In a previous post, I mentioned that I was having some cooling problems with my truck. The 2011-2014 Ecoboost motors are known to run into some cooling issues when the ambient air temp goes over 90 degrees; getting significantly worse over 100 degrees. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do, and my first step was a new mishimoto intercooler to prevent heat-soaking from contributing.
The deadly combination for me is towing a tall trailer (car haulers or landscaping material doesn’t have these issues; I blame wind resistance), hot ambient air temperatures, and going up mountains.
When we left for our most recent camp, the local air temp was about 101 degrees. Going up the mountain ranges I had to drop to about 55mph to keep the engine coolant temps under control. I had plenty of power, however that wasn’t the problem. The heat being generated from the power was my nemesis.
Backstory, from my time in the automotive industry I became a huge fan of Chevron gas. Over the years I seek out their gas stations and run 91 octane on any “boosted” engine I run (we don’t have 93 out here).
Today, on our way back I needed to top off the tank. The ambient air temps were within a few degrees of our initial trip. The town we stopped in only had a Shell gas station. So, I filled up with 91 and hit the highway again. This specific area of highway has a HUGE grade up a mountain; 75mph zone. I got up to speed and noticed my coolant temps were under control. I’m not just watching the gauge on my gauge cluster, I have an OBD2 scanner that will show me the temp being read by the truck, to a 1/10th degree.
The comical part of this, is just before fill-up my wife was telling me that we might need a “bigger truck” (3/4 or 1 Ton Diesel) if we can’t get the coolant temps under control.
Not really sure what happened, I was able to maintain speed, I had zero cooling issues. Maybe the local Chevron stations aren’t up to par? It left me lost for words that after all the problems I’ve had, that it could simply be a fuel issue. Perhaps the gas I’ve been getting from the pump isn’t the octane they advertise?
In any case, this makes me think Methanol injection could be the best bet. With the proper ratios, I get the benefit from higher octane and the cooling effect from the water.
Guess it’s time to see which kit is the “best”