As some of you may know a while back I took my car to Pro Alloy to have a larger more efficient intercooler made and fitted to my S3.
Pro Alloy is run by two guys, Wayne and Alex. Both of them are really nice and knowledgeable, talking to them for the first time I knew my car was in good hands!
When Pro Alloy first had a look at the OEM intercooler set-up on the S3 they immediately realised they didn't have much space to work with. They almost aborted the project all together as they didn't think they could improve much on the original cooler.
But upon closer investigation they realised they could make an intercooler approximately 10% - 12% bigger and one much more efficient in design. By this I mean it would cool more efficiently by letting air pass though it, both across the fins and through the cooler itself more effectively.
So fabrication begun and before i knew it the new intercooler was fitted and testing began. Wayne begun data logging the manifold temps and comparing them to ambient temps. The results were impressive!
OEM Intercooler Results
Ambient Temp 26C
Inletmanifold Temp 36C
Pro Alloy Intercooler Results
Ambient Temp 26C
Inletmanifold Temp 28C
Only 2C above ambient!
At this point I came to collect the car and take it for a drive myself. The difference was amazing! The car had much better throttle response and is so much more keep through the rev range.
Though the car "felt" better, I needed the actual power figures! So off to AmD I went. Had a 4 wheel alignment and two runs on the rollers!
Before the new intercooler:
365 Bhp 345 lb/ft @ 10.5C
Pro Alloy intercooler
372 Bhp 353 lb/ft @ 20.1C
The most amazing thing about these results is that the car produced more power when the ambient temperature was 10C hotter! The guys were speculating that had the ambient temperature been the same the car would have been making closer to the 380 Bhp mark!
Here you can see that the inlet pipes are much smoother, allowing air to enter and leave the cooler much more efficiently. Also, you can see how much bigger the Pro Alloy cooler it.
A/C radiator in front of the cooler.
The power figures at last!
Pro Alloy is run by two guys, Wayne and Alex. Both of them are really nice and knowledgeable, talking to them for the first time I knew my car was in good hands!
When Pro Alloy first had a look at the OEM intercooler set-up on the S3 they immediately realised they didn't have much space to work with. They almost aborted the project all together as they didn't think they could improve much on the original cooler.
But upon closer investigation they realised they could make an intercooler approximately 10% - 12% bigger and one much more efficient in design. By this I mean it would cool more efficiently by letting air pass though it, both across the fins and through the cooler itself more effectively.
So fabrication begun and before i knew it the new intercooler was fitted and testing began. Wayne begun data logging the manifold temps and comparing them to ambient temps. The results were impressive!
OEM Intercooler Results
Ambient Temp 26C
Inletmanifold Temp 36C
Pro Alloy Intercooler Results
Ambient Temp 26C
Inletmanifold Temp 28C
Only 2C above ambient!
At this point I came to collect the car and take it for a drive myself. The difference was amazing! The car had much better throttle response and is so much more keep through the rev range.
Though the car "felt" better, I needed the actual power figures! So off to AmD I went. Had a 4 wheel alignment and two runs on the rollers!
Before the new intercooler:
365 Bhp 345 lb/ft @ 10.5C
Pro Alloy intercooler
372 Bhp 353 lb/ft @ 20.1C
The most amazing thing about these results is that the car produced more power when the ambient temperature was 10C hotter! The guys were speculating that had the ambient temperature been the same the car would have been making closer to the 380 Bhp mark!
Here you can see that the inlet pipes are much smoother, allowing air to enter and leave the cooler much more efficiently. Also, you can see how much bigger the Pro Alloy cooler it.
A/C radiator in front of the cooler.
The power figures at last!
