🏁 RACER SUPPORT - (888) 257-1077 🏁
1 17
APR®  |  SKU: IC100019

APR® (15-24) Audi/Volkswagen 877.5" Core Intercooler System

PLEASE CONTACT SUPPORT TO CONFIRM INVENTORY

$1,049.95
Shipping calculated at checkout.

Question? Call us at (888) 257-1077 🏁 (M-F 9-5 ET)

Email: info@10SecondRacing.com (24/7)

Free Shipping to Lower 48 US States ($100+)

Worldwide Shipping via UPS (Check Rates at Checkout)

Description

Compatible: 

2015 - 2016 Audi A3 (1.8L)

2015 - 2020 Audi A3 Quattro (2.0L)

2019 - 2022 Audi Q3 (2.0L)

2015 - 2020 Audi S3 (2.0L)

2016 - 2022 Audi TT Quattro (2.0L)

2016 - 2022 Audi TTS Quattro (2.0L)

2015 - 2018 Volkswagen Golf (1.8L)

2017 - 2019 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack (1.8L)

2015 - 2019 Volkswagen Golf R (2.0L)

2015 - 2019 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen (1.8L)

2015 - 2021 Volkswagen Golf GTI (2.0L)

2019 - 2022 Volkswagen Jetta (2.0L)

 

THIS PRODUCT CANNOT BE SHIPPED TO CALIFORNIA 

 


The APR Intercooler System is a OEM-location upgrade that dramatically reduces intake air temperature (IAT), minimizes heat soak, and provides increased performance! The system is a direct bolt-on upgrade that requires no trimming and is recommended at every stage of performance.
  • Dramatically lowers intake air temp (IAT)
  • Increases horsepower while minimizing power-robbing heat soak!
  • Effectiveness tested to over 500 HP!
  • 21 horsepower gain over the factory system!
  • Massive core size
  • Use of the OEM-location allows for a massive intercooler core.
  • 24.25" x 16.25" x 1.25" - 492.5 in³ - OEM GTI
  • 24.25" x 16.25" x 1.37" - 529.8 in³ - OEM Golf R
  • 24.00" x 16.25" x 2.25" - 877.5 in³ - APR
  • Intercooler installed in the best location for this platform
  • Utilizes factory air dams for exceptional airflow across the core.
  • 100% compatible with the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system.
  • Highly effective core design
  • Bar-and-plate core with staggered and louvered fins.
  • Rigorous testing determined core style, fin density, and size.
  • Low pressure drop + highly effective cooling = high performance!
  • Smooth cast end tanks
  • Engineered for low turbulence/restriction and maximum flow.
  • Organically shaped to promote airflow across entire core.
  • Pressure tested to prevent power robbing boost leaks.
  • No hidden labor costs or permanent modifications
  • No trimming, cutting, or other costly modification required.
  • No modification to the Adaptive Cruise Control System required.
  • Full directions and APR world-renowned customer support included.
  • Designed by engineers with lasers
  • With the best equipment and smartest engineers, it just works!

 

Brand APR
Color Silver / Natural
Cooler Type Air to Air
Core Frontal Area (in^2) 390.00
Core Height (in) 16.25
Core Type Bar and Plate
Core Volume (in^3) 877.50
Core Width (in) 2.25
24
Direct Fit Yes
Emission Code 7
End tank Construction Cast
End tank Material 356-F Aluminum
Product Type Charge Air Cooler
Welding Type TIG
UPC 810904030658
Part Number IC100019

 

The APR Intercooler System is a OEM-location upgrade that dramatically reduces intake air temperature (IAT), minimizes heat soak, and provides increased performance! The system is a direct bolt-on upgrade that requires no trimming and is recommended at every stage of performance.

