Treadstone TR18T Install and Review on a B7 A4 (Pics and Logs Inside)

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

So I figured I'd post my install and review of the newly constructed TR18T Intercooler from Treadstone Performance. Big thanks to Audizine Member Seerlah for putting all the time, effort and money to get this intercooler custom built by Treadstone. It was originally designed for the B5 and B6 crowd, but most thought it should fit the B7 as well, without removing the crash bar. For that crowd I'm sorry to say this particular intercooler isn't going to float your "safety" boat. It was a C|_|nt hair away from fitting behind the crash bar. But nonetheless this is one clean, high-quality badass intercooler. I bet it would prolly hold-up just as well as that stupid ole crash bar too. Install for me was straight forward since I had a previous Treadstone Intercooler and basically all I had to do was remove it and the crash bar and install the TR18T. Also, relieved some of the fitment issues I saw with my previous intercooler. Performance logs will come during summer heat when I can push it to its limits and see how it performs.

GroupBuy Thread:
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/520457-EuropaParts-com-Treadstone-Intercooler-Group-Buy

Treadstone Site Link:
http://www.treadstoneperformance.com/product.phtml?p=4453&prodname=TR18T+Intercooler+480HP

Notes:
Install mounts on the TR18T use 1/4" bolts.
I bought some 1/8" thick x 3/4" wide flat bar aluminum for mounting. It only came in 6' ft sections and I only used 10-12" of it so if anyone would like some to use PM me and I'll send some to you for the cost of shipping.

On to the pictures:
http://imageshack.us/a/img824/4170/img2553q.jpg

High-Density Internal Fin Structure:
http://imageshack.us/a/img62/3986/img2555zu.jpg

How close it was to fitting behind the crash bar:
http://imageshack.us/a/img692/9581/img2556ep.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img96/4944/img2558bz.jpg

Installed Pics:
http://imageshack.us/a/img69/757/img2560ni.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img651/6015/img2562r.jpg

Final shot cuz I'm kewl n stuff:
http://imageshack.us/a/img526/4025/img2564f.jpg

Let me know if anyone has any questions.

-Joel

[Hopperstien]

Thanks for putting this up. I can't wait to get mine in once I buy my piping.

[Seerlah]

Nice [up]. Waiting to see some real world IAT logs. You have old ones to semi-compare? I have an IAT gauge on my car, and will simply use that for comparison on my vehicle. Been running my custom SMIC for a while now and got used to how the IATs react during different driving conditions. Not exactly sure when I will install mine, but should be soon hopefully. And I take it you just shaved some material off the crash bar?

Also wanted to note that the mounting bungs on top was a goof I was not thinking about when a member suggested I place them there. The intercooler was to originally have mounting tabs in the casting of the end tanks similar to their other units, but the company that makes their end tanks neglected to place them there. So, they are all welded on per order. He said that he made 10 units already with the mounting bungs on top, and the rest have none. Those who recieved the intercooler already with the mounting bungs on top received theirs from this batch. If you plan on ordering, you can call them on the phone and request the mounting tabs/bungs to be placed where you want. If you look in the pic on their website, the intercooler has no mounting points.

As for how long the GB will be going on for, not quite sure. I have not emailed them in about 2 weeks, in hopes to push the GB as far back as possible (ie tax return goodies). But I will email them probably tomorrow just to see what is going on and if the GB can last for roughly another month or so. Hopefully people will have excess cash to spare if they wanted to jump on this.

And on another note, the high density is "inside" the core. The outer edge of the core (looking in the inlet/outlet) can be misleading and look like ebay crap (true story). But that is far from the fact. Just the edges look like that. You can see the density clearly by placing a light on the other inlet/outlet for a gander on the density quality.

[TFSI]

Looks very nice! It's good to clean your intercooler pipes once in a while due to oils.

Now people will look at your front grille more often!

[CLEANA3]

Looks good

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

Thanks for putting this up. I can't wait to get mine in once I buy my piping.

No problem. Let me know if you need some aluminum to hang it with, I'll be more than happy to ship you some.


