Hey Guys.

What sort of power does the standard intercooler start to become inefficient?

Are there going to be any power gains improving the standard intercooler on a VRS running around 180bhp.

Not planning on going hybrid turbo or anything like that at a later date.

Just seeing if it's a worth while mod at this level.

Thanks for any help

I've 185bhp and 280lb and in the recent hot weather the power dropped off a bit. I've put a Audi tt wing vent and modded the fog light housing now so hopefully that should help get some more air through.

I've often wondered about the gains from front mount but the cost seems daft.

Regards Chris

Considering I could get heatsoak with the stock vRS (no TT venting though) when accelerating hard through the gears during days where the outside temp was about 25C, it is worthwhile if you hit higher temps than that a lot.

For sure you want to do the Audi TT venting or similar if you stick with the SMIC. It does help a fair amount doing that.

A FMIC will have more volume to fill, and when you wring the turbo to the limit it will struggle a little more for a bit longer as it has to fill the FMIC vs SMIC. That said the FMIC is much more efficient in cooling the air post-turbo, so that potentially gives more power usable for longer.

As you mention you dont want to go hybrid, I'd stick with SMIC, vent it, and enjoy

You need to be clear that an FMIC will not give you any power gains per se, it just reduces the onset of heat soak. In actual fact, it will reduce performance to a marginal extent, as the larger internal volume will increase the turbo lag a tiny bit. Basically, an FMIC will give you that crisp sort of performance you get on a frosty Winter's morning when the air is cool and dense for more of the year (if you see what I mean. It's not so much that your performance is 'improved', rather that it staves off performance 'degradation' in hot weather...

If you do a lot of track days in Summer, you'll probably get to the stage where you'd see the benefits of an FMIC, even at standard tune. I'm not so sure a 'fast road' user would see them, even with a remap, however.

But they do look super-smart!

On datalogging mapped cars on hot days before you know it you can soon be up to 90 degrees c and still rising if you are full throttle through 3rd and 4th let alone 5th and 6th.

I'd recommend a FMIC on even a standard car, you only have to see your intake temperatures once to convince you of that.

My wheelarch plastic was actually bordering on hot after my track sessions last week - standard side mounted intercooler and the engine is completely untouched in terms of performance enhancements

Hhmmm interesting. If the original suffers that bad from heatsoak must be a worth it.

If you went for a front mount that isn't to large it should get round the heatsoak, but create no extra lag.

You say that the turbo will have more volume to fill, but the intercooler is already full of air. But I guess there is a larger quantity of air that needs to be compressed.

Anyone carried out a larger intercooler conversion and noticed a difference in lag, with the factory Turbo?

On datalogging mapped cars on hot days before you know it you can soon be up to 90 degrees c and still rising if you are full throttle through 3rd and 4th let alone 5th and 6th.

I'd recommend a FMIC on even a standard car, you only have to see your intake temperatures once to convince you of that.

Totally agree. Remeber when I first used vag-com to monitor intake temp. Think it took 17 seconds of WOT to go from 30C to 90C :eek:

Dont think you'll get an increase in peak power but with a FMIC you will always have that peak power.

Think it took 17 seconds of WOT to go from 30C to 90C :eek:

Wowzerz. :eek:

Totally agree. Remeber when I first used vag-com to monitor intake temp. Think it took 17 seconds of WOT to go from 30C to 90C :eek:

I dread to think what kind of temperatures i was getting up to around the nurburgring.. Could definately feel it struggling toward the end of the lap, you'll start to notice a lot more black smoke too when it all starts to get hot..

I've got a front mount on mine (along with serveral other mods - see sig) and the car is virtually lagless to be honest.

You say that the turbo will have more volume to fill, but the intercooler is already full of air. But I guess there is a larger quantity of air that needs to be compressed.

I was going to try and explain, but it's nearly 10 years since I last tried explaining fluid dynamics, so I'll let Wikipedia take the strain...

Bernoulli's principle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think faboka vrs explained it a bit better than me when it said it won't give you more peak power, but will let you maintain that peak power in all conditions!

You don't have to go for the Forge unit.. a generic one can be installed for a bit less cash (£200 if you do it all your self I think), look up NinjaAlex's posts.. he got a generic one of eBay and was telling me the reduction in temps is very impressive. He did do a build up and install thread about it.

This threads got allot of info on them,

http://briskoda.net/fabia-i/home-made-front-mount/131255/3/

And search "ebay FMIC" seems to kick up loads.

Edited 10 June, 200917 yr by reflex88