More intercooler options for the 2.0T :-)

Al

Active Member
Aug 29, 2005
7,331
9
OK, so we know that the two intercoolers for the 2.0T Leons are as follows;

Found in the 2.0T model Sport, FR and Cupra
1k0145803-394136.jpg

p/n 1K0 145 803 S

And the intercooler in the Cupra R uses the core from the S3 2007-2009 model (below) and the plastic end tanks from the above intercooler. Interestingly the CDLA engine S3 from 2009-> uses the same intercooler as the 2010-> Leon Cupra R with the same CDLA engine code.
p/n 1K0 145 803 AK

The first intercooler upgrade for the earlier (non Cupra R) models was the S3 intercooler from the pre 2009 pre CDL engine code S3 with the large alloy end tanks.
1K0145803P_med.jpg

p/n 1K0 145 803P

The second one available was the APR unit. This intercooler is reported to be good quality, but no proof of gains/drops have been noted. In addition to this, at £1,000 it is hugely expensive.
intercooler_mkv_large.jpg

p/n IC100012

The Forge Twintercooler followed. In theory it is a good solution, putting in a second intercooler away from the radiator and infront of all the cores to catch the cold air. However, it can create lag due to the larger volume of space for the turbo to pressurise and it creates another layer for air to get through to get to the radiator. List price of £660.
FMINTLFS.jpg

p/nMINTLFS

Then the THS. There have been reports of the THS not being available, often with long lead times, slow supply and poor communications from the manufacturer, and there is no real evidence of its gains over the S3 intercooler listed above. List price of £610
1244587177_tfsicool_w225_h225.png


There are other less well known companies who produce intercoolers for the 2.0T, but two newer ones which are worth considering, and oftern found on MK2 Focus RS's are available;

The Airtec. New for 2012. The bumff on their website says Tested @ Devil Developments rolling road. Testing shows Airtec 2.0 TFSI Intercooler upgrade & Devil Stage 1 Ecu Remap – Intake Temperature of 31 degrees @ 249.5bhp ‘ Temp drop of 18 degrees & 12.8bhp Gain, compared to standard VAG Intercooler.
imgsize.php

£495

The Pro Alloy - Shown as an upgrade for the S3 intercooler (same as Leon) and reported on their website that extensive testing showed that the PRO cooler reduced the air intake temps to just 4 degrees above ambient.(The standard cooler only managed 16degrees above ambient). Interestingly this is one that JKM rate over the S3 intercooler.
STDvsPROCooler.jpg

Price approx £700

For sure, others are around, but these are perhaps the ones which are most popular or most highly rated - food for thought and proof of lots of options available for the 2.0T now :)
 

sniperftw

Guest
Good review al :D

But realistically value for money, and money/performance ratio! S3 win's hand's down really!
 

robdf2

Yellow is the best
Feb 21, 2006
3,605
2
location , location
is 2 degrees really worth the £205 price difference between the airtec and the pro allo cooler?

surely its also got a lot to do with recovery from a hard run as well?

only one way to sort this out


FIGHT !!!!!!!!!! :handbags:
 

Deleted member 53697

Guest
I have THS on mine but still running stock software so no idea if it's working :\
THS coolers have been widely used on a lot of big turbo 2.0 TFSI build in the past and present. This cooler was also used on the world record Bonneville Skoda Octavia...
These are primarliy the reasons I have gone with it myself. Supply and communication is an issue with THS; I was quite lucky when I ordered mine - Revo they had one left that was unbranded so a snapped that up :)
 

lc_allan

Northern Monkey
Sep 15, 2006
3,389
4
The Airtec's maybe worth a punt for someone. As said they are popular for RS and ST upgrades.
 

Al

Active Member
Aug 29, 2005
7,331
9
is 2 degrees really worth the £205 price difference between the airtec and the pro allo cooler?

surely its also got a lot to do with recovery from a hard run as well?

only one way to sort this out


FIGHT !!!!!!!!!! :handbags:

The Pro Alloy one is reported to be lighter, higher quality and reduces heat better on sustained hard running. The Fordy boys all seem to rate the Pro Alloy core above the Airtec too.
 

