to the throttle body with engineered aluminum pieces.

    Factory Ford F-150 EcoBoost Intercooler Piping

    The factory piping setup on the F-150 is essentially a rat's nest of molded plastic and rubber couplers that, evident upon removal, is complemented by an internal coating of oil. No wonder catch cans are so popular for these trucks!

    Our engineers felt like teenagers again with all of the oil on their skin as they removed the piping in order to inspect each piece, keeping in mind that they would need to replicate all connection points to ensure that our piping is a bolt-on setup.

    Check out the cold-side pipe, below.

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  5. Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 5: Intercooler 3D Models

    Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 5: Intercooler 3D Models

    Now that our first prototype design has been finalized in Solidworks, we can begin constructing our first functional prototype to test both performance and fitment.

    Let's check out some of the final features of our awesome intercooler design, including the appearance, the updated bracketry, the piping, and our innovative solution to the condensation issue!

    F-150 Intercooler 3D Models

    We intend to offer this cooler in both a silver and black powdercoat finish, so we will show you a few render images of each. First, a look at the rear of the cooler.

    Mishimoto Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler prototype
    Mishimoto Ford F-150 EcoBoost intercooler prototype

    Here we see the two inlets and single quick-disconnect outlet. We

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  6. Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 4: Intercooler Ducting

    Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 4: Intercooler Ducting

    In our last entry, we finished the 3D-printing process for our first prototype intercooler. Our team then started the tedious work of modeling all the features we plan to implement and finalizing the details of our intercooler design. During this process, a new idea emerged that would both improve the performance of our cooler and set our kit apart from others.

    Let's dive right in!

    F-150 Intercooler Shrouding Fabrication

    The footprint of our intercooler core is far larger than that of the stock intercooler. Because of this, it is likely that the airflow supplied by the stock bumper duct is not reaching the entire surface area of our cooler. To combat any issues with loss of airflow, we decided to experiment with some ducting to direct air through the core.

    We began the fabrication process with a few old-school techniques; our engineers broke out the template material and a measuring device and started cutting out some ideas.

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  7. Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 3: Continued Intercooler Design

    Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 3: Continued Intercooler Design

    When we last had our test vehicle in the shop, the team fully evaluated the stock intercooler and piping system. In addition, we started to determine our projected core size and mocked up a foam prototype. In this segment, we will be expanding upon that by creating a mock-up prototype to test fitment.

    3D-Printing Prototype

    Using our mock-up foam core dimensions and data from the factory intercooler, our team began to construct the end tanks using 3D-modeling software. To confirm fitment, each section was 3D printed to create a prototype that could be placed in the vehicle.

    This process required some trial and error to ensure that the 3D model was as accurate as possible. The inlet/outlet portions were the most challenging, so these were printed and tested first.

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  8. Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 2: Initial Design Work

    Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 2: Initial Design Work

    After taking a brief look at the factory cooler and components, we needed to begin the design for our counterpart. This will involve the use of both modern and conventional tools to ensure that our prototype meets all our requirements.

    Factory Intercooler Features

    Factory F150 intercooler
    Factory F150 intercooler

    The factory intercooler pulled from our test vehicle came with the upper shroud that Ford had added to help prevent condensation issues. It also included a couple mounting pegs which use grommets for isolation.

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  9. Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 1: Factory Cooler Evaluation

    Cool Air for the EcoBoost. F-150 Intercooler R&D, Part 1: Factory Cooler Evaluation

    The EcoBoost (EB) engine series is quite impressive and packed full of amazing technology. Direct injection and efficient turbochargers have contributed significantly to improved fuel mileage without compromising engine output. Our fleet of shop vehicles currently includes two EB-powered vehicles, a Fiesta and a Mustang. Both models thoroughly impressed our team with their power, drivability, and handling. We developed a ton of new products for the 1.6L, 2.0L, and 2.3L. Now it is time to turn our attention to the V6 EB world. Our first target is a performance intercooler for the 11-14 3.5L F-150.

    From our experience with other EcoBoost models, the factory intercoolers are not exactly ideal. The Mustang heat-soaks after a few pulls, and both hot hatches will quickly exceed the intercooler efficiency with a couple easy modifications. Although the factory F150 intercooler is comparably more stout than the coolers for the smaller 4-cylinder models, many have still found it to be inefficient

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