CVF Titan V2 Intercooler Testing and Review

[SALEEN961]

Over the weekend I finally got the chance to install my new intercooler and do some testing. The high/low numbers posted below are what I saw when starting a few seconds before the WOT pull section of the datalogs and ending a few seconds after the WOT pull. Both WOT pulls were started in 2nd gear and ended in 6th. As you can see, the ambient temps, coolant temps, and cylinder head temps were all slightly higher when I started the CVF titan V2 WOT pull, but the charge air temps and manifold charge temps stayed significantly lower despite being dealt this disadvantage. With the new intercooler I'm hitting the same desired air load at a lower boost pressure due to the reduce charge temperatures and increased air density. I did not lower the desired air load to make the CVF Titan V2 look better.

Stock Intercooler, lower grill shutters fully open: Cursor showing values at end of run

CVF Titan V2 Intercooler, lower grill shutters removed for clearance: Cursor showing values at end of run

Quality and Install review:

Overall, I’m very happy with the performance of the CVF Titan V2 intercooler, but the fit and finish could be better. When my intercooler arrived, it had a few minor scuffs and one ding. It’s nothing to get too upset about, but for $700 the packaging could have been better. I will also note that while the factory BOV did fit, the mounting holes did not line up perfectly and the sharp edges on the tabs that the BOV locks into did shave some plastic off of the BOV.

CFV does state that to install this intercooler you will need to remove your lower grill shutters, and while you may not need to remove the entire assembly, it will need to be significantly modified at a minimum. I have seen some people say that their intercooler fit after removing the extension the clips onto the back of the shutter assembly, but I had to remove the shutter slats and trim about 1/2” off of the shutter assembly to get enough clearance for the intercooler to not rub against anything.

Sponsored

 

[TheGoatman]

I was thinking a lot of the points you raised with your first post on the other thread, so I’m glad to see it interpreted similarly.

A lot of these intercooler companies promote better intake airflow through the intake path of unit, likely easy because the extra space from the bigger core, so wondering if the boost needed to hit the desired air load was a result from that too as another part of boost is a measure of resistance.

 

[HammaMan]

Your graphs are hard to read, can those be exported to csv? What's the weight of the stock intercooler? Air density is the only thing that really matters. Gale Banks will drill it into anyone's head that'll listen. I was considering the V1 for the simple reason that it doesn't need to modify the shroud to work. Their shipping methods aren't too reassuring it sounds like. Just an extra $3 of packaging can go a long way.

 

[SALEEN961]

Your graphs are hard to read, can those be exported to csv? What's the weight of the stock intercooler? Air density is the only thing that really matters. Gale Banks will drill it into anyone's head that'll listen. I was considering the V1 for the simple reason that it doesn't need to modify the shroud to work. Their shipping methods aren't too reassuring it sounds like. Just an extra $3 of packaging can go a long way.

They are pretty difficult to read with how the forum displays them, I have to open them in a new tab to see the full size images and the text is still fairly small. The good news is that I just figured how to increase the graph font size in VCM scanner.

Here are some links to the CSV files:
drive.google.com/file/d/1sVXbBeEJZvqi26At23b5hctH_7QxY36b/view?usp=sharing
drive.google.com/file/d/1wRaRuDOfr_wcRvm_jx5k3AftzQpIQXaD/view?usp=sharing[/

I also have some easier to read graphs:


Stock Intercooler, lower grill shutters fully open: Cursor showing values at end of run

CVF Titan V2 Intercooler, lower grill shutters removed for clearance: Cursor showing values at end of run

 

[HammaMan]

They are pretty difficult to read with how the forum displays them, I have to open them in a new tab to see the full size images and the text is still fairly small. The good news is that I just figured how to increase the graph font size in VCM scanner.

Here are some links to the CSV files:
drive.google.com/file/d/1sVXbBeEJZvqi26At23b5hctH_7QxY36b/view?usp=sharing
drive.google.com/file/d/1wRaRuDOfr_wcRvm_jx5k3AftzQpIQXaD/view?usp=sharing[/

Thanks. As you could imagine w/ out the cursor and lack of graduations on the graphs it leaves the analytical types wanting.

Even on the OLED the colors weren't clearly coming through.

 

[SALEEN961]

What's the weight of the stock intercooler?

The stock intercooler is about 10.2 lbs. I didn't weigh the CVF Titan V2, but the shipping weight was listed as 34.6 lbs and there wasn't much weight to the packing material.

 

[HammaMan]

The stock intercooler is about 10.2 lbs. I didn't weigh the CVF Titan V2, but the shipping weight was listed as 34.6 lbs and there wasn't much weight to the packing material.

I suspect that's playing a roll here in the thermal mass realm. Essentially able to delay temp rise by having more mass to absorb / delay the time to saturation. Another component I've seen in keeping intake temps lessened is to remove the engine cover. It's now missing in 24s and I've seen some mentions of it making a difference on intake temps for previous years. Not much documented data on it, just people making claims in other forums.

 

[Gord0]

I suspect that's playing a roll here in the thermal mass realm. Essentially able to delay temp rise by having more mass to absorb / delay the time to saturation. Another component I've seen in keeping intake temps lessened is to remove the engine cover. It's now missing in 24s and I've seen some mentions of it making a difference on intake temps for previous years. Not much documented data on it, just people making claims in other forums.

First thing I did to mine was remove the engine cover. Having all that extra mass is usually helpful. Only time it isn't is when you get it heat soaked in traffic. I've got a V2, and it's a great CAC even with having to do a little "fitting" work.

 

[SALEEN961]

I suspect that's playing a roll here in the thermal mass realm. Essentially able to delay temp rise by having more mass to absorb / delay the time to saturation. Another component I've seen in keeping intake temps lessened is to remove the engine cover. It's now missing in 24s and I've seen some mentions of it making a difference on intake temps for previous years. Not much documented data on it, just people making claims in other forums.

