2 degrees above ambient all the way to 144 degrees. Stock inter-cooler. My head temp is just the same as yours, the up and down is the action of the thermostat. (I think)

 

This is an interesting subject. Intake air temperature is based primarily on speed and air flow. At idle and in slow traffic, air temp will creep up, well above ambient. On the open road, it will be very close to ambient. Cylinder head temperature is actually a reading of coolant temperature. The reason it fluctuates is because the thermostat is set to maintain coolant temperature of 190*F. When in traffic, or on a hot day, the coolant temp can rise above 190* When it does, the electric fan kicks in, to reduce coolant temp. The fan is set to come on at about 205*, or so. Sooo...you will see variations in coolant temp between 190-205 or so. This is totally normal and nothing to worry about. Higher coolant temperatures are also designed into the vehicle for better emission control (believe it or not)?

 

IAT vs. Ambient is an interesting topic. We all agree that lower IAT makes for better power, but really lower IAT makes for lower Charge Air Temps. As I've been doing data logs for tuning I've been watching all of the temp counters and trying to see how they relate. So far I only have limited data, but I would guess any of the pro tuners could probably site for us chapter and verse about where exactly is the sweet spot for intake temps.

In general, in moving traffic, I'm seeing IAT as 2-3 degrees above ambient and CAT as roughly 20 degrees above that. Since adding pressure to the intake air increases it's temperature (Ideal Gas Law) it's something we do all need to be aware of, and why upgrading the intercooler is important.

 

where is the inlet temp sensor? I have just fitted a larger intercooler I know it has a sensor on it but does that measure the temperature of the air exiting the intercooler on its way to the engine.

 

And then there is this, took a snap this morning on the way into work. Very cold morning.

 

Good God man...that's cold!

 

I thought I was freezing at 29*F.

 

Had the same negative number here, too. I know it gets much colder in Minnesota. Been there when it's hit -25F and visited North Dakota when it was -35F and that's without windchill!

 

Cruel twist Unbelievable intake cold air, icy roads. If only I could get it in the summer. I would have a negative 0-60 time! hahahahaha

 

my car has felt like its been pushing harder ever since it got cold (was around 17 today) and i never want it to end. Its one of the few things i enjoy about this time of year Do you guys use warm up the car before driving for the cars sake? thank god for auto start!

 

Do you guys use warm up the car before driving for the cars sake? thank god for auto start!

Just enough to come down off of fast idle. I drive it but don't "hit it" until the oil temp comes up into the normal range ... That is the gauge I have up in the center display.

 

my cold start philosophy is this, I hit the autostart when I come downstairs, 10 minute warm up. DO my morning stuff, then hit autostart again, let my dog out, come back in, then pull away. That said, I baby it all the way to work. for the 9 miles, I drive VERY conservatively. Cold is hard on engines, AND suspensions and just about everything.

 

Manual has no "autostart", so... I get in, clutch in, hit start, put in neutral, fasten belt, put phone on windshield mount, wait 30 seconds or so for the idle to start to drop, pull out and stay out of boost until the temp gauge comes up, which is usually a mile or so. It's a Ford, not a Ferrari. Cold is hard on them, but so is driving.

 

Mine. in this weather stays low on the temp until about 6 miles or so. Also I have had to empty the catch can weekly due to the condensate collecting. Bonus side though, I don't get that creamy gunk that usually builds up under the filler cap that non catch can cars get.

 

Since I put in a Cobb CAI, my IAT is consistently 1-2 degrees colder than ambient.

 

I installed a K&N cold air intake on my ecoboost 2015 mustang. The cylinder head temp and inlet temp seem high or is this the normal range??

 

Cylinder head temp looks normal to me. Inlet temp will depend, what was the temp outside? I'm guessing in the low 70's?