QUICK FACTS

  • Dramatically lowers intake air temp (IAT)
  • - Increases horsepower while minimizing power-robbing heat soak!
  • - Effectiveness tested to over 500 HP!
  • - 21 horsepower gain over the factory system!
  • Massive core size
  • - Use of the OEM-location allows for a massive intercooler core.
  • - 24.25" x 16.25" x 1.25" – 492.5 in³ – OEM GTI
  • - 24.25" x 16.25" x 1.37" – 529.8 in³ – OEM Golf R
  • - 24.00" x 16.25" x 2.25" – 877.5 in³ – APR
  • Intercooler installed in the best location for this platform
  • - Utilizes factory air dams for exceptional airflow across the core.
  • - 100% compatible with the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system.
  • Highly effective core design
  • - Bar-and-plate core with staggered and louvered fins.
  • - Rigorous testing determined core style, fin density, and size.
  • - Low pressure drop + highly effective cooling = high performance!
  • Smooth cast end tanks
  • - Engineered for low turbulence/restriction and maximum flow.
  • - Organically shaped to promote airflow across entire core.
  • - Pressure tested to prevent power robbing boost leaks.
  • No hidden labor costs or permanent modifications
  • - No trimming, cutting, or other costly modification required.
  • - No modification to the Adaptive Cruise Control System required.
  • - Full directions and APR world-renowned customer support included.
  • Designed by engineers with lasers
  • -With the best equipment and smartest engineers, it just works!

DESIGN

APR pioneered the OEM-location direct-replacement intercooler system in 2006. Unfortunately, to the untrained eye, many intercooler designs appear the same. However, effectiveness of the system and overall performance are greatly determined by several key metrics. Alloy selection, end tank design, construction type, fin style, fin density and overall core dimensions must be analyzed and balanced accordingly to deliver class-leading performance. While the OEM’s goal is to create a lightweight, easy to manufacture and inexpensive to produce, cross-platform design capable of supporting factory power levels, APR’s intercooler must be capable of supporting more than double the factory output. Achieving this goal took a multi-step approach focused around intercooler core selection, end tank design and install location.

INTERCOOLER CORE DESIGN

The APR Intercooler core is a large bar-and-plate design featuring densely packed staggered and louvered fins. This design offers exceptional cooling while balancing pressure loss across the core, and maintaining critical airflow to the components behind the intercooler system. The core size was appropriately matched to the platform, minimizing pressure drop while leaving adequate space for appropriately designed end tanks. To APR’s mechanical engineering experts, the design represented the ultimate in performance, far exceeding the capabilities of the factory intercooler. To the driver, the result is simple: Repeatable performance, even in the most demanding of situations!

Core Style / Internal Fin Structure:

APR’s Engineers paid close attention to the balance between core effectiveness and pressure drop through the core, core style and fin density. With fin density too low, pressure drop decreases dramatically, but typically results in a core incapable of effectively cooling. Likewise, with fin density too great, pressure drop increases dramatically, resulting in the turbocharger working harder, and hotter, to produce the same level of airflow. By fine tuning this often unseen balancing act, as illustrated below, APR’s Engineers were able to maximize performance.

CORE STYLES

# STYLE FINS DENSITY PSI DROP EFFECTIVENESS COST COMMENTS RECOMMENDATION
1 TUBE AND FIN STRAIGHT CHANNEL LOW LOW LOW $ POOR COOLING NOT RECOMMENDED
2 BAR AND PLATE STRAIGHT CHANNEL LOW LOW LOW $$ POOR COOLING NOT RECOMMENDED
3 QUALITY BAR AND PLATE STAGGERED AND OFFSET MEDIUM MEDIUM HIGH $$$ EXCELLENT COOLING RECOMMENDED
4 OVERLY DENSE BAR AND PLATE STAGGERED AND OFFSET HIGH HIGH HIGH $$$ EXCESSIVE PRESSURE DROP NOT RECOMMENDED

Core Size:

APR’s Engineers also paid close attention to the balancing act between core effectiveness, pressure drop and space for end tanks through core sizing. With the core too small, pressure drop decreases dramatically, but typically results in a core incapable of effectively cooling. Likewise, with core size too great, pressure drop can increase, resulting in the turbocharger working harder. However, more importantly, with no space for appropriate end tanks, utilization of the core and overall effectiveness of the system diminishes rapidly, negating the benefit of the larger core. APR’s engineers were able to balance each of these characteristics to deliver maximum performance. The APR intercooler system’s core volume, in terms of external dimensions, is 78% greater than the OEM GTI and 62% greater than the OEM Golf R Intercooler.

