KO4 Turbo review

[Dscott]

i am trying to source the seat one persoanlly, no one seems to be able to import it for me...

[Guy_H]

Sorry Guy, without buying a APR intercooler, what about using the existing forge piping and getting a good quality core made up ??

Thats a good idea, you just need to do all the bench flow testing BEFORE you bolt it on the car, then do the performance data when installed.

Don't forget this also sits in front of the radiator, so you must ensure the transverse through pressure drop is minimal or your radiator temps will go up. - problem is if you spend a couple of grand building prototypes & testing them, then you are going to have to sell a lot of intercoolers to help absorb the cost of that R&D.

[Guy_H]

If you could get a good quality core made up, maybe use it with existing piping, or sell the forge kit and make up your own plumbing

Maybe it will be hard to sell the forge kits after this

I'm not having a go at that company personally as they make some good products, but this one is complete crap & you actually lose performance - you only gain a lighter wallet. Better off with the stock one - proven.

Look what Plautos had to do to his to get the flow back.

[Guy_H]

i am trying to source the seat one persoanlly, no one seems to be able to import it for me...

If the Seat one is built for a 1.8T, then its probably a very good option, if its for some other motor, you would need to test it's efficiency to make sure it gives you positive gains.

[noone]

The Seat one has been done, but it's quite expensive. It'd designed for a Diesel, the have different needs. I gave read the Diesel's use the cooler like a heat synch, it's a big unit.

If we could get a swap out cooler designed to hook up to the Forge piping, it would not be too expensive if we had enough people interested.

[Guy_H]

The Seat one has been done, but it's quite expensive. It'd designed for a Diesel, the have different needs. I gave read the Diesel's use the cooler like a heat synch, it's a big unit.

If we could get a swap out cooler designed to hook up to the Forge piping, it would not be too expensive if we had enough people interested.

Exactly - see my posts #122 & #124 above. Its not hard to have an intercooler built, but it costs time & money - and of course, if it does not work, you have to do it again until you get correct results. There are people with correct type flow benches in most large cities that can flow test for a commercial rate, and VCDS will tell you about boost loss / gain & temperatures when logged on a dyno or road under the same conditions. Has anyone flow tested the Forge pipes (I have not, just their core) and know there is no restriction there - or just guessing?

[TazzyVR6]

Just a note - if you install a FMIC & get a loss of boost, it's best to remove it & go back to standard. The issue people have had with Polo GTI's (With K03 & K04) trying to make an extra 4psi of boost to cope with a bad intercooler is not a long term prospect. A good intercooler will lose no boost & create no lag - it should actually make it better.

I knew to expect this, I had read up on it. If you want to through an APR FMIC my way I'll be happy to try it out. Otherwise I'll have to stick with the Forge.

[Dscott]

Ill take the seat 1, proven results for users with the 1.8t, however need stage 2 or above to get the most out of it.

I would now love to find someone to bring it in for me.. will pay postage etc ugh..

[instigator]

i have the seat IC with Forge piping on it.
verry happy with it, IC alone gave me 8Hp on a not remapped car.
the highest gains will follow if that is happend.

i have seen results (many of it) from the seat IC on a 1.8T.
it can easily flow +350Hp.
it's designd for a diesel yes, but that does not mean it does not do the job on a petrol car...
i'm pretty sure it is one of the best IC on a 1.8T if you stay under 400Hp.
maye it can handle +400Hp also but i've never seen tests or results of that...?

[vwthunder]

What about something like this

Treadstone TRV185 and TRV1859 Series Intercooler

Has anyone heard of Treadstone ??

[noone]

What we need is a shop who can take a cooler and slap on some mounting points and extra piping to make a swap-over kit. That would require a donor car with the forge and some confirmed numbers of takers so the shop can quote up a kit.

If it came in around $300, I'd jump on it, but we would need to know it was a good core.

[Dscott]

Looks nice but looks like a bit more work involved to fit it...

The thing about the SEAT FMIC is it bolts straight on, and you can even use the forge intercooler piping kit to fit it..

D

[Guy_H]

Ill take the seat 1, proven results for users with the 1.8t, however need stage 2 or above to get the most out of it.

I would now love to find someone to bring it in for me.. will pay postage etc ugh..

Do you have any data on the intercooler - I like the way it's VW designed to sit in front of the factory radiator, but traditionally diesel intercoolers are designed for 25 - 30psi of boost, we are talking on a Polo 14 - 22 psi. - need to see boost logs to make sure it doesn't do what the forge ones do.

[Guy_H]

What we need is a shop who can take a cooler and slap on some mounting points and extra piping to make a swap-over kit. That would require a donor car with the forge and some confirmed numbers of takers so the shop can quote up a kit.

If it came in around $300, I'd jump on it, but we would need to know it was a good core.

$300 wont even get your flow testing done unfortunately.

[noone]

I'm not after a production level cooler, just a reputable one.

In relation to the Seat cooler, I don't believe it's a straight bolt on. From memory, Instigator had forge do a kit for his. Expect it to be close to $2k landed for a Seat cooler with bolt on kit. For that money, go the APR.