S4 intercooler performance difference

mercules

mercules

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Hi all,

So to cut my story somewhat short and sweet I have a MRC stage 2 avant but do notice how different the car picks up depending on temperature. Sometimes cold mornings it will pull like a beast from 2nd and other times I do not get the hard torque boost which I can only put down to heatsoak without further investigation.

Now for those who have stage 2 and then upgraded the cooling did you notice a big difference or not? Apparently it's a tad more power up top where the heat normally kicks in. But I just want a bit more consistency which I'm hoping a cooler engine will provide me.

Cost on these Audi's for the intercooler is crazy so I am looking at the Revo one shipped including taxes for £800 from US (it's £950 in the UK) but I'm waiting to hear more about the Merc racing one for closer to £600 with full kit on audizine. MRC are recommending the AMS one but it's just too expensive including the fitting over 2k.

I don't believe a better pump is necessary either in the UK unless you track it as we just don't get the weather. I think a well designed heat exchanger should be sufficient in my scenario of a odd couple of hard pulls on motorway or private road.

What is your thoughts?

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I have the AMS kit and had it put on the same time I went stage 2 so can’t comment on if it is a noticeable difference over standard cooled stage 2. I can say though that I don’t notice heat soak at all now at stage 2 where I did with standard tune and standard cooling.

Although the Revo looks cheaper in the states, you’ll have to pay import duty which will probably make it more expensive than buying in the uk.
 
Surprised you are having any heat soak issues this time of the year when it's barely making it to 5 degrees.
 
TBH they all seem to be similar in effectiveness.#Merc seem best value for money
 
I fitted a dual cooler set up by adding a Jag XKR rad to the existing OE rad, additional header tank and divorced the system with pump mod and it does make a difference. I monitor IAT's and they are lower normally just 8 to 10 degrees above ambient outside temp, but the main difference is recovery rate after a hard pull and sustained power on multiple pulls the power used to drop off on the second, third, forth pull etc now it is much more consistent.

I did consider fitting a uprated Jag XKR radiator @ £450 as I knew it would fit being only slightly thicker than the one I have currently fitted.
http://www.xk8-parts.com/2014/08/ja...supercharger-intercooler-radiator-mnc8200afu/

I've now ordered the Merc Racing HX as its slightly bigger again and I already have the additional header tank and pipework fitted.
http://mercracing.net/shop/air-to-water-high-capacity-heat-exchanger-m3/

The Merc Racing HX came to £297 and the shipping to the UK a further £77. Will just have to find out how much the import duty is when it arrives but I expect the total to be around the £425-£450 mark which is considerable cheaper than any other the other options in the UK at the moment,
 
RyanJonS4 said:
I have the AMS kit and had it put on the same time I went stage 2 so can’t comment on if it is a noticeable difference over standard cooled stage 2. I can say though that I don’t notice heat soak at all now at stage 2 where I did with standard tune and standard cooling.

Although the Revo looks cheaper in the states, you’ll have to pay import duty which will probably make it more expensive than buying in the uk.
Click to expand...
Thanks that does answer my question as you noticed it on standard cooling so being stage 2 would be worse as it's 40 % power uplift.

The Revo one included taxes it's 600 without tax it's on eBay they have lots of them shipped via eBay global shipping so you pay all fees at checkout.

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desertstorm said:
Surprised you are having any heat soak issues this time of the year when it's barely making it to 5 degrees.
Click to expand...
Been mapped for about 4 months so just within that period I've noticed it. Some days are worse than others.

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xpoweruk said:
TBH they all seem to be similar in effectiveness.#Merc seem best value for money
Click to expand...
Was actually your post on here a couple weeks ago that got me looking at it. I don't really go on audizine unless I can't find something on here.

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Cerbera9 said:
I fitted a dual cooler set up by adding a Jag XKR rad to the existing OE rad, additional header tank and divorced the system with pump mod and it does make a difference. I monitor IAT's and they are lower normally just 8 to 10 degrees above ambient outside temp, but the main difference is recovery rate after a hard pull and sustained power on multiple pulls the power used to drop off on the second, third, forth pull etc now it is much more consistent.