CORE SPECS

SYSTEM CORE THICKNESS WIDTH HEIGHT VOLUME VOLUME DECREASE OVER APR
OEM GTI TUBE AND FIN 1.250" 24.25" 16.25" 492.5 IN³ 78%
OEM Golf R TUBE AND FIN 1.375" 24.25" 16.25" 541.8 IN³ 62%
APR BAR AND PLATE 2.250" 24.00" 16.25" 877.5 IN³

INTERCOOLER END TANK DESIGN

To fully utilize the massive core, APR’s mechanical engineers designed cast aluminum end tanks organically shaped for proper airflow distribution across the entire core. By correctly sizing the intercooler core, end tank design was not sacrificed. The one-piece end tanks are CNC machined to provide a slip resistant mounting surface for hoses, precise integrated mounting surfaces, and perfectly flat connecting surfaces used for TIG welding the tanks to the core. Through proper alignment in welding jigs, each unit is assembled to tight tolerances for a precise and accurate fit.

PRESSURIZED COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMIC (CFD) ANALYSIS:

APR’s Engineers determined the proper end tank design, for this application, with the help of pressurized CFD flow analysis via the SimuTech Group, and finally through real world testing. During the analysis, the effect of directional vanes were studied to test their ability to aid in airflow distribution. Analysis concluded there was no perceivable benefit on this application as the vanes only added more weight to the system. Real world testing without directional vanes resulted in a +0.5 °C to -0.5 °C temperature spread from the bottom to the top of the core on the outlet side, throughout the various back-to-back tests, further concluding the design maximized cooling effectiveness of the core.

INTERCOOLER PLACEMENT

Intercooler placement plays a critical role in overall performance. By utilizing the factory mounting location, APR’s engineers were able to design a core featuring a massive frontal surface area and large core volume, which plays a critical advantage over common short and stubby front mount designs. Utilization of the factory location means the core receives a high volume of pressurized airflow spread across the entire unit thanks to the highly engineered factory air dam system. Furthermore, by keeping the intercooler in the OEM-location and balancing core fin density, the factory air-to-water cooling system is not disrupted, which is ever so critical on this platform due to the use of an integrated cylinder head manifold cooling system. The APR intercooler system simply fits, which helps save on hidden labor charges during the time of install. There are no compatibility issues with active cruise control (ACC) systems and the design leaves room for future engine / transmission oil cooling upgrades for track-going customers. The intercooler installs without trimming any air dams, core supports, or more. There’s no drilling, or permanent modifications to the vehicle. Simply follow the included directions and enjoy!

TESTING

Internally APR conducted a multitude of tests while choosing the appropriate intercooler core and end tank design. Thermocouples were placed at the top and bottom of the core to measure cooling effectiveness and cooling distribution across the entire unit. Pressure transducers were placed at the inlet and outlet of the intercooler to determine pressure loss across the various units. With this information, APR’s engineers specified the appropriate intercooler core type, dimensions, cooling fin density and made the necessary design changes to the end tanks to ensure full utilization of the entire core. The end result was development of a system that’s much more effective at cooling compared to the factory GTI and factory Golf R intercooler system. Effectiveness is measured as (Intercooler Inlet Temp – Intercooler Outlet Temp) / Intercooler Inlet Temp. The APR Intercooler system’s effectiveness under the most demanding situations was between 82-83% while the factory GTI struggled at 60% and the factory Golf R at 65%.

