Intercooler for staying stock turbo?

[MarcusDubya77]

I have read that CTS and Wagner seem to be the best choices. Anyone have any other options that are not too expensive?

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[S3DUDE]

^^ CTS had them for $400 and change for a few hours a few month ago, it was 40% off but went up to 20% at midnight, they had it on sale.

[elijahallen]

I used the Wagner on mine, fit and finish were perfect and the overall build quality was very nice. Not cheap but IAT's are not a place to skimp.

[Jeff_Jeske]

I have a TTRS but the only power adding part on the car is the CTS FMIC. It is paired with UNI Stage 1 E85 tune. This IC works very well as proven by consistent 10.6@130mph results.
My TTRS install thread is located HERE

The CTS FMIC is probably the best bang for the buck you can get!

[Baylorguy]

I have apr and the quality was great. Has a great core and not as expensive as some other options.

[OE2]

Apr, cts are at the lower end of the pricing scale and will get the job done. Wait for Black Friday sales.

[MarcusDubya77]

Apr, cts are at the lower end of the pricing scale and will get the job done. Wait for Black Friday sales.

Thats the plan. I am definitely leaning towards CTS.

[Baylorguy]

Thats the plan. I am definitely leaning towards CTS.

CTS is a bit on its own price wise. The way I'd rate things is CTS is low end, APR and STM are mid range and then IROZ, Forge, Wagner are upper end of pricing.

The reason why I went APR is it has an exceptional core for a competitive price.

[TheContrarian]

Great thread, this has never been discussed before.

[allerum]

So I have the CTS, its about 40% larger so you will have a little bit of extra lag but this probably goes away with tune. Which is on my to do list. But I wanted good temps. Factory IC is not bad design wise, but its very light and heat soaks quickly.

[SolarRS3]

Weight was quite surprising when I installed the CTS haha. Oem is really light

[xliv]

Great thread, this has never been discussed before.

I think we need a wiki...

[NelsDMAX]

I went with Eurocode FMIC and have been extremely satisfied with its result.
Ran a 10.88 @ 127 back to back with only 15min cool down between runs, with a 1500DA.
UNI Stg 1+ E85 and UNI Stg 2 TCU

[SlowSedans]

Great thread, this has never been discussed before.

Can you suggest a good stage 1 tune? Is custom code any good?

[MarcusDubya77]

Can you suggest a good stage 1 tune? Is custom code any good?

I love my Unitronic Stage 1+ and Stage 2 ECU tune.

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[xliv]

I love my Unitronic Stage 1+ and Stage 2 ECU tune.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Audizine mobile app

Wooosh

[SlowSedans]

Wooosh

Lol

[MarcusDubya77]

Not even worth a reponse....

Thanks to those who actually provided some useful opinions. I am going with CTS. Seems a real bang for buck and built well.

[speeddemon69]

Apr, cts are at the lower end of the pricing scale and will get the job done. Wait for Black Friday sales.

CTS is on the lower end of the quality scale as well.

OP wait for UNI it will be the best intercooler that does not require removal of the rebar, if you can't wait then second option is the AIDS intercooler.

as far as tune don't go CC unless you want a piston as a passenger or if you want to make power.


https://youtu.be/TLKT0504cAs

https://youtu.be/O9rkbGoOjQY

[OE2]

there's no discussion of the cost of uni's intercooler but it would be interesting to know if it competes with apr or cts

[xliv]

CTS is on the lower end of the quality scale as well.

OP wait for UNI it will be the best intercooler that does not require removal of the rebar, if you can't wait then second option is the AIDS intercooler.

as far as tune don't go CC unless you want a piston as a passenger or if you want to make power.


https://youtu.be/TLKT0504cAs

https://youtu.be/O9rkbGoOjQY

Waiting for Uni IC release before making a decision is the right choice

[Baylorguy]

OP, there will likely be minimal difference in any of these in the real world and typical use. Any company that claims Earth shattering differences is just wanting you to drink the Kool aid.

[MarcusDubya77]

I don't expect any crazy results other than peace of mind for the future.

[elijahallen]

CTS is on the lower end of the quality scale as well.

OP wait for UNI it will be the best intercooler that does not require removal of the rebar, if you can't wait then second option is the AIDS intercooler.

as far as tune don't go CC unless you want a piston as a passenger or if you want to make power.


https://youtu.be/TLKT0504cAs

https://youtu.be/O9rkbGoOjQY

That first video makes me cringe, is this happening with the stock plugs or other options?

[XLR8 Erik]

The RS3 customers we have all run APR intercoolers and have yet to have any issues. From daily driving to heavy track use it is a great upgrade for piece of mind and a building block for more power down the road. The only downside is having to source a US crash bar for fitment.

[Jeff_Jeske]

I wouldn't say that CTS is on the lower end of the quality scale. It's appearance is equal to others, it's performance is equal to others and it is very well built meaning solid and no leaks.

What I would instead say is the manufacturer isn't gouging you as bad.


I know most people on here are fans of the STM and there's nothing special about that. Maybe the core is a bit better but quality wise they are very similar.

[SlowSedans]

The customer base has become brainwashed into believing that the cts is sub par because it is cheaper.

[OE2]

End tanks for the most part are going to be the biggest difference in cost. The cores are different price points but it's hard to know what core everyone is using. cts uses cast end tanks which makes it much much easier to manufacture cheaply and effectively. APR does it, I believe Uni will come that way as well. STM has sheet metal end tanks and IMS are billet with directional vanes inside them.

[cseaman]

The customer base has become brainwashed into believing that the cts is sub par because it is cheaper.

Not necessarily. Although my signature will make me look biased toward APR, I came into my RS3 having never purchased anything from APR in my 16 years of VW/Audi modding. I didn't consider CTS for my FMIC because their overall product quality just does not seem to compare to Unitronic or APR. Their intake literally looks like the stuff MK4 kids used to mix and match from Autozone components...compared to anything from Eventuri, IE, or APR...nah, not going on my $60k car.

[MarcusDubya77]

I went with CTS for reasons already mentioned. The build quality doesn't look bad at all for the price. I cant vouch for other parts as my inlet/intake is APR, midpipes are 034, and tune is Unitronic. Still haven't decided on springs that work well with mag ride. Sometimes a good mix is worth it. There is no single company that is best at everything.

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[javbomb]

I am really happy with how my CTS is performing, certainly enough to not wish I had another intercooler.

I live in Australia though, so i had to order the entire US Crash bar assembly which was $1000AUD before I could even purchase the intercooler itself, this changed things dramatically since if I wanted one of the more expensive brands the overall cost, shipped and installed in my country would have ran way over $3000... Think about that guys, would you spend thatr coin on an Intercooler?

So, I ran with CTS, I got it VERY cheap from an ECS Sale. And I am very happy with it, it dramatically outperforms stock, Ive had it on the dyno running 16+ pulls that day, and sure the car got hot when we started beating on it relentlessly, but on the street (which is what I bought it for - 35+C days in Australia) it keeps the car very cool and fights heatsoak.

5 runs back to back in summer 30C Dyno cell, 5th gear pulls (~20 seconds each). Car does a great job IMO. This was on the tail end of the 16+ pull dyno day.

Stage 1+ only mod is the FMIC. 98RON (shitty AU fuel)



Close up of one of the pulls.



Then when I installed a DP and IE intake WG Duty dropped like mad, still Stage 1+. This is on the street though, so for me, this is real world what I actually use the car for. Would have been about 22-23C day. I am proper Stage 2 ECU/TCU these days so keen to log this data again...