Nice [up]. Waiting to see some real world IAT logs. You have old ones to semi-compare? I have an IAT gauge on my car, and will simply use that for comparison on my vehicle. Been running my custom SMIC for a while now and got used to how the IATs react during different driving conditions. Not exactly sure when I will install mine, but should be soon hopefully. And I take it you just shaved some material off the crash bar?

Also wanted to note that the mounting bungs on top was a goof I was not thinking about when a member suggested I place them there. The intercooler was to originally have mounting tabs in the casting of the end tanks similar to their other units, but the company that makes their end tanks neglected to place them there. So, they are all welded on per order. He said that he made 10 units already with the mounting bungs on top, and the rest have none. Those who recieved the intercooler already with the mounting bungs on top received theirs from this batch. If you plan on ordering, you can call them on the phone and request the mounting tabs/bungs to be placed where you want. If you look in the pic on their website, the intercooler has no mounting points.

As for how long the GB will be going on for, not quite sure. I have not emailed them in about 2 weeks, in hopes to push the GB as far back as possible (ie tax return goodies). But I will email them probably tomorrow just to see what is going on and if the GB can last for roughly another month or so. Hopefully people will have excess cash to spare if they wanted to jump on this.

And on another note, the high density is "inside" the core. The outer edge of the core (looking in the inlet/outlet) can be misleading and look like ebay crap (true story). But that is far from the fact. Just the edges look like that. You can see the density clearly by placing a light on the other inlet/outlet for a gander on the density quality.

Honestly for the B7, the mounting bungs on top are in a perfect spot. Also, the deal with High-Density fin structure, that's the reason I posted a Hi-Res picture for everyone to see what I meant. Treadstone cores have true High-Density internal fin structure. Logs will come in the summer, but I do have some from stock IC and my previous intercooler to compare to also.


Looks very nice! It's good to clean your intercooler pipes once in a while due to oils.

Now people will look at your front grille more often!

Haha yea she is a beauty. Thinking about blocking the port on the turbo so no oil drains down in there anymore.


Looks good

Thanks [up]

[Rodmar]

Looks good making me regret blowing all my cash lately on guns haha

[Charles]

Any reason you couldn't take an angle grinder and remove a bit of the crash bar to accommodate the IC? Looks like you wouldn't need to take that much off.

[vortexjunkie]

Any reason you couldn't take an angle grinder and remove a bit of the crash bar to accommodate the IC? Looks like you wouldn't need to take that much off.

I was just thinking that... No way am I removing my crash bar just to fit a fmic

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

Any reason you couldn't take an angle grinder and remove a bit of the crash bar to accommodate the IC? Looks like you wouldn't need to take that much off.

You could do that, but I didn't have the tools yesterday. As you can see it wouldn't take much to squeeze her in there.


I was just thinking that... No way am I removing my crash bar just to fit a fmic

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

I won't go into the long drawn out debate about said so called "crash" bar.

[blingaling]

the 480hp is measured for crank hp efficiency right??

[blingaling]

btw what piping kit did you use?? i know you need a pipe fitting for the thrust sensor.

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

the 480hp is measured for crank hp efficiency right??

I believe so yes, I never really asked because I know my B7 will never reach that lol I responded to your PM BTW.

[Seerlah]

the 480hp is measured for crank hp efficiency right??

That is correct. Intercooler ratings are generally in CHP due to every vehicle placing down different WHP depending on many variables.

[adamc514]

Nice to see you got it mounted. Can you share any front end pics with the hood closed? Maybe the only real downside to not running the crash bar is losing bumper height adjustment. I'd like to get an idea of how far off the gap would be without the bar.

I was worried the FMIC was too wide and would hit where the crash bar started to contour in towards the ends. From your pictures it looks like there is general clearance issues all around, i.e. core too thick as well.

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

Nice to see you got it mounted. Can you share any front end pics with the hood closed? Maybe the only real downside to not running the crash bar is losing bumper height adjustment. I'd like to get an idea of how far off the gap would be without the bar.