MK7 GTI 2.0T INTERCOOLER TESTING

Back-to-back stress testing on the dyno help to further prove APR’s intercooler upgrade's effectiveness compared to the factory unit. Tests were first conducted with an APR Stage 2 MK7 GTI using the factory intercooler, then the slightly upgraded Golf R intercooler and finally APR’s Intercooler system. Each dyno pull lasted 12 seconds with 5 seconds of dwell between runs. Raw sensor data was collected using APR’s ECU Explorer high resolution data logging system. The tests quickly proved the long sought after OEM “upgraded” cooler (factory Golf R intercooler) showed minimal improvement over the standard GTI unit. However, the APR intercooler saw a dramatic difference that made a positive impact on performance. The factory GTI and Golf R intercoolers saw a starting IAT of 43 °C and 42 °C which climbed to as high as 71 °C and 66 °C, respectively, by the end of only the first pull. In contrast, the APR intercooler system saw IAT’s drop to 40 °C! The APR system effectively rejected heat soak and by the end of the sixth run saw a final IAT of 49 °C whereas both the GTI and Golf R intercoolers struggled to keep up, resulting in a final performance robbing IAT of 84 °C and 82 °C. This translated to a final gain of 21 WHP over the GTI intercooler and 18 WHP over the Golf R Intercooler!

Only use fuel equal to or higher than specified. Never use a lower octane fuel. Always follow our fuel guide, especially with race fuel and Ethanol, where available. Dynos are for reference only. Results will vary. Contributing factors include the vehicle condition, vehicle setup, dyno type, dyno setup, environmental factors, fuel quality, and more. When describing fuels, the North American Region (NAR) uses the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), (RON+MON)/2, or (R+M)/2. The Rest of the World (ROW) uses RON. RON is Research Octane Number and MON is Motor Octane Number.

TESTING TEMPERATURE DATA REPORT

START RUN 1 RUN 2 RUN 3 RUN 4 RUN 5 RUN 6
OEM (GTI) 43 °C 71 °C 76 °C 79 °C 81 °C 83 °C 84 °C
OEM (Golf R) 42 °C 66 °C 74 °C 75 °C 77 °C 79 °C 82 °C
APR 42 °C 40 °C 47 °C 48 °C 48 °C 49 °C 49 °C
Delta (GTI) -1 °C -31 °C -29 °C -31 °C -33 °C -34 °C -35 °C
Delta (Golf R) 0 °C -26 °C -27 °C -27 °C -29 °C -30 °C -33 °C

MK7 GOLF R 2.0T INTERCOOLER TESTING

Back-to-back stress testing on the dyno help to further prove APR’s intercooler upgrade’s effectiveness compared to the factory unit. Tests were first conducted with an APR Stage 2 MK7 Golf R using the factory intercooler, then APR’s Intercooler system. Each dyno pull lasted 12 seconds with 5 seconds of dwell between runs. Raw sensor data was collected using APR’s ECU Explorer high resolution data logging system. The tests quickly proved the factory Golf R intercooler could not effectively reject heat soak on vehicles equipped with APR’s performance software. However, the APR intercooler saw a dramatic difference that made a positive impact on performance. The factory intercoolers saw a starting IAT of 26 °C which climbed to as high as 46 °C by the end of only the first pull. In contrast, the APR intercooler system saw IAT’s only raise 1 °C! The APR system effectively rejected heat soak and by the end of the sixth run saw a final IAT of 36 °C where as the factory intercoolers struggled to keep up, resulting in a final performance robbing IAT of 54 °C. This translated to a final gain of 14 WHP over the Golf R intercooler!

Only use fuel equal to or higher than specified. Never use a lower octane fuel. Always follow our fuel guide, especially with race fuel and Ethanol, where available. Dynos are for reference only. Results will vary. Contributing factors include the vehicle condition, vehicle setup, dyno type, dyno setup, environmental factors, fuel quality, and more. When describing fuels, the North American Region (NAR) uses the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), (RON+MON)/2, or (R+M)/2. The Rest of the World (ROW) uses RON. RON is Research Octane Number and MON is Motor Octane Number.

