Thats what we set out to design when we began developing our B7 Front Mount Intercooler.
And after some extensive research and development, that's exactly what we engineered.
What makes it the best?
Tested and Proven Results:
Data was collected on our Mustang MD-AWD-500-SE AWD dynamometer, on the street, and on various race tracks, using dual Omega DPi temperature meters outputting to the dyno's integrated data acquisition, and via a portable lab grade datalogger. Several runs were made recording temperatures and pressures before and after the stock and AWE Tuning intercooler assemblies and then averaged, with graphs of the changes shown below. All tests were done on our in house 2006 A4 2.0T quattro S-Line with our exhaust and GIAC chip installed. 93 octane fuel was used for all tests.
Proven to Improve Intake Air Temps:
Temperature drop is the measurement of how much heat the intercooler is able to remove from the intake air. The higher the temperature drop, the denser the air charge, resulting in more power and less tendency for detonation in the cylinders. Our design was able to hold intake air temperatures at redline to almost the same level as at 2500rpms, while the stock dual intercooler design allowed temperature to climb with rpms.
Proven to Reduce Pressure Drop:
Large intercoolers can do well in reducing intake air temperatures, but they can also introduce a lot of restriction to the intake air. That restriction will result in power loss even with the improved temps. Too much intake flow restriction means the turbo cannot deliver as much boost to the engine. Our design not only excels in temperature drops, but also in how pressure restriction is minimized to levels less than the dual side mount stock configuration.
Proven to be more efficient the stock Side Mount Intercoolers:
Intercooler efficiency is a way to determine how well the intercooler is able to handle heat removal, and any rating of 80% efficient or above is outstanding. Our design at its least efficient is still 93% effective even on a GIAC chipped A4, whereas the stock design takes a nosedive to near 77% at redline on the same GIAC chipped car.
Proven to add dyno verified gains from Stock to Big Turbo Horsepower Levels:
Power test of our Front Mount Intercooler design vs stock. The stock turbo is running near its capacity when chipped, producing more heat than at stock boost levels. Installing our Front Mount Intercooler reduced heat tremendously, to produce a cooler, denser intake air charge, resulting in a very nice increase in power as the rpms rise (nearly 14 crank horsepower when converting from the dyno sheet wheel power measurement). Even more impressive results were seen with our prototype GT28 71R turbo kit on this car.
How did we achieve these results?
Research and Development
When most people see our B7 Front Mount Intercooler in person, their first reaction is typically “That thing is huge!”.
It’s true, our FMIC is larger then any other design currently on the market. Where most Front Mount Intercoolers for the B7 are small enough to fit into the lower portion of the front grille, ours utilizes the space behind the OEM crash bar to give you the largest possible surface area.
However, intercooler design consists of more than just finding the largest core that will fit on the front of the car. Exposed frontal area, number of pressure charge rows, cooling fin count, and end tank geometry are some of the key parameters that need studying when embarking on an intercooler project.
Our Front Mount Intercooler Kit utilizes the entire area behind the front grille to give you the largest cooling surface area possible; the exposed frontal area is nearly double the size of the stock side mount intercoolers.
We analyzed several smaller intercooler designs before realizing our production version was the best possible solution. Had we been able to bolt on our already proven B6 Front Mount Intercooler Kit and improved performance we would have, but in our testing this was not the case. There was no FMIC design that would fit neatly into the lower portion of the grille that could improve on the stock SMICs performance and require no modification to the OEM crash safety system.
End Tank Geometry
Below is a screenshot from our Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software demonstrating the clear superiority of our end tank design vs the more common box shaped end tank found on most aftermarket intercoolers.
While a box shaped end tank is much simpler to design and fabricate, the amount of turbulence created (show in red, orange, and yellow) results in very inefficient cooling and air flow through the core.
Our end tank design went through no less than 14 revisions while we maximized performance. Our end tank design is the key to why we can use such a large core without tremendous pressure restriction issues. Our pressure drop is half of what the dual side mount system provides, while also providing nearly a 30F degree temperature drop vs stock.
The Entire Kit:
Key product features:
• All aluminum construction, including tubing, for maximum heat transfer
• Bar and plate core construction
• Cast aluminum end tanks with inlet baffle
• 2.5 inch diameter mandrel bent aluminum tubing
• Stainless steel t-bolt clamps with heavy duty silicone couplers
• Replacement power steering cooler assembly
• Direct Bolt In, no modifications required for fitment
Some other things that should be mentioned:
We did extensive testing to measure the affects our FMIC would have on coolant temps and the stock AC. The results? Extensive track testing with ambient temperatures above 100º F showed no issues at all. This test was very important because we saw problems when testing various FMIC on the B5 S4, so we wanted to be sure the same issues did not come up in this application.
Our design features 26 charge rows compared to 15 each for the stock SMIC which is a tremendous advantage, but our bar and plate design is also much more effective the a stamped end plate design. That equals lower pressure drop, a smoother path for the air to follow and more power.
Each and every completed intercooler assembly is leak checked up to 30psi in a water dunk tank before leaving our facility. This is sadly a rarity in the Automotive Tuning World. Just one of the steps we take to ensure that your A.W.E. Tuning FMIC performs how it should and one of the reasons our products stand above the rest.
Our kit is features aluminum tubing for extra heat exchange. Stainless or mild steel tubing as used on other kits, while easier to bend and form, does not have the superior heat transfer characteristics of aluminum. Using aluminum for our tubing maximizes the area where heat is able to be wicked away from the intake air going to the engine as aluminum transfers heat much better than steel.
No performance product is worth taking away any important crash safety features these cars are equipped with. With our FMIC kit, no permanent modifications to the car are required. Our kit doesn’t ask you to cut bumper supports or modify/remove crash beams. This means that your cars crash safety is kept in tact.
The best part about this unbeatable FMIC kit? It’s in stock and ready to be shipped.
If you would like even more information about our B7 FMIC, feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] or call us at 888-565-2257.
You can also visit our website for more technical and pricing information: B7 A4 FMIC Section.
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Originally Posted by Alex/A.W.E.
'12 Bril. Black A4 2.0T/Quattro/Prem+/Sports package
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