I was worried the FMIC was too wide and would hit where the crash bar started to contour in towards the ends. From your pictures it looks like there is general clearance issues all around, i.e. core too thick as well.

Yea, I believe there were a few contributing factors as to why it didn't fit. Too wide (for this thickness) like you said as the ends start to get into the contours of the crash bar. Honestly, if they had taken a 1/4" off the thickness it would've fit regardless of the contours of the crash bar. Nonetheless, it is a nice intercooler. Took some logs last night and ambient temp was 31F degrees and when I romped on it in third gear my IATs went from 39F and got as low as 35F degrees. Granted it was cold out, but still cool that my IATs are only a few degrees above ambient. We'll see how it performs come summer time. As far as a hood closed shot, I'll have to take one after I adjust the bumper more. That day once I threw the bumper on I didn't mess with it any more as I was wore out lol The driver side is off a bit, but I'm pretty sure I can fix that since the passenger side is fine.

[1975audi]

What piping kit do you guys recommend

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

What piping kit do you guys recommend

Check out this thread. Nate and I built our own with a universal piping kit from eBay seller Just-Intercoolers. Give Nate all the credit since he put in the time and effort to get the lengths and angles right.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/487220-DIY-Custom-quality-FMIC-for-400-%28with-pictures%29

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

Nice to see you got it mounted. Can you share any front end pics with the hood closed? Maybe the only real downside to not running the crash bar is losing bumper height adjustment. I'd like to get an idea of how far off the gap would be without the bar.

I was worried the FMIC was too wide and would hit where the crash bar started to contour in towards the ends. From your pictures it looks like there is general clearance issues all around, i.e. core too thick as well.

I adjusted the bumper today and here is the final result. No worries about losing the bumper adjusters on the crash bar since they truly are not necessary.

http://imageshack.us/a/img823/3748/picsart1361650126554.jpg

[adamc514]

Thanks for the follow-up pic. Looks good. I am almost tempted to ditch work for a day to work on getting mine fitted.

[1975audi]

I live in Toronto Canada and our summers only last 2 months. Some have the opinion that its a waste of $ to upgrade if you don't live somewhere really hot.
I'm planning to get unitronic stage 2 soon and they recommend a intercooler upgrade.
Your thoughts pls

[Charles.waite]

I live in Toronto Canada and our summers only last 2 months. Some have the opinion that its a waste of $ to upgrade if you don't live somewhere really hot.
I'm planning to get unitronic stage 2 soon and they recommend a intercooler upgrade.
Your thoughts pls

Its never a waste of money. Just because you have short winters doesn't mean an intercooler isn't vital.

Having said that, the stock DSMICs will probably be fine unless you upgrade the turbo. If you beat the crap out of the car then a larger FMIC would help but you likely won't be pushing the turbo enough to saturate the OEM DSMICs in daily driving.

[PNW Avant]

No worries about losing the bumper adjusters on the crash bar since they truly are not necessary.



LOL, try telling somone with an S-line bumper that you dont need the adjusters...they are the only thing to fix bumper gap...

[turbowop]

I'd like to see a full 1-2-3-4 gear WOT pull to see how much the IAT's heat up. Possibly part of 5th gear as well. I'm used to logging intake temps with my Mitsu and see almost no increase when doing 3rd or 4th gear pulls on the freeway. It's at the dragstrip where I see a big change. Usually 20F increase over ambient at the top of 4th.

Now that I have my Audi at 2+ I'm wondering if I will benefit from installing a front mount. It pulls decent now, but I haven't seen ambient temps over 50F since doing the mods and I'm wondering how fast the stock cores will heatsoak come summertime.

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

LOL, try telling somone with an S-line bumper that you dont need the adjusters...they are the only thing to fix bumper gap...

Not sure why the S-Line bumper would be any different? I'm pretty sure A410 removed his to install the TR11 and I'm pretty sure he has no hood gap issues. He should be chiming in shortly.