TESTING TEMPERATURE DATA REPORT

START RUN 1 RUN 2 RUN 3 RUN 4 RUN 5 RUN 6
OEM 26 °C 46 °C 50 °C 52 °C 52 °C 54 °C 54 °C
APR 29 °C 30 °C 33 °C 35 °C 35 °C 36 °C 36 °C
Delta +3 °C -16 °C -17 °C -17 °C -17 °C -18 °C -18 °C

 

 


APR FUEL GUIDE


When switching from a lower octane fuel to a higher octane fuel, special care must be taken to ensure the safety of the motor. This is most critical when switching from a lower octane to Ethanol or Race Fuel. Running Ethanol and Race Fuel maps with lower quality fuel can and will destroy your spark plugs and potentially your engine. Please follow these instructions when switching fuel:


  • Drain the gas tank of all fuel.
  • Let the engine idle and stall out.
  • Fill the tank with the higher octane fuel.
  • Drive for 15 miles, lightly. Lower octane fuel may still be in the fuel lines, especially on dual injection vehicles. If switching to Ethanol, you may get a fault for fuel trims out of range. When this occurs, clear the fault code, switch to the ethanol map, and continue driving lightly.
  • Switch to the higher octane map and drive lightly for 5 miles before going wide open throttle.
  • If you detect any hesitation, timing pull, audible knock, or other indications something is not right, let off the throttle immediately. You may still have lower quality fuel in the lines. Repeat the steps above.


Octanes and Programs:

Never use a octane lower than what's prescribed by the tune. For example, do not use 91 Octane (R+M)/2 with a 93 Octane (R+M)/2 tune. You may use a higher octane than prescribed by the tune. For example, running 93 Octane (R+M)/2 on a 91 Octane (R+M)/2 program is fine, and in some cases may offer a bump in performance.


Race Fuel Info:

APR only recommends using Sunoco GT260 for 100 Octane (R+M)/2 tunes and Sunoco GT260+ for 104 Octane (R+M)/2 tunes. Unless specified otherwise, only use types of fuels as other fuels may not be compatible.


Ethanol Info:

Ethanol content varies dramatically. A pump labeled for E85 may have content from 85% all the way down to 51% depending on the location and season in the USA. This can vary outside the USA as well depending on ethanol laws. Most non-flex fuel E85 max only have an operating range of E60-E85. Always confirm the operating rage on our product pages or by contacting APR. Do not use ethanol content lower or higher than specified for the map. If Ethanol content is too low, the engine may knock, and you may experience fuel trim issues. If the Ethanol content is too high, you may experience fuel trim issues, and you may tax the fueling system, causing lean conditions. Please note, APR's tunes for regular gasoline are not designed for ethanol. However, ethanol is commonly found at the pump mixed with gasoline. So long as the fuel trims are not maxed, and the fueling system is not maxed out, this is typically ok unless specified otherwise.


Octane Booster:

Do not use octane booster. It may do nothing at all, or it may cause other problems.


Leaded Fuel:

Do not use leaded fuel. It will destroy your oxygen sensors.


Water / Methanol:

Water / Methanol may have adverse effects, and potentially disastrous effects when used on higher octane maps with lower octane fuel. Usage is up to the end user's discretion.


Nitrous Oxide:

Nitrous Oxide may have adverse effects, and potentially disastrous effects. Usage is up to the end user's discretion.


Accidental low quality fuel:

If you accidentally use lower quality fuel than prescribed by the tune, draining the tank is recommended. In the case where you're running a higher pump fuel program, such as 93 Octane (R+M)/2, and only 91 Octane (R+M)/2 is available, you can continue driving so long as you take extra precaution. Do not drive the car hard. If the engine is boosted, stay out of boost. Keep IAT low. Don't lug out the engine, and only use light throttle input. Essentially, be careful. If you detect knock, don't continue driving.


Rough AKI to RON Conversion Guide:

This guide is for a rough estimate only. Many factors will contribute:


  • 87 AKI = 91 RON
  • 91 AKI = 93 RON
  • 93 AKI = 98 RON
  • 100 AKI = 104 RON
  • 104 AKI = 108 RON


Terminology:

E in E85 stand for Ethanol, and 85% stands for the percentage of Ethanol in the fuel. North American Region (NAR) uses the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), (RON+MON)/2, or (R+M)/2 when describing octane. In the Rest of the World (ROW), RON is used when describing octane. RON is the Research Octane Number and MON is the Motor Octane Number.

 

Install Guide:


 

 

Warranty:

VEHICLE FITMENT
Back to top