Not really for long term health. But its such a cheap upgrade... Costs less then an access port when doing a DIY.

If you like long pulls and bouts of WOT then its advised. But on a daily driver don't bother IMO

 

The factory unit is a heat soaking P.O.S...I would get one no matter what, even if I were never going to buy any other mods.

 

Totally agree, I'm a firm believer that an upgraded intercooler should be on just about every enthusiasts to-do list.

Stock or tuned, an intercooler will make a difference not only in terms of power, but also in terms of safety. Heat is probably the number one killer of these little engines. Too much heat means more knock and greater chance of LSPI. The lower you can get your in-cylinder temps the happier your engine will be and the longer it should live.

 

It doesn't really do anything unless you get it tuned. Like the other guy said for long pulls you will loose less hp due to the charge air staying cooler longer.

 

It doesn't really do anything unless you get it tuned.

Not true. The car does not need a tune to enjoy Charge Air Temps just a few degrees above ambient.

 

You'll maintain stock power levels longer because you won't be heat soaked. Stock IC CAT temps climb so high you lose power as CAT increase (hotter air=less dense/less O2, ECU pulls timing). If you maintain cooler CAT you don't lose as much power. Fact.


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And CAT differences can be 40F+ on a single pull with a stock IC vs a good IC.


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At 100f you can quite possibly hit limp mode without an intercooler upgrade (I did last year and thought my car broke) I knew I wouldn't do another summer with the stock, and it has been the most healthy upgrade.

I went stage 0 last year (ap only) to do logs, and I could get charge temps 100+ over ambient. NOT HEALTHY!


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I'm more than certain, Ford has tested the Focust ST in temps far exceeding 100deg in their "mule," testing. Of course they may not be putting them on a race track to do that, just typical driving conditions. But to say your car will go into limp mode stock in 100deg weather is highly unlikely under normal driving conditions. Then they would never sell these cars to places in the South West, TX or inland CA....

If your car goes into limp mode its not the intercooler at fault, but something else most likely IMO

 

I believe they were saying the car was going into limp mode because they were able to get the intake temps 100 degrees higher than the ambient temp, not that the car was going into limp mode because it was 100 degrees out.

 

Bingo... Just doing a couple pulls.. nothing crazy (it was 105 out). Power was down as expected, but then I did another pull and the car just stayed still. That's when I found this forum and started reading ( I seriously thought my car was broke). Ended up ordering an AP and started looking at temps. I could get intake temps over 200f!!! I ripped off the AGS as I was concerned they were broke, but then temps cooled and I never was able to test that theory again. Now the only time I go over ambient is idling in traffic. Crazy how good an aftermarket ic is (that our how crappy the stock is).


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trd You must live near me in Fresno, CA. It is not out of the ordinary we see long periods of 100+ degree weather. I took delivery of my 2016 ST3 during a 13 day period of 105+ degree weather. I can't wait for it to cool down enough for me to feel the full power of my ST. I am trying to decide what is best for me. I want to maintain my factory warranty. So I may order my FMIC from the FRPP catalog.

 

Water/Meth Injection is a better investment -

1) It solves the octane problem in California, 110 octane 50/50 Water-Meth. Can't find Boost Juice from Snow Performance, which does go out of stock often at Summit Racing in Sparks, NV? You can order up Banks Power Additive which is the same thing, though rumor has it Snow puts some Nitro-methane in theirs. Or you can mix your own, distilled water at Walmart is $.88 and you can find F&L Racing 5 gallon drum of M1 (99% pure) Methanol for $35-$36.

a) Mix Your Own, you'll get 10 gallons of 50/50 but you must be more careful when storing it.
b) Banks Additive - $35 (4) 1 gallon bottles
c) Snow Performance - $35 (4) 1 gallon bottles.*

* You can order two boxes (8 bottles) and often get free shipping from Summit and Jegs's on Snow Boost Juice.

2) Cools incoming air from inter cooler down below ambient even in hot weather. As suggested, install it as close to the IC exit as possible. I put my nozzle in the exit elbow.

3) Cost - Boost Switch Only systems run about $350 from Snow, Cooling Mist or Devil's Own. AEM Progressive kit, Snow Stage 2, etc all cost about $450 or less.

If you run it as recommended in the directions (unlike me) between 300cc - 500cc will be plenty with the stock turbo. In early (4-5 psi), full by half of max boost (22.84 in my case, so 11 psi or so).

If you decide to run it at all times (switched on with your ignition), then I would set it for 8-10 psi since it less likely to hit that in most situations in part-throttle driving.

It's worth 10-15hp on top of your tune. So most cars dead stock but with a tune is about 240-245 hp (91 octane), WMI will bump that to 255-260 hp. Slight less with 93 since it's less knock prone than 91.

I wanted more than 10-15 hp gain, but I will cover that in due time. For the record I am running more than 500 cc, 750 cc to be exact, details to come as I get the tune dialed-in. Let's just say 500 cc won't cut it in my application.

Actually I will say a bit more about that.

AEM's recommendations are about 10% of total fuel flow in the ST, while most including Aquamist suggest you inject 15-20% of total fuel, in the case of the Focus ST that's -

15% = 714 cc
17.5% = 833 cc
20% = 952 cc

There's very little risk in "tuning for water/meth"; when not present the car will just pull timing. I know first hand because the car doesn't even see (and neither does Torrie) 250 cc nozzle and at 500 cc doesn't provide the temperature drop I want in summer heat (in fact no temp drop at all in day time or early evening heat). The car is still pulling timing despite running 13.7@99 because my 1/8th mile to 1/4 mile speed is only 18-19 mph when it should be 20-21 mph.

Let's just say the stock turbo is very hot and it's understandable why it overwhelms the stock inter-cooler at elevated boost levels.

Without getting into an extended discussion about how gasoline doesn't absorb heat very well and making the argument for being more aggressive with water/meth with this car, I suggest you check out the various studies both from WWII and some Richard @Aquamist has done himself, especially about the absorption rate of water and methanol vs gasoline.