Arteon Intercooler Recommendations?

[nermal]

I'm looking at intercooler upgrades for stage 2/3. Anyone have a recommendation?

Not sure what to look for apart from how much it drops the temperature and ?keeps? pressure I assume?

Will an intercooler upgrade help to make it respond/drive more like it does on a cool night - by dropping the intake temperature? I wonder if that also translates into improved fuel economy with regular driving?

I'm looking at a brands: Racingline, APR, Wagner, Revo and what looks like a build-to-order option with interesting specs (IE). Not sure if all are drop-in replacements, or even compatible. The Racingline is probably my lazy option, as that seems to be the way I'm going with the upgrades and would keep things consistent.

Here are the links from my brief research, keen to here from others who (unlike me) actually know what they're talking about:

2.0 TSI Performance Intercooler | Golf R, Audi S3 & More | RacingLine
APR Intercooler System - MQB 1.8T and 2.0T - APR
Competition Intercooler Kit VAG 1,8-2,0TSI engines EA888 Gen.3 | wagner-tuning.com
MQB Chassis | Intercooler | Only REVO
IE VW MK7-MK8 GTI Golf R & Audi 8V-8Y S3 A3 1.8T 2.0T Intercooler

[amunra]

I'm looking at intercooler upgrades for stage 2/3. Anyone have a recommendation?

Not sure what to look for apart from how much it drops the temperature and ?keeps? pressure I assume?

Will an intercooler upgrade help to make it respond/drive more like it does on a cool night - by dropping the intake temperature? I wonder if that also translates into improved fuel economy with regular driving?

I'm looking at a brands: Racingline, APR, Wagner, Revo and what looks like a build-to-order option with interesting specs (IE). Not sure if all are drop-in replacements, or even compatible. The Racingline is probably my lazy option, as that seems to be the way I'm going with the upgrades and would keep things consistent.

Here are the links from my brief research, keen to here from others who (unlike me) actually know what they're talking about:

2.0 TSI Performance Intercooler | Golf R, Audi S3 & More | RacingLine
APR Intercooler System - MQB 1.8T and 2.0T - APR
Competition Intercooler Kit VAG 1,8-2,0TSI engines EA888 Gen.3 | wagner-tuning.com
MQB Chassis | Intercooler | Only REVO
IE VW MK7-MK8 GTI Golf R & Audi 8V-8Y S3 A3 1.8T 2.0T Intercooler

good place to start thinking about is what you wanna get out of the IC and the specs / sizes of it.. inlets / outlets.. how much power ur gonna be putting out and are u gonna goto big turbo stage 3

[Manaz]

Assuming you're talking about models designed to fit in the Arteon/Passat, the key aspects for an intercooler are pressure drop across the core (how much they impede airflow basically) and how much they cool (delta between inlet and outlet temps).

There are ways to improve intercooler efficiency as well, such as water sprays.

An intercooler gives the engine denser air, so more oxygen, which means it can burn more fuel. You're unlikely to get fuel efficiency improvements with an intercooler (because the intercooler is allowing the engine to burn more fuel, and make more power).

[amunra]

Assuming you're talking about models designed to fit in the Arteon/Passat, the key aspects for an intercooler are pressure drop across the core (how much they impede airflow basically) and how much they cool (delta between inlet and outlet temps).

There are ways to improve intercooler efficiency as well, such as water sprays.

An intercooler gives the engine denser air, so more oxygen, which means it can burn more fuel. You're unlikely to get fuel efficiency improvements with an intercooler (because the intercooler is allowing the engine to burn more fuel, and make more power).

yeh. u wont get more fuel economy but it frees up HP .. inlet and outlet diameter is important for big power... wagner increased from 65 to 70 not long ago ... and 65 is pretty decent

[nermal]

There are ways to improve intercooler efficiency as well, such as water sprays.

Ooh, this sounds interesting =) Does it spray water on the outside if the intercooler, like a windscreen washer? Is there a big difference (is it worthwhile)?

An intercooler gives the engine denser air, so more oxygen, which means it can burn more fuel. You're unlikely to get fuel efficiency improvements with an intercooler (because the intercooler is allowing the engine to burn more fuel, and make more power).

Yeah, fair enough - fuel economy isn't a priority. It would be nice side-effect to improve the efficiency of the engine (to turn air+fuel in power) while increasing the power output.

[Manaz]

Ooh, this sounds interesting =) Does it spray water on the outside if the intercooler, like a windscreen washer? Is there a big difference (is it worthwhile)?

It sprays onto the outside of the intercooler, helping it to cool down (as air flow goes through, it helps to evaporate the water, and that takes heat with it). It's particularly useful in fighting heat soak (more so again with TMICs because they sit on top of an engine, and heat rises, but that aspect isn't relevant in this instance).

Yeah, fair enough - fuel economy isn't a priority. It would be nice side-effect to improve the efficiency of the engine (to turn air+fuel in power) while increasing the power output.

Some performance improvement stuff can help economy (ECU tuning can as an example, as stock tunes often run very rich for safety), but this is one of those upgrades that doesn't help in this area.

[Manaz]

This demonstrates the effect of an intercooler spray:

Intercooler Water Spray - Temperature Tested on Dyno - YouTube

I wouldn't go as cheap/basic as this, but the concept is the same.

[amunra]

70mm black Wanger IC from ebay.

if u can get this with an ebay coupon ur cheering

70MM Intercooler Kit For VW GTI MK7 Golf R Audi A3/S3 Skoda 1.8T 2.0T TSI Red 843401154282 | eBay

[nermal]

70mm black Wanger IC from ebay.

if u can get this with an ebay coupon ur cheering

70MM Intercooler Kit For VW GTI MK7 Golf R Audi A3/S3 Skoda 1.8T 2.0T TSI Red 843401154282 | eBay

Thanks for the link (I do appreciate it), but I avoid cheap ebay options for major components - even if claimed to be from the same factory. Rational or not...

I guess it's not just major components for me - I did recently order OSRAM dynamic mirror indicator LEDs from Europe vs Chinese eBay options at 1/4 the price.

That thinking is probably why I'm into VW/VAG cars.

[Lucas_R]

I suggest you have a read of this guys blog who has tested a huge number of the available intercoolers for MQB cars. You can use this to weigh up your options based on how much you are prepared to spend. But most are around $1500 or so.

Personally, I was going to buy the Integrated Engineering intercooler (as I have their intake, downpipe and ECU/DSG tune), but chose the Swedish made DO88 as its was basically just as good in most aspects and about $500 cheaper. (DO88 is $1200 and IE is $1700)

Intercooler Test of the Volkswagen Mk7 GTI | My Golf Mk7 GTI

do88 intercooler for MQB platform