Just get a 6R intercooler with OEM hoses. Plastic ends, all bolts in like factory and looks no different to a GTI part......to the untrained eye. Clued up insurance assessors will spot the alloy end tanks of the older S3 part.
That's very true.
Is the 6R cooler definitely the same thing as an S3 cooler then (apart from the end tanks) in terms of core depth etc?
I mentioned the 6R one when I was at Statller a while ago and Steve said something along the lines of it not being much thicker than a GTI cooler. I didn't mention the S3 cooler, but from what he said it gave me the impression the 6R cooler wasn't quite up to the level of the S3 cooler in terms of performance.
But in reality then it's just the alloy end tanks, and the core is essentially the same between 6R and S3? Any other reason an S3 cooler might be better?