Review: Rev9 Intercooler

[clixt]

So I bought this cheap intercooler from eBay and at first glance, it looks pretty well made [redacted]. It's pretty dang heavy for what it is, but I think for the most part, the intercooler is good enough and it's 95% drop in. I had problems fitting one of the brackets because it is short, and bending it will not make it any better. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with it. I just need to do more testing if it dropped my IAT.

On a totally different note, the old intercooler and charge pipes is definitely coated with engine oil.. Time to install that catch can I guess.

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EDIT: I guess Rev9 claims it's aluminum

[Pandemic]

how sure are you that it's not aluminum? how much did it weigh?

[clixt]

how sure are you that it's not aluminum? how much did it weigh?

Roughly 42 lbs. The stock intercooler was soo much lighter though. I could be wrong and that the Rev9 could just be denser.

[hipendicular]

I was gonna reply to your post on Audiworld but I'd be willing to bet it is Aluminum. I just bought his exact same IC on Ebay and it is pretty heavy but this IC is large and it is made from heavy cast aluminum end tanks. I had a name brand cheap intercooler on a past car and it was polished aluminum and it was just as heavy but smaller. The stock IC is plastic and very small..

I'm gonna try to install this weekend and have been watching my IAT on my stock IC. I don't know if its gonna help me a whole lot as my car is a daily but I'm gonna try to put my NS PM in the higher boost setting.. figured lower IAT will help..

[clixt]

I was gonna reply to your post on Audiworld but I'd be willing to bet it is Aluminum. I just bought his exact same IC on Ebay and it is pretty heavy but this IC is large and it is made from heavy cast aluminum end tanks. I had a name brand cheap intercooler on a past car and it was polished aluminum and it was just as heavy but smaller. The stock IC is plastic and very small..

I'm gonna try to install this weekend and have been watching my IAT on my stock IC. I don't know if its gonna help me a whole lot as my car is a daily but I'm gonna try to put my NS PM in the higher boost setting.. figured lower IAT will help..

Yeah it's Aluminum. I was just a little shocked how heavy it is compared to stock.

I think it's definitely an improvement over stock and it dropped a few degrees for sure, but not mind blowing. Before, I can see my IAT around 140 F (on a 85 F day) when I'm stopped, idling. Today I did some logging and the peak I saw is 130 F. Cruising along the freeway, it's below 90 F at one point. Overall, I think it's a good buy since I already installed an intake, running E30ish and JB4 map 5.

That said, I think removing the plastic shield from the stock IC is good enough for most people not pushing their A4 as much as I am.

[yb28]

Yeah it's aluminum, driving around town today I saw about 43-45F which is ~110. and cruise its about 90F or lower!

[clixt]

Yeah it's aluminum, driving around town today I saw about 43-45F which is ~110. and cruise its about 90F or lower!

Honestly this intercooler is pretty good. Now idk how much better IE or other name brand intercooler would be but I think the Rev9 is 90% there for 50% of their price.

[hipendicular]

Honestly this intercooler is pretty good. Now idk how much better IE or other name brand intercooler would be but I think the Rev9 is 90% there for 50% of their price.

This... I got the thing installed and I also had one bracket that is not going to fit. One had to be bent slightly to make work but install difficulty is a 3 out of 10 and it took me about 4 hours. The hardest part was not breaking all those damn air guides-seals that clip in and I broke my dang outside air temp plastic bracket that holds it to the metal bumper.. =( Zip tied it back on.. felt so ghetto.. oh well.

I also noticed no difference with cruising... But when I did a two gear pull up an on ramp, I saw my temps drop the whole time, where as the stock IC would drop and then start climbing.

Maybe it was just me, but the car felt better.. almost like it cut lag or increased my low end torque. I didn't drive it much but all in all, not def not bad for the money.

Oh and I also found oil in my stock IC. My friend with a new RS3 said he found the same thing on his car when he swapped his stock IC. I'm running a NS PM and maybe its from the increased boost of the stock turbo but I'm hoping its just normal. My car loses no oil on the virtual dipstick thru my 5K mile oil changes.. so I hope its normal..

[clixt]

My install also took forever but not because of the intercooler, but because I totally missed the inner screw (edge of headlight) holding the front bumper.. It was only after I watched EMD's video that I figured it out.. I also noticed that with the stock intercooler, you reach a certain point that no matter how fast you go, IAT just won't drop further whereas with the Rev9, it drops. It makea sense though since Rev9 is much larger therefore more surface area lol.

Otherwise the install itself is pretty easy actually. Pinching that retaining clip for the stock intercooler was annoying though. My nose pliers kept slipping lol. Also It would be easier if all the hardware fit perfectly but you get what you pay for. Again, for the price I think it's a pretty good upgrade over stock.

As for the oil, my car has plenty of miles (44k) and it's actually not that bad given that it has so many miles on it. I've also come to accept that GDI engines just eat up oil.. I have a universal oil catch can I bought off Amazon that I've been thinking of installing but I may return because it's a hassle to make it work for the A4. I'll just save up for one built specifically for the A4.

[audicool]

Did you also add any aftermarket charge pipes ?


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[hipendicular]

Did you also add any aftermarket charge pipes ?


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

No but I wish I did. They are cheap and my stock squishy pipe wanted to kink a bit cause it ended up a harder angle than with the stock IC. And it would've been so easy to swap them while my bumper was off.

Update to my IC upgrade. I added a small piece of rubber hose between the top of Rev9 IC and what ever that plastic frame is that attaches to the hood latch. It was touching it and i'm guessing with a lot of miles, it might start to wear thru something. Last time I checked that rubber hose was still there. For the money, I can't complain but it would be nice if they included a bracket to support the top of it.

Lastly, my IAT is way down over stock, as long as I'm using some gas. During a light cruise, my IATs are around 10-15 degs over ambient and under hard acceleration, I am seeing 5-10 degs over ambient with zero creep even with extended boosting. Stock IC was like 20 degs over ambient during cruise and nothing less than 12 degs over ambient while boosting and it would creep up the whole time I have my foot in it.

I am hoping to re-draggy my car again with the new IC and with my NS PM set in Race gas mode now.. Should see a good improvement.

[clixt]

Did you also add any aftermarket charge pipes ?


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

Nope, but I should've. IBut yeah this IC is still going strong. Paired with my E85 blend (E30) my temps are pretty low especially during WOT where there's a ton of air.

[Damonkey09]

Hi I am considering getting the rev9 and wanted to know do you thing the Wagner charge pipes would work on the rev9 ic?

[clixt]

Hi I am considering getting the rev9 and wanted to know do you thing the Wagner charge pipes would work on the rev9 ic?

I have no clue, but I am eventually going to change the charge pipes with the CTS Turbo. I think the Wagner should work, just double check the measurements.

[Audi_18]

Yup i am running the Rev 9 intercooler with the CTS charge pipes :). Overall for price you can’t beat this intercooler compared to the other ones on the market. I am running stage 2 Unitronic w/ 2 gallon of e85 and she pulls strong :)