Mine on WOT is always less than 10 degrees above ambient with the meth off (Still have a/c rad). .
Even after 10 pulls to the redline on a 28 deg summer's day? I'm calling BS on that, pending VCDS logs as proof
Can't say I've ever tried 10 back to back runs on a summers day. Lot of variables to consider too, but whenever I logged my car before fitting the meth, which included leaving the thing plugged in and logging the entire 'session', on a WOT run the IAT at the top of a gear was within 10 degrees of ambient. On the standard cooler it went a lot higher
Don't get me wrong the cooler will heatsoak in slow moving traffic/town cruising the same as any cooler will, but when theres plenty of airflow at 'motorway speeds' then it does its job very well
There are indeed a lot of variables at play. I used the 10 pulls scenario from past experience on one of my old projects.
Best I ever saw in terms of IATs was with a chargecooler setup. 5-8 above ambient over winter and 11-16 above in summer. I'd be happy with that from a front mount upgrade tbh. Keeps the torque more consistent
They're funny things intercoolers. I once saw a MK4 GTI with a K04 upgrade using an uprated side mount, which claimed to be 40% bigger and 30% more efficient or something. IATs hit 70 deg after 1 pull in 3rd with that
Useless. Then again, that method of intercooling wasn't great to begin with. Can't beat a front mount.
The standard GTI/Edition one isn't that bad in day to day driving - with standard boost. Running these little cotton reel K03/4s at 1.4+ bar kicks out some mega charge heat. Something the stock cooler wasn't designed for. Normal driving with cool down periods is OK though. Constantly on boost on track or on the dyno is where weak intercoolers show up!