do I need an intercooler
 

like I said. I don plan on high boost but I do live in vegas

I read that it ain't necessary to intercool if running 8 and under psi

my buddie always kept his camaro at 6psi of boost with no intercooler. he just got one now hes at 12psi. you probably dont need it but obviously its always a good idea to do something right. never half ass something that matters to you

An intercooler isn't just for higher levels of boost. Although it does allow for higher boost by lowering the intake temperature approx 70 - 200 degrees and reduces the risk of knock and detonation. Lowerering your intake temps by 70 - 200 degrees even with only 8 lbs of boost, using an intercooler, creates a more dense air charge and in turn can create a more powerful fuel/air charge.

So even with lower levels of boost an intercooler can create for more power, but even better you can up the boost if you want to. I say intercool it.

is a vortech with novi intercooler cheaper then a vortech with a vortech intercooler?

Its a good idea if you dont want to blow your engine when it gets too hot..... shit, with the car off your engine is probably 130 degrees in vegas.

Definitely you should get one. Air temps in vegas can be very high (140deg) close to the ground and the zero humidity will only help the air get hotter while being compressed. After 8psi you can have 275degree air no problem. At 8psi in vegas I'd be looking for a water to air intercooler. DO NOT BOTHER with a ATI style pure air to air setup. Unless you're on the highway doing 80 it's not going to help you there. You'll need a liquid to air to efficiently cool it while you're bonzing around town and still let you floor it once in a while for fun without damage.

for people that live in hot places i would get a aftercooler from vortech. water will absorb the heat more effectively over a air to air type intercooler. a friend of mine is running a aftercooler and his pipes run cooler than mine but he has a gord dual pass heat exchanger and huge lines running through his whole system.

if you find it cheaper to run a air to air style cooler than look into a water/meth kit to keep the intake charge low.

I would only run an aftercooler if you run the car at the track. Its purpose is to be able to pack it with ice, which you probably wont be able to do while cruising. Front mount intercoolers are more convenient. I highly suggest looking into a Paxton front mount. I picked up 40rwhp/18tq on my stock little non pi 4.6 gt from just putting this intercooler on and going from a 3.6 to a 3.12 pulley. This is on a very conservative tune too

I'd be more impressed if you got the 40rwhp from just adding an intercooler and not dropping pulley sizes. Dropping from 3.6 - 3.12 is like adding 4psi.

An intercooler would probably be a good idea since it does get super hot in Vegas. For the summer months you can also add a meth injection kit to cool the charger down when you decide to beat on the car.

you need to drop pulley sizes so you can compensate for the extra volume you need to pressurize

he went from 8-9 psi to probably 11-11.5 thats what i see at 5900-6k rpms. i run the same setup but my pulley is 3.1.

i still vote for heat exchanger since the aftercooler keeps the temps at a more regulated temp all the time and water absorbs heat more efficiently. my paxton is good but when its hot and humid i lose power on the big end when i am pushing my car hard. yes i heat soak my intercooler when i am running her on the track, it sucks.

typically non intercooled vortech V2's with 9-10 psi run 360-370 hp +/- 5 on each end of the spectrum. most cars with intercooled vortech V2's run 390-400+ with 10 psi off boos. my car was pulling around 12 psi and with 17* of timing i had 408 hp at 5500 rpms ran out of fuel. i had to fix the fuel problem tuner pulled timing down to get me in the 390-400 hp range. now i only see 11 psi of boost at 6k rpms becuase im at 1500 ft elevation. my car is a automatic BTW.