I did consider fitting a uprated Jag XKR radiator @ £450 as I knew it would fit being only slightly thicker than the one I have currently fitted.
http://www.xk8-parts.com/2014/08/ja...supercharger-intercooler-radiator-mnc8200afu/

I've now ordered the Merc Racing HX as its slightly bigger again and I already have the additional header tank and pipework fitted.
http://mercracing.net/shop/air-to-water-high-capacity-heat-exchanger-m3/

The Merc Racing HX came to £297 and the shipping to the UK a further £77. Will just have to find out how much the import duty is when it arrives but I expect the total to be around the £425-£450 mark which is considerable cheaper than any other the other options in the UK at the moment,
Click to expand...

Thanks that is what I would be very happy to achieve on the temps. What is making you change from the Jag setup the Merc one? It's bigger you hoping it's lowers temps even more?



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The twin cooler system works well and was a cheap way to achieve that result but I've got a RS4 style honeycomb grill to fit which is more open so I want tidy up behind the grill thus a neater solution, less pipework etc and potentially I hope that a large single cooler will also be more efficient.
 
Cerbera9 said:
The twin cooler system works well and was a cheap way to achieve that result but I've got a RS4 style honeycomb grill to fit which is more open so I want tidy up behind the grill thus a neater solution, less pipework etc and potentially I hope that a large single cooler will also be more efficient.
Click to expand...

Ah ok, the Merc ones are black too which is a nice touch. That with the pump mod should be a really tidy cheaper solution.

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I'm going to have to ask about the pump mod, has it achieved good results?

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Its difficult to notice the results of the pump mod but the OE pump is controlled by the ECU and varies its output between 50%-100% this in turn alters the amount of coolant being pushed through the supercharger intercoolers and the HX. By cutting one specific wire the pump runs at 100% all of the time maximizing cooling however the downsisdes are that this then stores a soft code in the ECU and the pump is running flat out so may need to be replaced sooner. I did this mod in the middle of last year and not had any issues so far. This is how I understand it but I might be wrong so please correct me if I am.
 
I'll be doing that pump mod when I get the Merc HX. It's looking like £490 including shipping and taxes if I get stung for the HX and hose kit. I'll pick up a OEM reservoir with a sensor and join it to the current sensor so when the system is divorced I should get alarm on both loops if either low on coolant saw this setup on Audizine.

Merc reservoir alone is £250 delivered without taxes so I'll save some money using a decent sized plastic OEM one.

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Merc + pump mod should give nice consistent IAT's. In the UK they should stay below 60 degrees on the 1/4 mile with that setup
 
xpoweruk said:
Merc + pump mod should give nice consistent IAT's. In the UK they should stay below 60 degrees on the 1/4 mile with that setup
Click to expand...
Hope so mate at stage two I think it's a must have mod. These cars are still deprecating so trying not to spend crazy money on mods I won't get back.

I think only some mods need to be made by big brands. A bit of reading up can save you a lot of money to spend on other mods haha.

Side note found out about Moog front and rear uplinks which are on the way too they are OEM but made with polyurethane and metal and not soft rubber and plastic. You can get front and rears shipped from US for cheaper than the cost of one set of big branded fronts.

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Do you have a link to the Moog front and rear uplinks?
 
Cerbera9 said:
Do you have a link to the Moog front and rear uplinks?
Click to expand...
Sorry typo was meant to say end links not uplinks.

Amazon.com not UK

2 x Moog K750361
2 x Moog K750359

Came in at £95 including shipping and taxes.

Will fit same time as the h&r arbs.

Cheers

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@Cerbera9

Did your Merc racing HX come yet? Mines been shipped so hopefully next week it's here. I opted not to get the hose kit either as shipping was $100 extra.

Apparently the brackets need trimming now too long. Was kicking off on the Audizine thread today.

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mercules said:
@Cerbera9

Did your Merc racing HX come yet? Mines been shipped so hopefully next week it's here. I opted not to get the hose kit either as shipping was $100 extra.

Apparently the brackets need trimming now too long. Was kicking off on the Audizine thread today.

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Click to expand...

