b6 vs b7 intercooler

[Gin+]

I know the b7 has dual side mount intercoolers, but I read somewhere once that the driver side factory intercooler on the b7 was higher capacity than the b6? Anyone confirm or deny this?

[Gosser]

I have both in my garage that I can measure when I get back home tomorrow. Visually they looked the same but I’ll take a tape measure to it. My inital thought is that they are the same, as the b7 already has a second like you mentioned.

[Gin+]

Thanks man!

[ozMatt]

I have both intercoolers from a B7 at home (Australian model B7 2.0T). The drivers side intercooler from the B7 has two extra rows compared to my stock B6 one. The core thickness and height are the same.

So the B7 one is larger, but not by much. I tried to swap it into my car, and it's not a straight swap. The locating pins on the B7 cooler don't line up with the stock B6 bracket. (i think you could get two of the three lined up with a bit of effort). Also, due to the extra width (due to the extra two rows in the core), getting the bottom L-shaped hose onto the cooler and the crossover pipe is very difficult. I think this can all be done, however I gave up as I had to get the car back together quickly at the time.

Gosser - I have a question for you, as i believe you're putting the second cooler in your car?.....How did you go about connecting the turbo to the second intercooler? I had a brief look with the hoses I have, and I couldn't see a way for it to line up. (I have both of the B7 hoses for the passenger side cooler, but i don't have the B7 crossover pipe)

Cheers, Matt

[Nollywood]

Really, you’ll need the front crossmember of the B6 A4 1.8T 190. It also runs twin intercoolers, but slightly different to the B7 2.0T set-up.

B6 1.8T single intercooler layout:



B7 1.8T single intercooler layout:



B6 1.8T dual intercooler layout:



B7 2.0T dual intercooler layout:

[Gosser]

I have both intercoolers from a B7 at home (Australian model B7 2.0T). The drivers side intercooler from the B7 has two extra rows compared to my stock B6 one. The core thickness and height are the same.

So the B7 one is larger, but not by much. I tried to swap it into my car, and it's not a straight swap. The locating pins on the B7 cooler don't line up with the stock B6 bracket. (i think you could get two of the three lined up with a bit of effort). Also, due to the extra width (due to the extra two rows in the core), getting the bottom L-shaped hose onto the cooler and the crossover pipe is very difficult. I think this can all be done, however I gave up as I had to get the car back together quickly at the time.

Gosser - I have a question for you, as i believe you're putting the second cooler in your car?.....How did you go about connecting the turbo to the second intercooler? I had a brief look with the hoses I have, and I couldn't see a way for it to line up. (I have both of the B7 hoses for the passenger side cooler, but i don't have the B7 crossover pipe)

Cheers, Matt

Interesting, I am curious to see what my american parts are like.

As for the turbo to passenger side IC, I simply rotated the B6 discharge pipe 90 degrees, which then feeds into the bottom of the B7 IC like this:

[Luxus Panzer]

Interesting, I am curious to see what my american parts are like.

As for the turbo to passenger side IC, I simply rotated the B6 discharge pipe 90 degrees, which then feeds into the bottom of the B7 IC like this:

Can't wait for this DIY ;)

[Gosser]

Almost done, working out of town has put a damper on progress all around.

[Gin+]

Good info, thanks gents.

[ozMatt]

Interesting, I am curious to see what my american parts are like.

As for the turbo to passenger side IC, I simply rotated the B6 discharge pipe 90 degrees, which then feeds into the bottom of the B7 IC like this:

ahh makes sense, thanks. might have another crack at it at some stage. Also +1 for when you do the DIY, much appreciated.

[Gosser]

Just checked and the 2.0T B7 driver side intercooler is 14 row, where the B6 driver side is 12 row. Both 2.5" thick. Mounting points are definitely different on the top:

B6 in the back and B7 in the foreground. The intake hose connection looks to be pushed out on the B7 too.

And I was ready to throw out the B7 IC the other day! Good thing I didnt, and also happen to have the B7 bracket to go along with it. I'll have a crack at this over the weekend. The duct shroud mounting points are also different, and I seem to mis-place my B6 shroud... or never had one, since I dont remember pulling one off.

[ozMatt]

yep this exactly matches the ones i have - good to know. Also, the inlet/outlets on the B7 intercooler have a slightly larger diameter than the B6 one. I think you can get the B6 hoses on there, but they'll be a really tight fit.

The other thing I noticed is: to remove the intercooler bracket I think you'll need to remove the washer bottle. I'm pretty sure there is a bolt behind it :( I was going to see if i could get one of the top mounting points, and the single bottom mounting point to work so i didn't have to change the bracket.

[ozMatt]

Really, you’ll need the front crossmember of the B6 A4 1.8T 190. It also runs twin intercoolers, but slightly different to the B7 2.0T set-up.

Thanks Nolly - should have replied to this earlier. These diagrams are great, appreciate you posting them.

