Intercooler for VW Golf MK8/Audi S3/Cupra Formentor and Leon

FMINT24 is a high-performance intercooler for MQB platforms equipped with the EA888 GEN4 engine. It was produced, designed and tested at our Gloucester, UK headquarters. Throughout the development process, we have strived to improve the efficiency and performance of the EA888 GEN4 engine. The aim was to develop an intercooler that uses all the space available in the original OEM intercooler position, and to ensure that the intake air temperature is reduced, without any negative effect on boost pressure or engine and transmission cooling.

In the MQB chassis, the intercooler housing is particularly small and confined in a small space, as it houses not only the intercooler, but also the radiator and air conditioning condenser. In theory, the front panel is a sandwich that houses the auxiliary cooling components. This means that to increase the size of the cooler without affecting the performance of the surrounding components, and with very little extra space available, it can be very difficult to achieve the perfect blend of a high-flow cooler in such close proximity.

Forge R&D engineers started with a specification to mount the existing intercooler for the MK7 platform on the VW Golf R MK8 under development. Once the installation was complete, engineers tried to determine if the intercooler could be redesigned by increasing the inlet and outlet dimensions, increasing the volumetric capacity to increase flow and preparing the design to work well with highly optimized Tier 3 and EA888 Gen 4 engines.

The design was created using a combination of scanning software and traditional measurement methods. It was then refined by our flow dynamics (CFD) simulation programs, and the end tanks were initially created by 3D printers. This ensured that the fit was perfect on the vehicle before producing cast prototypes or machined tanks ready for bench testing.

Several baffle configurations were designed and flows were simulated to ensure that maximum performance was achieved for the core to function optimally, while ensuring that all of its cooling capabilities were maintained and the full volume of the inner core was utilized for optimum performance.

With the increase in inlet and outlet sizes, Forge Motorsport turned its attention to the design of the silicone hoses. In the interest of fluidity, they created a step within the hose so that when the hose meets the hot and cold sides of the inlet and outlet junctions, the transition is seamless, limiting airflow disturbances and preventing unwanted turbulence. To further facilitate flow, the inlets and outlets have been increased to 76 mm from the OEM size of 63 mm, which equates to a 45% increase in area.

Consideration of space and intelligent design led engineers to produce several intercooler cores with different fin configurations and internal capacities. Depending on the core design, test results led to the selection of a bar and plate design with over 83% more volume than the OEM intercooler, and with a 10% increase in frontal area.

compatible vehicles:

Audi S3 2.0 TSI (8Y Chassis) — Audi S3 Sportback 2.0 TSI (8Y Chassis)

Cupra Formentor VZ1, VZ2, VZ3 — Cupra Leon VZ1, VZ2, VZ3

Volkswagen Golf Mk8 Clubsport 45 — Volkswagen Golf Mk8 GTI — Volkswagen Golf Mk8 R