The great big MK6 Golf 118TSI tuning thread

[Mk R]

What's the part number for your stock intercooler?

Here are my measurements for my stock versus s3 intercooler.

Core for s3 intercooler is 37 mm.

Attachment 21647

Thanks Rawcpoppa, i'm assuming you've experienced that lag in your car. Do you think the overall benefits of installing the bigger intercooler were worth it or is the supercharger lag a real pain?

What was the difference you noticed after installing it?

[Rawcpoppa]

I went to s3 straight. A friend of mine installed the larger intercooler via a twintercooler set up. I'm happy with the s3. I suspect twintercooler would be better for stage 3.

The s3 intercooler is a nice mod for consistency. Heat soak is almost none existent even on hot days. Temperatures here are 35 deg C by noon. It handles stage 1 tune just fine and I think it's enough for stage 2 as well.

[Mk R]

I went to s3 straight. A friend of mine installed the larger intercooler via a twintercooler set up. I'm happy with the s3. I suspect twintercooler would be better for stage 3.

The s3 intercooler is a nice mod for consistency. Heat soak is almost none existent even on hot days. Temperatures here are 35 deg C by noon. It handles stage 1 tune just fine and I think it's enough for stage 2 as well.

Great, thanks for that!

By the way, have you installed an aftermarket downpipe on you car?

[Rawcpoppa]

Nope. I was looking at getting one out of Greece with a sport catalyst. I decided to stay stage 1 till I sell the car. Another option would have been to remove the dp, knock out the ceramic and reinstall the empty dp and then flash to stage 2. I've seen that work as well.

My setup so far is apr cold air intake, s3 intercooler, stage 1 engine remap and golf lowering springs.

[Mk R]

Nope. I was looking at getting one out of Greece with a sport catalyst. I decided to stay stage 1 till I sell the car. Another option would have been to remove the dp, knock out the ceramic and reinstall the empty dp and then flash to stage 2. I've seen that work as well.

My setup so far is apr cold air intake, s3 intercooler, stage 1 engine remap and golf lowering springs.

Fair enough, I don't think i'll bother with the DP either. So far I've got the APR tune, K&N cold air box 57S-9501, DV+ valve, VWR Sport Springs and Whiteline sway bars. I'm pretty happy with it now as a daily driver.

I noticed the CAI pushed the turbos pull range into 5,000 RPM +. Would've gone for the APR intake but thought the $725 they charge here was way too much for an air box.

[Ryan_R]

After watching a load of videos I think I will go for some new R8 coils

Are you able to shed some further light on wiring pin fiddling, Lucas? And maybe a recommendation between the two different sized adapters available?
Adapters - Products

Should probably get some new spark plugs as well... had the 105,000km service completed 2 months ago (currently at 97,000kms)


After my research the only other thing I'm interested in investigating is a place that specialises to removing built-up carbon in the intake manifold, etc. I found a great video showing how to remove it but I don't trust myself to reinstall it. As an aside, I now know what a catch can is for.

[Mk R]

I went to s3 straight. A friend of mine installed the larger intercooler via a twintercooler set up. I'm happy with the s3. I suspect twintercooler would be better for stage 3.

The s3 intercooler is a nice mod for consistency. Heat soak is almost none existent even on hot days. Temperatures here are 35 deg C by noon. It handles stage 1 tune just fine and I think it's enough for stage 2 as well.

Got mine done this last week (plastic end tank version from a Golf R) and i'm loving it. Seems to help lift the torque and feels like it accelerates more freely up above 4,000 now. You're right about consistency too, these engines seem to be a little fickle sometimes about how hard they boost and badly suffer from heat soak in hot climates.

[ope126]

Got mine done this last week (plastic end tank version from a Golf R) and i'm loving it. Seems to help lift the torque and feels like it accelerates more freely up above 4,000 now. You're right about consistency too, these engines seem to be a little fickle sometimes about how hard they boost and badly suffer from heat soak in hot climates.

Where did you source the Intercooler? Was it a straight "bolt on" or did you need to fabricate to suit.

Is it the same across Golf's and Jetta's regarding the fitment of these larger Intercoolers?

[Mk R]

Where did you source the Intercooler? Was it a straight "bolt on" or did you need to fabricate to suit.

Is it the same across Golf's and Jetta's regarding the fitment of these larger Intercoolers?

It is the same across Golf and Jetta as Rawcpoppa and I both installed the same part and he has a Jetta. I found a used intercooler by trawling through golf r and S3 forums. Those guys swap them out for even bigger full aluminium versions and sell them pretty cheap. Otherwise you can search fleabay and gumtree. Cheapest i found on ebay was about 400 AUD delivered from China. I'm not sure how these fit as they're quite thick (thicker than the stock S3 with plastic end tanks). If you went that big it might cause some lag as pressure builds but i dont feel any lag with the S3/R unit on.

Intercooler KIT Version 2 FOR VW 06 10 VW GTI Golf Turbo V MK5 2 0T Fmic Black | eBay

My mechanic installed it and used the DIY guides online to help fit it. There was some trimming to the pipes and hose clamps installed but it fits in the space as a bolt on. You will probably need longer screws but Rawcpoppa did an awesome DIY you can find here:

DIY: S3/Golf R intercooler installation

The people at VW across the road were horrified when he asked them about fitment over lunch and told my guy the hose clamps would pop off straight away. They didn't and the difference it makes is awesome. Boost peak feels wider and smoothed out and it just goes hard all the way past 6,000.

I'd hunt around and put up some "Want to Buy" posts up in the forums. I got mine for $150 but i think up to $350 is still decent value for a working genuine part.

[Ryan_R]

To be fair when I first installed my S3 FMIC one of the hoses did pop off within a couple of days. Also got a decent split/crack in the hose as well so had to replace (found one on a wrecked Golf). Been a few years with no issues now, however.



Sounded like someone trying to play/blow a eucalyptus leaf as an instrument.