Diesel Intercooler Performance Upgrade
Small changes add up when you’re trying to increase diesel fuel economy and lower EGTs on a 6.7L Cummins
By Bruce W. Smith
One area a diesel responds well to is a larger dose of cooler air. That’s why factory-installed intercoolers are found on all of today’s modern diesel engines from passenger cars to big rigs.
An intercooler is nothing more than a radiator for the air headed to engine’s intake. Cooling the air even a few degrees before it reaches the fuel can make a big difference in power, which is why your pickup runs a lot stronger on a cold day than on a hot day.
Factory intercoolers do their job well. But like anything else on a vehicle, they can always be improved upon if you want to expend the time and money doing so.
That’s why the folks at Advanced Flow Engineering (aFe) came up with the Intercooler Tube Upgrade (cold/driver side) for the 6.7L Cummins found in 2010 Dodge Ram HD pickups. According to aFe, their three-inch-diameter, mandrel-bent intercooler tube outflows the factory intercooler tube by 25%.
Such an improvement in air flow should increase overall engine performance while lowering exhaust gas temperatures under load while giving a small bump to fuel mileage. (We’ll let you know if we see an improvement in the Big Boss’ fuel economy and power, or lower EGTs.)
Factory intercooler tube (top) is necked down on the inlet side where the aFe replacement is a full three-inches from end to end; aFe says this design change equates to a 25-percent improvement in air flow.
Always looking for improvements in those areas, we had the techs at Truck Supply & Outfitters in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, make the upgrade to the 6.7L Cummins under the hood of our Big Boss Ram Crew Cab 4Ă—4. The installation of the $250 kit took about a half-hour.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for small changes that potentially add up to better all-around performance for your heavy-duty pickup, the aFe intercooler tube upgrade might be worth considering. The job is quite easy as you can see from our how-to-install images below. – Pro
Contact: aFe Power (www.afepower.com) ; 951.493.7155