Yes mine finally turned up the other day, I had the tracking details so was able to follow it and sort out the custom charges quickly. TBH I've not had chance to fit it yet but it looks ok I'm not too worried about trimming brackets I'd rather they were too long then too short!!
 
Cerbera9 said:
Yes mine finally turned up the other day, I had the tracking details so was able to follow it and sort out the custom charges quickly. TBH I've not had chance to fit it yet but it looks ok I'm not too worried about trimming brackets I'd rather they were too long then too short!!
Click to expand...

Did they hold it until you paid the charges?
Yea agreed but I was thinking they been sold since 2017 thought the brackets would of been on point by now. If you fit it in the next couple weeks let me know how you get on please.

Also did you work out how much hose to buy? Someone said about 3m worth.
 
mercules said:
Did they hold it until you paid the charges?
Yea agreed but I was thinking they been sold since 2017 thought the brackets would of been on point by now. If you fit it in the next couple weeks let me know how you get on please.

Also did you work out how much hose to buy? Someone said about 3m worth.
Click to expand...

Yes they send you a letter with 15digit number on that you need to pay the charges online via the Parcelforce website then they release the item for delivery.

I think I only need 1m of hose and a couple of bends/joiners depending on which routing you take the hose as the existing bottom coolant hose to the pump can be utilized so its just the output from the SC (16mm) to connect to the HX (19mm), these sizes are from memory do please check!
 
Cerbera9 said:
Yes they send you a letter with 15digit number on that you need to pay the charges online via the Parcelforce website then they release the item for delivery.

I think I only need 1m of hose and a couple of bends/joiners depending on which routing you take the hose as the existing bottom coolant hose to the pump can be utilized so its just the output from the SC (16mm) to connect to the HX (19mm), these sizes are from memory do please check!
Click to expand...

Ok thanks,

I think I'm not going to divorce the system right now I will just keep the system as is just swap the coolers over and in the summer when weather is better I'll spend the extra time divorcing and adding the additional reservoir and sensor. It will also give me a good indication of what and how much hose, clamps and connectors I'll need.
 
Will find out today or tomorrow it's only just been cleared in customs. Cerbera might be able to tell you though.

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£40.40 just got the letter

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Thats surprisingly reasonable.

After reading this thread and the one on Audizine I'm very tempted to give this a go. What are you guys going to use for an additional coolant tank?

Any chance that once you guys have this sorted you could give details of parts required along with any snags you had to overcome?
 
forty3 said:
Thats surprisingly reasonable.

After reading this thread and the one on Audizine I'm very tempted to give this a go. What are you guys going to use for an additional coolant tank?

Any chance that once you guys have this sorted you could give details of parts required along with any snags you had to overcome?
Click to expand...
It's basically cost me approx £420 for the cooler but now need hoses clamps connectors coolant. So probably £500ish with the rest which is half price any alternative here in the UK.

I'm going to get a aftermarket reservoir seen couple on eBay plastic and billet for £20- £40 just need to measure it so it will fit.

Yeah happy to let you know once it's done mate over next couple weeks.

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I fitted mine last night and it was pretty straight forward. I trimmed the brackets to give me a little more clearance and sprayed the crash bar black. I had already divorced my system but found routing the pipework from the SC outlet to the top of the HX was the most frustrating part, I was able to reuse some of the existing OE pipework, bends and some 16mm hose and joiners. The HX outlet to the pump was straight forward and just required extending the OE pipe by a few inches.
While the bumper was off I also fitted a Honeycomb RS4 grill :)
 
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Following this thread with interest as I think it's my next mod, hoping for some pictures from the trailblazers!!!

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Cerbera9 said:
I had already divorced my system but found routing the pipework from the SC outlet to the top of the HX was the most frustrating part, I was able to reuse some of the existing OE pipework, bends and some 16mm hose and joiners. The HX outlet to the pump was straight forward and just required extending the OE pipe by a few inches
Click to expand...

Good effort with the install.

Is the OE pipe 16mm? I assumed it'd be 19mm as the HX outlets are 3/4".
 
Cooler 1
Cooler 2
 
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In order to complete this mod do I need the heat exchanger + bracket kit + pipework kit?

Cheers
 
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