I'd like to see a full 1-2-3-4 gear WOT pull to see how much the IAT's heat up. Possibly part of 5th gear as well. I'm used to logging intake temps with my Mitsu and see almost no increase when doing 3rd or 4th gear pulls on the freeway. It's at the dragstrip where I see a big change. Usually 20F increase over ambient at the top of 4th.

Now that I have my Audi at 2+ I'm wondering if I will benefit from installing a front mount. It pulls decent now, but I haven't seen ambient temps over 50F since doing the mods and I'm wondering how fast the stock cores will heatsoak come summertime.

I don't have any areas to get that good of a log, but I'll get some 3rd gear pulls come summer time and we'll see how it does. Stock SMIC were heatsoaking pretty bad on my Stage 2 in Ohio summer heat.

[1975audi]

So no hp gains.
I'm looking for what would be my next performance mod.
Already got cat back and plans for Uni stage 2 next month

[funky_snowman]

LOL, try telling somone with an S-line bumper that you dont need the adjusters...they are the only thing to fix bumper gap...

aren't there two sets of adjusters, one being the more redundant of the two? I can't remember which is which. I do need to fix my dealer-installed bumper-gap at some point.

[blingaling]

no one should worry about losing your crash bar just cut it so it fits lol

[Charles]

So no hp gains.
I'm looking for what would be my next performance mod.
Already got cat back and plans for Uni stage 2 next month

Technically you're reclaiming HP. Heat soak causes less ideal combustion, which means you're not as efficient as you can be, which means loss of HP. Also, even if you're in Canada, you can still benefit from cooler intake temps. An IC will still lower your intake temps, even if you're in 40 degree weather.

[HHB]

Whats was your final cost with materials? Seriously considering doing this now since the group buy is available.

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

Whats was your final cost with materials? Seriously considering doing this now since the group buy is available.



So lets tally it up:
Treadstone TR18T Core - $220 shipped
eBay Piping - $150
Includes the following:
Starting at hotside
1 x 2" 90 degree coupler
1 x 2" 4" long joiner pipe
1 x 2" 45 degree coupler
1 x 2" 90 degree L-Shaped pipe
1 x 2"-2.5" 45 degree coupler
1 x 2.5" 45 degree coupler
1 x 2.5" 45 degree pipe
1 x 2.5" 90 degree coupler
1 x 2.5" 90 degree pipe
1 x 2.5" 45 degree coupler
1 x 2.5" 5" long joiner pipe
1 x 2.5" 45 degree coupler.
5 x 2" T-Bolt clamps
9 x 2.5" T-Bolt clamps
eBay 1.8T MAP flange + welded to pipe - $35
Total = $405 for a quality FMIC Setup



See above.

[SandmanRUS]

Where Performance logs? Does summer come to Ohio?

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

Where Performance logs? Does summer come to Ohio?

Hahaha I totally forgot about this. I'll try to get some logs within the next week or so. I have added water/methanol injection so I'll try to do a run with and without it turned on. And yes summer comes to ohio. It was 97 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday with about 70% humidity.

[SandmanRUS]

-_-

[spindoctor]

Where Performance logs? Does summer come to Ohio?

*cough* waiting for logs *cough* :)

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

*cough* waiting for logs *cough* :)

I suck at life sorry. I'll try to remember this weekend.

[aluthman]

I suck at life sorry. I'll try to remember this weekend.

Lol, go do it now before the cops are out.

[A-BlacK_MambA-4]

Lol, go do it now before the cops are out.

Haha I'm setting at work. Only reason I'm up at 7:30 on a saturday lol Got my nieces birthday party later today and helping my inlaws move tomorrow so not sure when I can do it.

[spindoctor]

Lol, go do it now before the cops are out.

^^ I agree :)

[Seerlah]

Wanted to say I installed mine and running a Comp Turbo CT2 5152 (530hp turbo) at 20psi. Tune is written for 22psi, but still in tuning stages via remote tuning. Handles this turbo with no problem. I don't log but use my in cabin VEI IAT gauge. Temps are not far off from ambient.

[jsandor91]

I'm running this on my gtx2867 and it seems to be holding the temps nice and . no heat soak issues and I'm running a hot air intake currently

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