My car has gone folks,

gone on a little holiday to Pace Performance Products in cambridge

She's having a new intercooler designed and fitted over the next couple weeks as well as an uprated radiator.

They treated me to a tour of their factory which was very impressive. They develop, and produce all their own intercooler/radiator cores on site (unlike lots of others who buy them in) They took me through all the different stages of construction from making the tubes, the welding and testing process etc etc. Very very professional outfit, who are working on some crazy crazy custom jobs forBIG power japenese cars.

I'll be having my car done in two stages though. Intercooler first of all. Whilst my car is in bits they will be taking all the radiator off for redesign etc and that will be completed after christmas.

They are now branching into VAG as we speak after developing on the S3, S4 already, with mine and a mk2 octavia vRS ready for development, so another new option.

Thread title worried me for a minute, knowing whereabouts you live now I was expecting a "scrotey little ******s" type thread! Very clever :p

I was thinking it was an oh dear, not another one stolen

Good man. How long do they have your car for?

In the meantime, why not buy a Briskoda.net 2012 calendar??

Told them have at as long as they need it tbh ideally no more than 2 weeks

Looking forward to the end results! What will the uprated radiator achieve, lower water temps?

Reduce the ttemperature of the engine block etc, which will hopefully solve the spark plug over heating issues with tthe engine, reduce the engine bay temperatures etc.

Less heat= more power and longevity

Thanks for that! Did you ever go with the washers under the bonnet lifters to get a bit more air blowing through?

Would love to get some info about the intercooler when they are done with it =D!

Its on my to do list, im hugely busy with work, and rarely at home tbh

Its on my to do list, im hugely busy with work, and rarely at home tbh

Told them have at as long as they need it tbh ideally no more than 2 weeks

How much are you charging them for having the privilege of working on your car?

I get the intercooler free, and discount on the radiator

I get the intercooler free, and discount on the radiator

That's fair, seeming as though they'll then have a template for others

That was the response most guys gave tbh, but pace seemed so much more enthusiastic about it and alot more willing to help me rectify the heat issues inherent with the engine. Plus after seeing their workshop and the fact they develop everything in house instead of buying in was just the iicing on the cake. Seem like top guys

I panicked when I saw this thread title!

I assume once completed they will be making it available for mail order sale?

Also, I realise that this will significantly drop intake temperatures, however, how do you record the drop in temperature?

Forgive my ignorance as well, but is there any performance enhancement?

I panicked when I saw this thread title!

I assume once completed they will be making it available for mail order sale?

Yes, there will also be a package deal where you can buy the radiator and intercooler a s a set which should save some money.

Also, I realise that this will significantly drop intake temperatures, however, how do you record the drop in temperature?

YOu can monitor your intake air temperatures (IATs) with VCDS. (VCDS is a cable that you can plug your laptop into the car, with Ross tech software and log many parameters of your car.

Forgive my ignorance as well, but is there any performance enhancement?

Yes and no. Fitting an intercooler wont necessarily net you big hp gains, but you will see some.

Basically when you run your car on a dyno(or road), the inlet air temps start to rise with each run losing power on the engine (this is heatsoak), so the only way to stop this is to allow cooldown periods, which is fine on dyno, but not exactly what the car will experience on the road.

So driving around town, or through country lanes your car will be running hot and very likely making less than the expected power due to heatsoak. An uprated IC will reduce the inlet temps and recover back to as close to ambient as possible much faster, so in the real world your car will actually gain power as it doesnt heatsoak(lose power) as much.

My old octavia used to struggle with the inlet air temps as well With a 20 degree ambient temperature, my IATs were easily above 50degrees all the time so i was probably, making alot less than the normal tuned output. (tuners say 1 degree rise in IAT = 1hp loss in power). My friends APR intercooler on the same day, same time was keeping his IAT 30degrees cooler than mine, so he was potentially making 30H more than me

More good news although like others, thread title had me worried. Fair play to you for doing your own researching and finding a professional outfit to get it done for you (and not wait for other companies to deliver the goods...).

Very interested to see what the development time is like.

Keep us updated mate

P.S Website or info link for PPP?

>>>>>My link<<<<

They are big in the ford and japanese scene, but relatively new with the VAG scene. They also provide technical support to the classic car racing series etc. Some lovely classic and vintage racing cars in the back of their factory

Definitely keep us updated mate, would be interesting in this and not too far from me

I don't want to spoil the party.

A small warning, don't let the engine run too cold. The result can be broken piston rings. The reason is that the pistons get very hot and the rings get hot on the inside and try to expand while the cold cylinder walls cool the outside of the rings. This results in cracks developing which lead to them breaking. The damage done to the cylinder walls is fairly catastrophic.

Fit a good thermostat. You could go for a slightly cooler one than standard but be careful when driving with a cold engine. Also, watch out for mayonnaise in the oil (on the top end of the dipstick, inside the filler cap) and fit a hotter thermostat if this appears.

If the spark plugs are still overheating, look for blockages in the cylinder head like air bubbles. You could also try a colder plug or change to a different brand. I like NGK plugs but each to his own.

SB

You are correct that to cold is bad, but heat is the issue here.

Whilst you might like ngk plugs, they are what are fitted as standard, and overheat big style. The radiator wont be a huge amount larger anyway, not like the intercooler which will be much larger than the std item

Thanks for the clear explanation Sy

updates >>>>>>>>>here<<<<<<<<<<<

Great update.

Is the overheating a problem on a standard unmapped car or just when you start to imrpove it? I've seen a few posts about problems with plugs and ignition coils, are these getting caused by the overheating or is this something seperate?