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1.8t upgrade to Golf R intercooler

Location
St. Olaf
Bigger aftermarket ICs don't affect flow, since they're usually less restrictive.
The drawback (beside cost, effort and weight) is their bigger capacity, resulting
in more lag, which albeit is probably insignificant in most cases.

Alright, so we learned that the 1.8T comes with the same IC as the GTI.
As a consequence, I'd say:

- stock IC is pretty sufficient for stage 1 at least, probably even stage 2
- the bigger OE Golf R/Audi S3 IC will very likely fir plug & play

You can fit the R IC, but you don't need to. ;)



So is something beyond an R intercooler, say an APR or Wagner, considered overkill for a stage 1/2 tsi? Keep in mind Texas consistent 100° summers.
Hard to say, since with any IC there's still some loss at such high temps.
It'll be less issue compared to a stage 2 GTI though, since it's the same
IC. Personally in case of the 1.8T I don't think an aftermarket IC is worth
the money. Stock S3/R ICs aren't as efficient, but they're pretty cheap.



dont think so, it will better than S3/R intercooler. Some guy did fmic twintercooler from Forge and felt better response.
'Better' but not 'good value' in case of the 1.8T, which already shares its
IC with the GTI. I'd spend my hard earned money elsewhere.
Again, there's no way an even bigger IC gives you 'better response'. More
air capacity to compress means more lag, say, response must be worse.
But we now about self-fulfilling prophecy. When someone spends money on
something, then he will feel an improvement. Any placebo works that way.

;)
 

Gawernator

Go Kart Champion
Location
Fremont, CA
bumping old post. Someone is offering me a used R intercooler for $200 shipped, and I have a 1.8T with a IS20 going on. I was thinking the stock intercooler is probably ok, since it usually doesn't get over 80 to 90 degrees here in the bay tops, and our car shares the same IC as the GTI anyways
 

Ton

Go Kart Newbie
Location
U.S.
bumping old post. Someone is offering me a used R intercooler for $200 shipped, and I have a 1.8T with a IS20 going on. I was thinking the stock intercooler is probably ok, since it usually doesn't get over 80 to 90 degrees here in the bay tops, and our car shares the same IC as the GTI anyways

A lot of labor for very little difference. For a couple hundred more you can get the Rev9 intercooler off eBay.
 

Gawernator

Go Kart Champion
Location
Fremont, CA
A lot of labor for very little difference. For a couple hundred more you can get the Rev9 intercooler off eBay.

That's what I was thinking. If I have to do that much work it might as well be a really good IC. But I'm not sure the stock unit isn't even good enough..?
 

Ton

Go Kart Newbie
Location
U.S.
That's what I was thinking. If I have to do that much work it might as well be a really good IC. But I'm not sure the stock unit isn't even good enough..?

The stock unit is at least good enough for a base is20 tune. 250 whp and over 315ft pound torque easy.

Will you lose some performance on hot days? Yes. Will you be able to do back to back to back high boost pulls? No. Will you be able to push boost to max levels? No

Remember. The 1.8 intercooler is the same as the GTI. The GTI can take a stage 2 tune with the stock intercooler.

With an intercooler or methanol injection or both you can push over 280 whp or more.
 

Gawernator

Go Kart Champion
Location
Fremont, CA
The stock unit is at least good enough for a base is20 tune. 250 whp and over 315ft pound torque easy.

Will you lose some performance on hot days? Yes. Will you be able to do back to back to back high boost pulls? No. Will you be able to push boost to max levels? No

Remember. The 1.8 intercooler is the same as the GTI. The GTI can take a stage 2 tune with the stock intercooler.

With an intercooler or methanol injection or both you can push over 280 whp or more.

What are the guys running over 300 WHP doing? What if ambient temp is like 55-60 degrees out? APR claims 279 WHP 310 TQ on a 1.8T with a IS20 and a downpipe only apparently. https://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_18tsi_gen3_mqb.html
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
I'm running the R intercooler. I agree with above the benefits are not worth the labour involved in swapping.
Only reason I did it was because I got it really cheap and I had the front end off for swapping headlights any ways.

That being said it's more than enough for a is20 tsi :).
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion

odessa.filez

Autocross Newbie
Location
Roswell, GA
Car(s)
2016 GSW 1.8tsi auto
Can you link this? Making a mod list
you can look it up at vwpartsvortex.com. I'm not affiliated but an occasional customer.
 
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