S3 Intercooler - Not too bad with a K04...

[theguy1084]

Forge twin and S3 are solid combo

See my opinion on this is if you are going to spend $800 on the twin and $300 on the S3 intercooler why not just go with APR or even the CTS front mount. The twin is a cool concept (no pun intended) but if your doing it as a cheaper route to go I feel that there are better options out there.

 

[NewToVW]

S3 + Twin isn't cheap. But, it has a few benefits...

It gives you the option of "growing" your IC as you make more power/more mods.
If you already put an S3 in, it's an easy installation.
The S3 + Twin is big. Really big. Bigger than an APR IC.
Half of your IC is in a very cool temp location.
Split/parallel system provides a huge flow path.

Downside is the plumbing is more complicated with more joints to ensure are leak-free.

 

[TSiUG]

S3 + Twin isn't cheap. But, it has a few benefits...

It gives you the option of "growing" your IC as you make more power/more mods.
If you already put an S3 in, it's an easy installation.
The S3 + Twin is big. Really big. Bigger than an APR IC.Half of your IC is in a very cool temp location.
Split/parallel system provides a huge flow path.

Downside is the plumbing is more complicated with more joints to ensure are leak-free.

I would love to see numbers comparing the APR IC to the s3+twintercooler....

 

[Vwgtivw]

i like how my twintercooler holds up so far down here in miami FL. 95 degrees and its working pretty well..havent done logs with the k04 but ill try to get some soon

 

[djunited]

will a forge +stock intercooler setup provide noticeable improvement over an s3 intercooler on a stage 2 car? worth it or not?

 

[NewToVW]

I would love to see numbers comparing the APR IC to the s3+twintercooler....

vegasGTI and I dorked out over this topic last month in this thread and agreed on the following numbers. This simply compares overall core size, but it gives a pretty good idea of the cooling capacity of each setup.

• The stock intercooler core is 16.25" tall x 1.26" thick x 24.25" wide = 496.52 in^3
  
• The S3 intercooler core is 16.25" tall x 1.58" thick x 24.25" wide = 622.62 in^3 (25.3% bigger than stock)
  
• The APR intercooler core is 16.25" tall x 2.25" thick x and 23.2" wide = 848.25 in^3 (70.8% bigger than stock)
  
• The Forge Twintercooler core is (approx) 24.5" wide x 6" tall x 2.5" thick = 367.5 in^3
  
• Stock intercooler + Twin = 496.52 in^3 + 367.5 in^3 = 864 in^3 (74% bigger than stock!)
  
• S3 intercooler + Twin = 622.62 in^3 + 367.5 in^3 = 990.1 in^3 (99.4% bigger than stock!!!)

 

[ROH ECHT]

Cool I got s3 ic installed now on my ko3 and stage 2+ and want to go ko4 and add the forge twintercooler for max cooling .

Check into this some more. I'm being told that I'm likely losing 1 to 2 psi
with this set up. I plan to put the oem tubes on and just run the S3 to see if I get a boost increase. If I do, I'm going to set it up to use the S3 in the winter and both in the summer.

 

[NewToVW]

You're getting bad advice.

The Twintercooler uses the two IC's, but they are in parallel, giving the compressed air two simultaneous flow paths before rejoining before the throttle body. If they were in series, yeah, there might be a pressure drop issue.

Also, modern electronic boost control doesn't care if you've added a small restriction or even have a small boost leak. It will just spin the turbo faster to make up for the lost charge air. Log your requested vs. actual boost. If you are meeting requested boost, you're not going to suddenly make more boost by replacing anything.

 

[Angel@forge]

Very true.

 

[K03]

What would happen if you ran a Stock IC and K04? Theres a guy in my town with that setup. I have no idea why he hasn't upgraded yet

 

[vegasGTI]

Nothing would happen per se but the performance is not ideal. S3 ic plus a meth kit is a nice solution imo.

 

[A41.8QTM]

No problem really - especially up north where it doesn't get very hot anyway.

What would happen if you ran a Stock IC and K04? Theres a guy in my town with that setup. I have no idea why he hasn't upgraded yet

 

[BoardSnow6]

Its in the upper 80's in clarion in the summer. It hit 100 last september lol.

Ive wondered how cool the combo ic would run on a k03

 

[Wild Hare]

If AWE runs the OEM S3 intercooler in their fast ass TSI GTI and has no problems with it. That's fine for me!

 

[josein06gli]

Nothing like a true fmic. I like the forge unit but got an outstanding deal on my bsh.