The reason I'm interested is a few people have suggested the B7 setup fits the B6 relatively easy. Now, granted it doesn't require the effort of say an RS6 engine swap (see what I did there :) ), but it certainly isn't plug and play unless you can get every single piece. I have both B7 intercoolers, and the bracket and hoses for the second cooler. Based on what I've seen so far, I think I can make it all work now. I also have a cheap ebay front mount, and I'm debating whether or not to just get a piping kit for that instead, just not sure it'll be any better than the dual setup.

[Gin+]

It's a great example of "another one of those things" that every b6 1.8t should've been fitted with at the factory.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

It's a great example of "another one of those things" that every b6 1.8t should've been fitted with at the factory.

But is it really enough of a difference to be worth the effort? On the surface, the size increase (less than 10%) seems minimal enough not to be worth the bother. But maybe the B7 cores flow better or there's some other not-so-obvious benefit?

[Gin+]

But is it really enough of a difference to be worth the effort? On the surface, the size increase (less than 10%) seems minimal enough not to be worth the bother. But maybe the B7 cores flow better or there's some other not-so-obvious benefit?

My bs remark was in relation towards the dual side mount intercooler (DSMI) setup in general.

[Gosser]

But is it really enough of a difference to be worth the effort? On the surface, the size increase (less than 10%) seems minimal enough not to be worth the bother. But maybe the B7 cores flow better or there's some other not-so-obvious benefit?

The increase is actually 16.5% for just the driver side IC. Even at that, I wouldnt bother with just a B6 to B7 driver side IC. Like Gin said, its really only worth it if you are already there adding the passenger side.

[Gosser]

So I had a go at the B7 driver side IC and its not a plug and play type of deal at all. Here is why.
Here is just a quick side by side, B6 left and B7 on the right with the respective silicon elbows:

Few things to note and keep in the back of your head, the B7 elbow is longer and the inlet at the top is aswell. I'll mention it now, going back to the B7 2.0 diagram, you can see how much of an angle the driver side IC in on. I didnt notice this until i was cutting brackets.

Here are the brackets, B6 left and B7 on the right:
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Here is the IC upper mounting points, B6 left, B7 right:

The B7 IC bracket fits perfectly, simply peeling back the fender liner to get the hidden 10mm. I didnt notice at this point but, note how far the bottom mounting hole for the IC is...:

Once the IC top mounting points were locked in, the bottom was far from fitting. Looking from below, this is where the IC it interferes with the washer fluid reservoir leaving about 1.5" for the bottom mount to connect:

You could probably do away without the bottom mount, seeing how both silicon hoses really lock it down, but I tried cutting both brackets to make a b6lower/b7upper bracket so that the lower bracket would correct the IC angle. I was also hoping the B6 bottom bracket would correct offset so that I could use the B6 silicon elbow from the crossover tube:

I had a B7 reservoir on hand, and comparing the two, they are very different. The thought crossed my mind to use the B7 reservoir, but wasnt to sure if there would then be fender/bumper clearance issues.

And I ran into further problems. I managed to mount the IC in with the b6/b7 bracket. I had to bend up the B7 bracket to meet the B7 angled mounting position, but it fit.

The B7 IC inlets/outlets are both 4mm larger in diameter than the B6s. Not a big deal, you can force both B6 inlet and out hoses on. I never tired the B6 lower hose. But the B6 intake silicon binds up into an inefficient S shape, more of a Z. Since B7 IC outlet is ~1.5" longer than the B6, I tried cutting my B6 hose down ~1" and forcing the hose on, but it wasnt haven any of it.
This is the hose cut before trying to force it on, the shape is natural in the picture. I was able to get the hose started, but never enough to get a band on it, even then it was all contorted and restrictive:


I looked at the B7 TB to IC silicon and it wouldnt work at all either. At this point I gave up. I'm sure you could get some various silicon piping online to make it all work, but I dont have the patience for that. The shrouds also are completely different, from mounting points to shape which fuelled the fire to scrap the idea. I mean its possible, but to what lenghts do you want to go for an extra 16.5%. Silicon piping is pricey and another 40 bucks for a shroud that you would need to cut up and zip tie together. I know this sounds weird, but I prefer to avoid zip ties. Also, seeing how I am already gaining 116.5% from the passenger side, I didnt feel the need for the another 16.5.

[Gin+]

Wow, thanks for documenting. So close yet so far apart.

[ozMatt]

+1 Thanks heaps Gosser - great info. I don't think I'll bother with that side either, as like you said any gains are probably negated with the effort required to get it to fit nice.

[Natejo91]

Thanks for the write up Gosser! And just to clarify, if it’s only desired to put the B7 passenger side IC on, then all that’s needed is the B7 brackets, crossover pipe and maybe the B7 passenger side hoses? Also assuming that the SAI has been deleted/relocated along with the silly silencer/reservoir too.


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[Audi NASA Racer]

Just saw this thread-anybody have any data on B5 intercooler size vs B6 or B7?