levels performance cooler

[mbnorton]

Hi I was wondering if anyone had tried this cac? 2020 Ford Explorer ST Intercooler Upgrade! – Levels Performance

 

[THNX SVT]

I haven’t heard of anyone running one on their Explorer ST yet, but in the Focus ST world the Levels intercooler is known to be high quality and well-engineered.

 

[Vango54]

Ford had an issue with the intercoolers in the trucks getting water in the bottom of the intercooler from driving to easy. Would these larger intercoolers have the same issues.

 

[twin001]

Ford had an issue with the intercoolers in the trucks getting water in the bottom of the intercooler from driving to easy. Would these larger intercoolers have the same issues.

no, because if you are upgrading intercoolers then it means you aren’t driving easy!

Really though, I have never heard of this. Source? I could see the charge air possibly condensing in very hot weather, but can’t imagine it would be much.

 

[Vango54]

I believe it was at least 5 years ago. From what I remember the condensation would occur from easy driving around town and heavy acceleration like getting on the highway and they would suck up water from the bottom of the intercooler. Ford ended up making changes to the intercooler.

 

[GearHead_1]

The trucks went through that phase but it was pretty much gone by the 2016 model year and then redesigned on the Gen2's.

The problem exhibited itself in areas of high humidity and seemed to be more prevalent on vehicles that were babied. If I remember correctly Ford had the intake hose positioned too poorly in the tank, moisture would pool in the bottom of the tank and these trucks would literally gulp "water" (fuel, oil, water mix) under heavy acceleration or just when you need HP. It caused a lot of problems and one of the quick fixes was to drill a 1/32" weep hole in the tank.

I don't see anyone on the F150 forums drilling weep holes on the newer trucks. The aftermarket CAC's had this figured out from the beginning and didn't seem to suffer from the OE problem.

 

[Vango54]

Ok thanks for the update

 

[TMac]

The hotter the air, the more water vapor it can contain. Depending on the circumstances, when the temperature is lowered, that water vapor will condense to the cooler surface. Put a cold glass of beer outside in summer in humid Florida and watch the glass get wet and start forming a ring. Do the same thing in arid Arizona and you don't see any condensation at all.

So, all intercoolers can end up with some condensation, depending on the amount of humidity in the charge air and the temperature. It usually clears up as the air temps rise, via the intercooler itself getting hotter or the humidity subsides. Ford's biggest failure was that the outlet of the intercooler was low enough such that in those situations some of the condensate would get pushed up into the engine. This caused misfires, etc.

It's also why you normally see intercooler tanks on each side, rather than on top and bottom.

 

[Garda934]

Their site is down for about 6 hours that I noticed today.

 

[jwuonog]

I have a used Levels FMIC on my Focus ST. The build quality is great.

Personally, I would avoid. He is a one-man operation, and eventually stopped responding to customers. He seems to have ditched that platform. There are Focus ST owners who have placed orders years ago, never received the product, never received a refund or any kind of update.

 

[M3dragon]

I was going to go with them but they replied once to my questions and never gain. I tried 3 times trying to get more information on the design, fitment, and support setup and got crickets. If they are not willing to answer questions then what does that say about their customer service. Just go, Whipple, is a name brand and everyone here has it. I will order mine once my ST is delivered.