2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Afco Dual-Fan Heat Exchanger & Samco Silicone Hose Project Vapor Trail

Before wrapping up the heat exchanger install, Justin moved on to the hoses. The GT500 features a maze of coolant hoses and tubing, so it takes a while to remove everything. It helps if you have the proper tool for those spring-loaded clamps.

One of the hallmarks of silicone hoses is durability. The hard-plastic crossover at the heart of this serpentine arrangement seems like it might be prone to trouble years down the road. According to Ron at Blue Collar, buying all new stock hoses will run you $1,500, so the silicone units could be a bargain for the long run.

The hose kits are available in three configurations-coolant only, heat exchanger only, and complete. They are also available in blue, red, orange, and black ($815.98), as well as silver and white ($915.98). Clamps specially designed not to cut into the hoses will run you another $30.95. Obviously we went with silver. While it's not an exact match to Vapor, the silver hoses serve to brighten up the previously murky confines of PVT's engine compartment.

Ron and Samco obviously did their homework when designing the GT500 hose kit. The hoses fit just like the stockers; we only had to trim them for PVT's Moroso intercooler tank. Most of the aftermarket tanks require trimming the hose, be it stock or aftermarket.

With the hoses installed, Justin turned his attention back to the heat exchanger. First he reinstalled the factory intercooler pump; then Justin attached the Samco hose to the inlet side. Because of the Afco's dual-pass design, it requires a unique pump-outlet/heat-exchanger inlet tube, so we still have one rubber hose in the system. If you're a perfectionist, you might consider ordering a hose for this section, but it's hidden behind the fascia, so only you will know it's there.

If you are least bit intimidated about wiring up the fans for the Afco, don't be. Not only are the instructions clear and detailed, but the kit is well designed with a pre-built harness. The first step is to tap into power at the fuse box underhood. Just removed this bolt, installed the connector, and reinstalled the bolt.

This connector brings power from the fuse box to the relay, and mounts to the strut tower using an existing bolt. If you need to power down the fans for any reason, you can simply unplug this connector.

The fans' relay mounts at the rear of the stock engine management computer using this existing bolt. The results of this arrangement are simple, clean, and appear stock.

You need only cut one wire: the wire that turns the intercooler pump on and off. After clipping this wire, Justin used this wiretap included in the kit, which puts the fan turn-on wire in series with the pump turn-on wire. As such, the fans turn on and off with the intercooler pump, which is controlled by the engine-management computer.

With everything buttoned up, it would be wise to jumper the intercooler pump and make sure the fans engage before you put the fascia back on the car. From this view, you can see the Afco dual-fan heat exchanger fits with no problem, and is as thick as the radiator. It's worth noting this unit will fit all '05-and-up Mustangs, so if you have an air-to-water intercooled blower on your Mustang GT, you can use this heat exchanger too.

Since we had to drain the coolant from both systems to install the heat exchanger and hoses, it seemed like a good time to upgrade the coolant as well. Getting the nod was BeCoolant, a new coolant from BeCool. With the five-gallon bucket, we could fill both systems and have some to spare. It's a biodegradable propylene-glycol formula that is said to protect cooling systems and aluminum components down to 26 degrees below zero for 300,000 miles. Additionally, BeCool says this coolant "is capable of sealing hairline cracks in aluminum blocks and heads." Hopefully PVT won't test that claim, but it's reassuring nonetheless.

PVT is now much cooler, literally and figuratively. The silver silicone hoses make it visually cooler, but the Afco dual-fan heat exchanger will keep its air-charge temps in check. If we hadn't shown you the wires previously, you wouldn't even notice them. Of course, when the car warms up, you do hear the fans whirring away, but they actually make the car sound even more intimidating as they pull 1,900 cfm across the heat-exchanger core. Consider PVT a fan-club member.