Intercooler minefield !!

[gobbleplease]

I think ive read every intercooler thread in the world now and im still undecided as to which one to go for, it will be used on a stage 2+ K04 car, which will be used as a daily driver and a few track days every year.
at present ive got an s3 intercooler in the hut so obviously using this would be the best option but im not sure it will be the best for a k04 car although it was perfect for my 2+ K03 car, on the upside this has decent reduction in intake temperatures over the standard intercooler and doesnt lag behind the top brands as much as i thought it would ! the only worrys i have with this is recovery and flow rates ? im sure the pressure drop in the cooler is less than the standard cooler due to improved flow rates aswell, but again not as good as some.
The APR even though it has some impressive figures, is out for me as at £1000 is far to expensive considdering the other options.
Forge i like the idea of the easy fitting / removal, there is no doubt its the best performer when it comes to reducing the air temps in extreme conditions, with flow rates that are better than standard (for the forge the rates are better by 0.3 - but remember this is also coupled to the standard cooler so it will drop a bit )although not matching The THS (not far off it though), this also seems to recover from heat saturation the best too, the only thing im not keen on reguarding the forge is the pipe work looks all squashed like it needs resized / shaped and the fact that it will restrict the airflow to the radiator.
THS, this seems like quite good value as its slightly cheaper than the forge and means that my s3 cooler can be sold further reducing the outlay, the presure drop on this is again better than standard and the best here which helps avoid producing  more heat from compression and prolongs turbo life, this is probably due to the bar and plate design and high flow endtanks like the APR, although i can help but think if bar and plate wasnt used the temperatures would be reduced further but then again you would loose the flow charactoristics so  swings and roundabouts really, TBH they have managed to reduce the air temps by about 30% over standard anyway so thats quite healthy.

Anyway thats basically what ive took from reading about each intercooler brandand i was wondering if anyone had anything to add to help make up my mind or if i had picked up any wrong info

TA

[Janner_Sy]

Why not fit the S3 cooler. Then rather than uprate it furtger why not try water/meth injection. Even better cooling effect and more power

[gobbleplease]

water meth sounds expensive and complicated TBH, ideally i want to fit the s3 cooler im not sure if its enough though

[Janner_Sy]

Alot cheaper than another intercooler. Devils own kits are about £270.

BTW im proposing that you fit the S3 coolee, as well as the WMI  
http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,7870.0.html

[Mike-uk]

from what ive been told the THS cooler is pritty much the best out there for the money at the mo, im getting one in the next few months :)

[gobbleplease]

Alot cheaper than another intercooler. Devils own kits are about £270.

BTW im proposing that you fit the S3 coolee, as well as the WMI  
http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,7870.0.html

Quite mad that, id need to find a custom mapper to make the most of it, thats maybe an option for the future once im wanting more power, ive just glanced at the topics you posted, is the meth triggered by flagging temperatures or driver switching its got to need topped up fairly often too surely ?

Ill read about it a bit more tomorrow

[Janner_Sy]

if you want to make more power then have it mapped in, however the ECU has enough adaptation in it to advance timing when ever you switch it on.  You can turn it on or off at your leisure or with really expensive kits it'll do it itself.

The bonus is if you just use it as a bolt on with no map changes its just going to be like using maybe 102ron fuel with lower intakle temps.  JonnyC and many others have started using them as bolt on mods for their TTRS stage 3 cars as the intercoolers including uprated coolers dont cut the mustard.  iirc JonnyC uses an AEM kit which s purely a bolt on.  Couple others use aquamist which is lot more technical and will need changes to it.  

Also bear in mind you could use it purely as water injection, and just have it for the cooling effect.  YOu only have to add meth if your after a little more power  http://www.vagoc.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?t=8862

[Tfsi_Mike]

Starting to regret selling the labonte s4 kit now 

[gobbleplease]

Thanks mate good info that, i think i might go for that at some point ! Maybe start with the water and move up to the meth when im wanting more power, still pretty expensive though i think id want the aem it seems like a simple well built kit, its still pretty expensive though at about £700 fitted !  Or £400 and do it myself (including bottle at £100 !! Surely you can just use a standard vw bottle and save some money ) i think for the kit to warrant the money id need it to be injecting the meth aswell for a power increase.

[Janner_Sy]

This is the kit most guys recomended to me http://www.methanol-injection.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=29&osCsid=680474ca8c0ce301676d9a1550cfdd9a

Contact these guys, they can fit it much cheaper than anywhere else. And yes you can use your washer bottle

[Janner_Sy]

http://www.methanol-injection.co.uk/index.php?cPath=28

130 for washer bottle installation
150 for boot instalation

So your looking at £400 all in

[Tfsi_Mike]

Bad influence Sy lol.

[martziniuk]

I'm tempted by water meth but the fact the plastic throttle slide swells using water meth has put me off, I would imagine the throttle body ain't cheap. I have thought about using a spacer but then it's getting more expensive.

[baldwined30]

im fitting an S3 cooler on sunday, wish me luck!! Will let you know the difference! how are people measuring the inlet temps before and after??

[Tfsi_Mike]

im fitting an S3 cooler on sunday, wish me luck!! Will let you know the difference! how are people measuring the inlet temps before and after??

Logging air intake temps with vcds

You could also add the polar unit off RichN if you have highline which gives intake temps