Links to eBay at the bottom of the page! This was a universal FMIC and piping. Not specifically built so fitting may vary.
In my case i had a 2.0TDi A3. But i'm sure most VAGs will have a similar front end. I also had access to a hydraulic lift and the right tools which made this 1000x easier! We also didn't remove the original IC as that would require taking apart the whole front end which I wasn't prepared to do.
So first of all here is what I had:
To fit it's a simple case of getting some nuts and bolts. I had 8x90mm bolts. 8mm is the width you need to fit this FMIC. Also get some washers for spacing. B&Q sell zinc coated ones in a pack of 10 for a little over £5.
Take off the front bumper, two front wheels, lower front arch lining and (under side plastic panel for me).
Take off your crash bar, line up the mounting holes with where you want to drill on your crash bar and drill. Make sure this is an instance of you 'measure twice and cut once!' My FMIC is a little off to the right which is annoying but doesn't hinder it. Drill the respective holes through the crash bar and trial fit the IC so you can get your height and position correct. Using washers if need to be to space.
Re-mount crash bar with IC attached to make sure it isn't fouling anything.
Now look for the original IC piping. And this is where we had to get creative. We removed the original piping and spliced it with the new metal piping. Alot of fitting this was trialling sizes and angles. I wasn't scared to cut and splice original parts as it was only two silicone hoses and in where it attached to the car wasn't a universal fitting, had to use the hoses that were originally on the car. The following two images are how we managed to pipe it with the shortest route and least bends:
Near Side:
Off Side:
We had to relocate the horns which wasn't difficult. Plenty of places to put them.
Trial fit the bumper to make sure that it doesn't foul anywhere. We had to pop out my fog surrounds but as you'll see in the following pictures that we managed to salvage half of them but I like the little bit of piping showing. Subtle but people that know cars knows what it is! Also don't be afraid to cut the back of the bumper to allow for space as long as you are sure it won't damage the integrity of it.
Don't forget to cover the old IC entrance and exit pipes with rubber gloves or something.
Make sure all the Jubilee clips are tight, lower the car, give it a bit of a rev in neutral to make sure that no pipes are going to blow off. Last thing you want is to be driving home and you lose pressure!
Trial fitting before tightening the bumper back on:
Home:
Anything I have left out or need to expand on please let me know. But I paid around about £150 all in. Saving roughly £350 - £450 on the specifically designed FMIC kits. You could also get the larger cooler and cut away the crash bar to make space for it.
Thanks for reading!
Intercooler:
FRONT MOUNT UNIVERSAL INTERCOOLER GOLF VW AUDI TURBO on eBay (end time 24-Jul-11 22:45:48 BST)
Piping:
2.25" TURBO INTERCOOLER PIPE PIPING KIT SILICONE RED on eBay (end time 24-Jul-11 22:44:26 BST)
In my case i had a 2.0TDi A3. But i'm sure most VAGs will have a similar front end. I also had access to a hydraulic lift and the right tools which made this 1000x easier! We also didn't remove the original IC as that would require taking apart the whole front end which I wasn't prepared to do.
So first of all here is what I had:
To fit it's a simple case of getting some nuts and bolts. I had 8x90mm bolts. 8mm is the width you need to fit this FMIC. Also get some washers for spacing. B&Q sell zinc coated ones in a pack of 10 for a little over £5.
Take off the front bumper, two front wheels, lower front arch lining and (under side plastic panel for me).
Take off your crash bar, line up the mounting holes with where you want to drill on your crash bar and drill. Make sure this is an instance of you 'measure twice and cut once!' My FMIC is a little off to the right which is annoying but doesn't hinder it. Drill the respective holes through the crash bar and trial fit the IC so you can get your height and position correct. Using washers if need to be to space.
Re-mount crash bar with IC attached to make sure it isn't fouling anything.
Now look for the original IC piping. And this is where we had to get creative. We removed the original piping and spliced it with the new metal piping. Alot of fitting this was trialling sizes and angles. I wasn't scared to cut and splice original parts as it was only two silicone hoses and in where it attached to the car wasn't a universal fitting, had to use the hoses that were originally on the car. The following two images are how we managed to pipe it with the shortest route and least bends:
Near Side:
Off Side:
We had to relocate the horns which wasn't difficult. Plenty of places to put them.
Trial fit the bumper to make sure that it doesn't foul anywhere. We had to pop out my fog surrounds but as you'll see in the following pictures that we managed to salvage half of them but I like the little bit of piping showing. Subtle but people that know cars knows what it is! Also don't be afraid to cut the back of the bumper to allow for space as long as you are sure it won't damage the integrity of it.
Don't forget to cover the old IC entrance and exit pipes with rubber gloves or something.
Make sure all the Jubilee clips are tight, lower the car, give it a bit of a rev in neutral to make sure that no pipes are going to blow off. Last thing you want is to be driving home and you lose pressure!
Trial fitting before tightening the bumper back on:
Home:
Anything I have left out or need to expand on please let me know. But I paid around about £150 all in. Saving roughly £350 - £450 on the specifically designed FMIC kits. You could also get the larger cooler and cut away the crash bar to make space for it.
Thanks for reading!
Intercooler:
FRONT MOUNT UNIVERSAL INTERCOOLER GOLF VW AUDI TURBO on eBay (end time 24-Jul-11 22:45:48 BST)
Piping:
2.25" TURBO INTERCOOLER PIPE PIPING KIT SILICONE RED on eBay (end time 24-Jul-11 22:44:26 BST)