Bignod00

Active Member
Nov 9, 2009
2,202
3
Lincoln/40,000 ft.
The Pro Alloy one is reported to be lighter, higher quality and reduces heat better on sustained hard running. The Fordy boys all seem to rate the Pro Alloy core above the Airtec too.

AMD seem to rate the Pro Alloy i/c too, I was recommended it when enquiring about possible BT conversion!:)
 

mdmay

Active Member
Jan 4, 2012
13
0
wanstead
The Airtec's maybe worth a punt for someone. As said they are popular for RS and ST upgrades.

i have an airtec on my stage 2 st mondeo that now has 170k miles on it. it is an brilliant piece of kit was very easy to fit and massively increased the torque.
the intercooler has been on this car now for 140k miles and still performs flawlessly. I put this up on vagoc as a possible alternative as i intend to be fitting one to my cupra soon

If anyone is interested on the st it with the stage 2 mods (v6 twintake, decat & large bore exhaust aitec & remap) it kicks out 207 bhp & 389 ibft all day long
 

mdmay

Active Member
Jan 4, 2012
13
0
wanstead
The Pro Alloy one is reported to be lighter, higher quality and reduces heat better on sustained hard running. The Fordy boys all seem to rate the Pro Alloy core above the Airtec too.

Really not too sure about that as I have a tuned st tdci and mate has the mountuned rs 400 and guess what both use the airtec
 

Al

Active Member
Aug 29, 2005
7,331
9
Yeah I know the MK2 Focus RS guys use Airtech and its a good piece of kit. It would be fantastic if a test was done on a single car to check them all but realistically, it will always be opinion, marketing bumff and logs etc on separate cars.

The Airtech is reported to be heavier on the MK2 Focus than the Pro Alloy one though and the Focus lads I know seem to think Pro Alloy is better although nobody says anything bad about Airtech either :)
 

mdmay

Active Member
Jan 4, 2012
13
0
wanstead
on the mondeo it was so much better than piece of sh1t put on as standard it was unbelievable. the torque figures speak volumes of its effectiveness.
its not a feather weight that i will agree on but for costs its a no brainer as if use autospecialists.co.uk they do forum discounts. for the one on my st i paid circa £30 less than website price for quoting that i had been directed to them by a forum.
 

jc_boc

Missing the CUPRA R!
Jul 18, 2008
9,304
7
Desborough
AMD also do an intercooler which has the same spec as the THS iirc. Saw it when I was there on Thursday getting my exhaust done. It comes in either black or the normal silver. Looks quite good and it comes in at just over £600.00 iirc.
 

cupra_ahhh

Active Member
Nov 4, 2008
1,203
11
Tonbridge, Kent
so can i just ask...how much is the S3 i/c and where would you get one? from Audi? Breakers yard? ebay?

I'd say the airtech looks like the best option for price and gains, if they've provided evidence of their testing and results, then it kinda goes without saying.
 
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AndrewJB

Friend to SEAT UK & Cupra Racing
Aug 16, 2007
11,211
484
Maranello
What about the units they use for the supercopa series cars?

Supercopa's have 1K0145803S
which is the Standard FR/Cupra one


Supercopa LR have 1K0145803P
which is the S3 one with large alloy end tanks


The only SEAT Sport car that has a different IC is the D2000 2.0TDI, The part number for the IC on that is a Non-SEAT Part number, its been given a SEAT Sport part Number
 
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Poverty

Guest
I thought the APR, THS, and forge all had proven gains?

Infact I thought the twintercooler gave the greatest gains, no real additional pressure drop, and the only potential issue for really hot countries is the possibilty of restricted air flow to gearbox radiator of DSG equipped cars.
 

POPOV

Newbie
Jun 25, 2005
581
2
Sweden
mk5ic.jpg


Godspeed intercooler

core length: 24"
core height: 16"
core thickness" 2.25"
inlet / outlet : 2.75"
end to end length: 28-36"
 
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