Intercooler faceoff: Flow Testing

[FlyboyS4]

I’m looking for some help in answering the other half of the intercooler question, that question being how do the B5 S4 SMIC options compare in terms of pressure loss and airflow.

Recently I completed work on a flowbench and I tested my oem stock intercoolers along with my ER IC’s. These two are well known opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of temperature control and I found them to have a substantial difference with respect to flow even at K03 mass airflow levels.

I’m now interested in seeing how some of the other intercooler options stack up. For higher horsepower setups, where temperature management is often aided by water/methanol injection, pressure losses through the intercooler can become a significant concern and should be factored into the decision of which intercooler to equip the car with.

What I need are intercoolers to test and help with return shipping expenses.

Anyone who has a set of intercoolers they would be willing to ship to me for testing please let me know which brand you have and I’ll publish a list of candidate systems with the donor name.

I will also need some supporters to help cover the return shipping costs of the intercoolers back to the donor. The more people who can support the project by committing $5-$10 the more intercoolers I’ll be able to evaluate. For now I’d just like a verbal commitment of support and amount contributing. Once I have some candidate systems ready to begin shipping I’ll ask the supporters to begin sending their financial contributions for the upcoming test.

For the donors my thought is for you to cover the shipping cost to me unless the response from the supporters is sufficient to cover your costs as well. I am willing to cover the return shipping costs to anyone that can contribute a set of AMD IC’s since they are a product I am considering purchasing for my own use.

I’ll provide updated information about candidate systems, the donors, and supporters as I receive responses. I will be cross posting this request to other forums to try and generate a comprehensive list of candidate systems and large number of financial supporters.

I can be contacted at: flyboy@myaudis4.com

Candidate System Donor
TBD-----------------TBD

Supporters (Contribution)
Flyboy ($30)

[FlyboyS4]

AMD intercooler flow test completed.

Test results here.

[FlyboyS4]

Added RS4 and Apikol intercoolers.

[wbrunner23]

I love this test and reading the results. Its interesting how well the RS4 ICs perform compared to the Apikol and ERs...I guess the Audi engineers knew pretty well what they were doing.

When all 3 of those cost a good amount of $$$...I wonder how some of the cheaper options out there would perform in comparison. I am excited to see the results for the Silly Rabbit ICs!

[FlyboyS4]

I am excited to see the results for the Silly Rabbit ICs!

Just tested the SRM IC's and have updated the test summary page.

[FlyboyS4]

Added the AWE SMIC's to the test

[FlyboyS4]

Did another test with AMD intercoolers, adding the inlet hoses this round and a new flowbench adapter.

AMD2 IC Flow Test

[FlyboyS4]

Updated with the Wagner S4 IC's.