goodburbon

I have an ecoboost, with a license plate mount in front of the intercooler

sluggo1

Whatch u talkin bout Willis? Oh wait I figured it out. You confused a few of us with your "wordage".

Rampart24

I have a 2012 Platnium EcoBoost and love the truck, but very much dislike the large gaping hole in the front bumper. I've tried, unsuccessfully so far, to find a bumper grille that matches the one above. Any ideas would certainly be appreciated. I've heard of people making them, but haven't had much luck there either.

zach92r

You all fail to realize several things first the massive top grill thats in line with the radiator sends enough air in to cause that lower grill hole to bring a negligible amount of air in.
Second the air from the upper grill just doesnt go straight in it is deflected around the radiator ie to the sides, up and down which hits the IC and trans cooler.

Third i can tell you from experience in people who have grill openings roughly less then half that of the top grill who are running over 400hp out of a 4 banger and have ZERO cooling issues.
Ill try and explain why i say there will be no issues as long as the lower grill isnt completely blocked. As the cool air coming into the top grill is entering the engine bay it hits the hot air coming from the radiator, trans, IC and engine itself that air forcing the hot air and cold air to create a tunneling effect like a tornado but because of the rear/lower openings in the engine bay that air doesnt just stay in one spot constantly twirling it is litterly shoved out the engine bay by the continuous stream of air into the bay.

The greatest chance for over heating is in a stopped condition due to no air flow as is why vehicles have fans to help create an airflow and aid in cooling when stopped. Getting back on track to my explanation about the lower grill even though its a large whole in aesthetics its not a huge amount of air coming in when compared to the top grill in fact the amount of air is like trying to throw a firecracker into a pond after you throw a stick of dynamite in its just a big let down, not that the air flow from that opening isnt important it does play a role but not as a much as everyone believes, the air that comes through that opening pushes over the IC and the hot air in that area shoving it up in around the engine bay as the large upper opening does but most of the air is just pushed out the bottom due to the significant air flow coming from the top grill as is why the IC is tilled to allow maximum air to flow over it and out.

The chances a bar type grill to limit air flow from the lower grill enough to cause cooling issues is so small that your more likely to get into an accident then run into cooling issues. Now the lower grills that are simply a flat sheet of metal with holes drilled in it could possibly have cooling issues if the holes were small enough but again cooling is a bigger issue at a stopped condition then at highway speeds, due to the fact that air speeds up as it enters smaller openings technically forcing more air in. You can actually limit your cooling by having too much air flow look at an exhaust same concept applies, too large of an exhaust you hurt performance too small and the same applies its litterly a balancing act.

In fact i have a bar type girll on my 2013 EB and actually saw a slight decrease in trans temp (roughly 3 degrees at 65mph using the onboard gauges)

cstooch

I'm sorry to bump a fairly old thread now (not sure if this is a mod nightmare here), but seeing as how I was searching for this very thread, I found it relevant.

Anyways, more ammo, perhaps, for the side that says go ahead and put a grill guard.

The guys at SDHQ took an EcoBoost engine and stuffed it into a Raptor (frame, body, and lots of other work... you can check the video for details). Anyways, long story short, you know they bagged the crap out of it... and they have a grill guard on the front that probably blocks more air coming in than the billet style most of us would buy.

Sorry, I'm not a mechanic or very mechanically inclined, so don't flame me if this is ridiculous.. just forwarding the information along.

Here is the link to the video:

http://theblueovalreport.wordpress.c...ptor-ecoboost/

If nothing else, it was fun to watch a Raptor + EcoBoost engine. They seemed to love the thing.

Drchuper

I installed an aftermarket grille guard on my 2011. I'm not able to say if there was any deterioration in performance. I can say that after one summer of extensive highway travel all over the U.S. and western Canada (very few non-paved miles), the guard showed significant impact damage. I presume that most of those strikes would have been on the intercooler instead, had the guard not been in place. I've repainted the guard with quality flat black paint .. problem solved. I don't imagine it would have been so painless with the intercooler.

AlmostDone359

Okay. I signed up just to post my .02 worth. I found this thread while looking for a grille. I read about 8 pages before I got frustrated and had to make a comment. If this has already been brought up then I apologize in advance. Is anyone here a truck driver? No offence, I don't mean a f-150 or Superduty. I mean Peterbilt, Kenworth, etc. Well I am. I have been around it my whole life. While the argument about Audi etc is true lets look at big rigs for a minute. Cat engines started with the air/air technology in trucks in 1987. Has anyone ever really looked at the front of a truck. Yes I know the inter-coolers are bigger but so are the turbos. On average we carry 80,000 pounds as well. I for one have a Cat c-15 with a after market computer. I am running 750hp and 2600tq. I have a factory grille which has much smaller openings then all of the eb grilles I have looked at not to mention the vertical bars that stiffen the grille. On a Kenworth the grille is actually the a/c condenser and that is in front of the inter-cooler as well. Not to mention that trucks now come with a built in bug guard behind the screen but in front of the inter-cooler. It is literally a piece of window screen. Speaking of window screen, to the gentleman that mentioned the "test" as far as spraying water through a window screen. I believe it was P150. If I am wrong then I apologize. You go on to bad mouth a guy and ask him if he has ever taken high school science. Have you? I remember taking it and one of the basic things they teach you is the difference between solids, liquids, and air. Last time I checked water is a liquid which is much more dense then air but what do I know? I was in high school 20 years ago and I am just a dumb truck driver. If you want to learn about inter-cooler technology in regards to grilles and air, ask someone who hauls a lot more weight then a Audi with much higher HP and TQ. I am sure if you turn to a Diesel performance company such as PDI in Utah you will get a very different answer then the yuppies at Audi.

very limited

Interesting thread but many of you really missed where most of your air flow is really coming from. All Ecoboost engines have a large air dam below the bumper that really does the job of supplying air flow to the intercooler. You see this on many if not most intercooled set ups from family cars to drag racers. That my friends is where the large majority of your air flow is actually coming from. The "hole" in the front most likely will cause more of an air flow disturbance than "refreshing" the flow.

reider03

iTrader: (1)

See me for OEM looking grille inserts! Available in colors to match ALL F-150 models! www.boost-bars.com

SaskfishandHunt

I have a 2017 3.5L Ecoboost coming from factory and i have been doing some reading on the aftermarket home build grills or the ones you can order online. I was interested in both sides information but i figured id go to the dealership and ask the parts/service department and get there opinion. The parts department did not know of a insert made by Ford for the Ecoboost.The service department was a bit more help i asked him about potentially blocking the air flow and the effect it would have on the motor/turbos/intercooler he said he has heard of the check engine light coming on when there isnt enough air flow. He also said that depending on how the truck comes from factory that determines your warranty and any issues which may occur. I talked to him about the fact that many of the 2016/17 Ecoboosts on the lot that were brand new and not modded did in fact have a license plate cover in front of the intake for the intercooler. He said if it comes from factory that way and something happens all they do is takes pictures and send it to ford so if it was there at purchase it wont affect your warranty. He also said that lots of guys do add mods to there trucks and when they bring them in they remove them if there is an issue IE check engine light is on and you have a grill for your intercooler take the grill off before you bring the truck in they are none the wiser. I would assume that since the factory trucks i have seen on the lot come with a license plate holder blocking much more of the total area then the majority of the grills i have seen out there/ on trucks then i dont think there is going to be a drastic effect on air supply or any issues with having a grill which merely protects the intercooler. just my opinion check with your local dealer and look at the new trucks to see what im talking about.