I would think that the added mass is the biggest factor here. The thicker core on CVF intercooler should inhibit ambient airflow through the core when comparing it to the stock intercooler; but it should also decrease the speed of the charge air inside the intercooler and increase the length of time in which heat transfer can occur.

I wish I lived near some mountains where I could do some more logging with a heavy trailer. It would be very interesting to see how each intercooler performs on a 5-10min pull up the side of a mountain at normal highway speeds. With a test like that, it would be much easier to see if the CVF just gives us a longer delay before hitting the same temps, or if it actually keeps the temps lower under a sustained loads. In either case it definitely helps in a 1/4 mile pull.

Looking at my logs more closely, I noticed that I was occasionally clipping the cylinder pressure limit for spark advance with the CVF intercooler. I have months of datalogs showing that I never hit that limit at its current setting with the stock intercooler. On my next tune revision, I plan to increase the cylinder pressure limit a bit further to see just how much spark advance I can get with the CVF intercooler.

 

[HammaMan]

....

I suspect there's a few variables at play.
You have the thermal battery effect where its mass delays the saturation point as it begins to heat up. I haven't run the numbers for the mass, but with code writing ai models it's not difficult to reach around the high 90s in accuracy of what's going on. The mass of the end caps muddy it a bit, they're useless mass for the most part.

There's the larger surface area for active heat transfer under speed (ala thicker core). That's a bit more difficult to calculate and a nice 5 mile hill climb dragging mass behind the truck would better indicate the limitation. A quick spitball using mass alone would be something along the lines of the mass of the stock intercooler, it's time to peak, times the additional mass of the intercooler / mass of stock. The additional core area would still show up before the first minute with equilibrium not far behind assuming a speed can be held.

There's still the variable of the air ducting itself. While in short runs like IC endcaps being moot on mass, the length of the system as a whole combined with the compressor housings sitting inside of the hot engine bay. At speed I believe increasing diameter would yield better results than insulation, with a heat-extracting hood being the most beneficial.

There's also the variables of IAT -- not sure if there's enough room behind the headlight to duct into the rad area a bit. Doing so would impact water fording height due to the bow wave that builds up in front of the vehicle. It may buy a few degrees just cutting a in the rad ducting itself to spill next to / behind the headlight with another hole at the top of the airbox. If you closely examine the stock intake duct and its position on the hood in relation to the seal on the hood, not even aftermarket products change these variables. The factory design plays it safe in a manner where water can come over the hood ala bow wave and not ingest water. Given the height of the cab vents on the back of the cab just above the floor, the cab will begin to take on water at least a foot in depth before the intake will.

As for timing at the cylinder pressure limit, unless you're ready for a rebuild, I'd consider leaving that margin where it is. As boost season comes to a close, just enjoy it over the summer and start looking at dealing with the new enemy, heat.

 

[Samson16]

Not to interrupt the engineering foreplay but when do we get to the spritzing? My popcorn ? is running low.

 

[SALEEN961]

As for timing at the cylinder pressure limit, unless you're ready for a rebuild, I'd consider leaving that margin where it is. As boost season comes to a close, just enjoy it over the summer and start looking at dealing with the new enemy, heat.

This is definitely good advice, in my effort to be "responsible" I did price out a new engine and transmission just so I would know what my worst case scenario is. Assuming I didn't have a returnable core, a fully dressed service engine would cost me about $6400, a long block would be about $3800, and a new transmission would be about $3200. None of this stuff is cheap, but it seems that nothing I enjoy ever is.

Not to interrupt the engineering foreplay but when do we get to the spritzing? My popcorn ? is running low.

Are you looking for water meth, nitrous, or the oil I'll start leaking if I get carried away with either of those options?

 

[Samson16]

This is definitely good advice, in my effort to be "responsible" I did price out a new engine and transmission just so I would know what my worst case scenario is. Assuming I didn't have a returnable core, a fully dressed service engine would cost me about $6400, a long block would be about $3800, and a new transmission would be about $3200. None of this stuff is cheap, but it seems that nothing I enjoy ever is.




Are you looking for water meth, nitrous, or the oil I'll start leaking if I get carried away with either of those options?

Water/meth please!

 

[HammaMan]

I'm considering water/meth for summer. Though being able to tap the HV's AC system cooling to be able to try and put in a small air/water unit in place of the IC to intake pipe would be nice. Just have a 1.5 gallon total loop size with some 40 degree water for that extra little bit of cooling before the intake would be hella sweet. That'd be a decent sized project with lots of unknowns, especially in tricking the HV AC loop to turn on while redirecting the water. Not sure what sensors turn that thing on, but that'd be a killer mod. Only applies to powerboost though as its AC is like a dual zone mini split setup.

 

[SALEEN961]

I'm considering water/meth for summer. Though being able to tap the HV's AC system cooling to be able to try and put in a small air/water unit in place of the IC to intake pipe would be nice. Just have a 1.5 gallon total loop size with some 40 degree water for that extra little bit of cooling before the intake would be hella sweet. That'd be a decent sized project with lots of unknowns, especially in tricking the HV AC loop to turn on while redirecting the water. Not sure what sensors turn that thing on, but that'd be a killer mod. Only applies to powerboost though as its AC is like a dual zone mini split setup.

I had considered making my own interchiller setup with the charge air cooler mounted in a similar fashion to the Mercedes M276.821. I ultimately decided against doing it for the time being because the complexity of the project isn't very appealing at the moment. Custom fabrication always seems to take three times longer than I initially anticipate, and I'm trying to avoid going down that rabbit hole.

Sponsored