 

The K&N will not have any impact on cylinder head temps. 212 does is not out of line. Whether 75 is high or not for your inlet temperature depends on the ambient air temp. It is always going to be slightly higher than ambient when you are moving to quite a bit over ambient if you are sitting idling in traffic

Dave

 

It’s not possible for the iat to be colder than ambient temp. like previously said if you want to see what’s going on, look at your charge air temp, that is the air going into the engine. And with a stock intercooler, a mild throttle romp will heat things up quickly.

 

I have a 2016. How do you check "charge temp"? I don't see it on the guages. Is this strictly from the tuning data?

 

Mine still indicates 1 or 2 degrees cooler than ambient. Either the calibration of one or both of them is off, or, as the air comes into the air box it expands, losing pressure, which drops the temperature. Same principle as a spray can that gets colder as you spray it. I like to think that's what mine is doing, but it's more likely the temperature calibration.

 

Noticed after having a shop install my MAPerformance IC today that my inlet air temps seem to be slightly higher (couple degrees higher than ambient) than they were with stock IC at highway speeds (close to ambient). It seems to be a few degrees cooler while at slower speeds though, which I find odd.
Also noticed the cylinder head temps were a few degrees higher (like 191) instead of the usual 185.
This is in 88 degree FL weather btw, so it is hot anyway.

 

Noticed after having a shop install my MAPerformance IC today that my inlet air temps seem to be slightly higher (couple degrees higher than ambient) than they were with stock IC at highway speeds (close to ambient). It seems to be a few degrees cooler while at slower speeds though, which I find odd.
Also noticed the cylinder head temps were a few degrees higher (like 191) instead of the usual 185.
This is in 88 degree FL weather btw, so it is hot anyway.

That is possible, charge air temps should be way down tho??

 

You gotta think about how tiny that stock ic was. It may cool faster but once you push pressurized air through it, it gets hot fast. A larger ic will take a lot longer to heat soak, which is why you upgrade to a larger one.

 

The intercooler has no impact on inlet air temp. The inlet temperature is measured just after the air has gone through the air filter and before it gets to the turbo.

Dave

 

Ya my bad, I thought you were saying charge temp not ambient temp >.<

 

You need to use a tuner or something like Torque Pro on your phone with a Bluetooth OBD adapter to see charge temps.

Dave

 

On my mustang gauge, I see 0 to +30 over ambient. I have a cobb intercooler.

 

Which Mustang guage?

 

It's worth mentioning that inlet temperature can also be affected by the type of CAI or setup you have.

I've seen some people just add a cone pod filter to the end of the inlet tube, in no enclosure, and sucking in warmer air from the engine bay.
The heat-soak effect typically worsens on hot days and when the engine is under high loads.

 

The first gauge you select that shows cylinder head temp, IAT, etc, shown in pictures in this thread.

I was under the impression that "Inlet Air Temp" was the temperature of the air at the MAF sensor at the filter? Am I wrong? Is it the charge temp of the air, after the intercooler, going into the manifold?

 

Our cars use a speed density type of tuning and therefore do not use mass air flow sensors.
The sensor at the air filter is simply a temperature sensor, the map sensor mounted on the exit side of the intercooler reads manifold absolute pressure and temperature of the pressurized air exiting the intercooler, there is a second map sensor located behind the throttle body on the side of the intake manifold as well.
Only boost pressure data is shown on the dashboard, to see the charge air temps you need a 3rd party device that connects to the odb port and reads the raw data from the car.

Pictured below is the map sensor.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

 

FYI. I received my OBD2 connector for wireless use with my iphone. However, Torque Pro is not available on the App Store. Instead, they suggested OBDFusion. I paid $10 bucks for it but am not liking it too much. Maybe I'm just not using it to its full potential. I may buy myself a small little android tablet just to datalog in the car.

Anyway, can anyone suggest the best app on the apple app store for datalogging? Again, TorquePro is unavailable.

 

The IAT sensor is in the intake tube near the air box. CAT is the sensor in the outlet of the intercooler.

You need to use a hand held tuner or something like Torque Pro with a bluetooth OBDII dongle to see CAT.

Dave

 

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