Best Intercooler Upgrade for 997.2 TT
#2
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How much boost are you running? Over 1.6 bars??? Are you tracking your car?
The stock coolers are good.
Money no object?? The best are the Marsten IC cores from the UK
If running over 1.6 bar> I'd recommend the AMS units (which should be running the Garrett cores>>ask them)…
https://www.amsperformance.com/cart/...oler-kit.html/
The stock coolers are good.
Money no object?? The best are the Marsten IC cores from the UK
If running over 1.6 bar> I'd recommend the AMS units (which should be running the Garrett cores>>ask them)…
https://www.amsperformance.com/cart/...oler-kit.html/
#3
The car is stone stock. I want to upgrade the power without extensive rework. An intercooler upgrade would be part of the package- exhaust, ECM reprogram, and air filter. After looking at the available kits for intercooler upgrades, I just couldn't discriminate among them which was best. I was hoping there'd be a consensus on the best intercooler upgrade. No, I don't track the car. I'm more of a quarter mile guy, looking for the highest dependable horsepower for this daily driver. I wouldn't say money is no object, but if the intercooler upgrade is worth at least 15 hp, I've seen the prices- I'm in.
#5
Rennlist Member
I wouldn't bother tbh - the .2 coolers are apparently very good so going bigger isn't likely to return much.
#6
Instructor
I noticed a significant difference when I upgraded the ic’s in my TTS. It came down to AMS and Champion Motorsports. Champion had the lowest pressure drop While maintaining super low iat’s, so I went with them. do88’s were also an option but would have been my third choice after the two options mentioned above.
#7
Rennlist Member
AMS and the Do88s are superior to the Champions. Both have bigger, thicker cores and convert away from the restrictive stock quick connect clamps to 3” piping up to the throttle body. Both are also well represented in the aftermarket space with the quickest and fastest stock turbo 997.1s and 2s running them, and AIM making 1000whp+ on their shop car with the Do88 units.
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#8
Burning Brakes
Out of curiosity, why no mention of MarskiTuning I/C or ByDesign I/C? There must be enough users of these I/Cs to form an impression with data to back them up?
#10
Instructor
AMS and the Do88s are superior to the Champions. Both have bigger, thicker cores and convert away from the restrictive stock quick connect clamps to 3” piping up to the throttle body. Both are also well represented in the aftermarket space with the quickest and fastest stock turbo 997.1s and 2s running them, and AIM making 1000whp+ on their shop car with the Do88 units.
#11
Instructor
AMS and the Do88s are superior to the Champions. Both have bigger, thicker cores and convert away from the restrictive stock quick connect clamps to 3” piping up to the throttle body. Both are also well represented in the aftermarket space with the quickest and fastest stock turbo 997.1s and 2s running them, and AIM making 1000whp+ on their shop car with the Do88 units.
#12
Burning Brakes
Originally Posted by atcbi5
It would be neat to see someone design a water cooling system like the new GT-2RS for the stock oem ones.
#13
Rennlist Member
I guess everyone has an opinion... There are other more important variables besides size that should be considered when choosing an IC. Like fin design, density and fitment. As well as the application they are being used for. For the record, two of the fastest stock turbo 997.2’s use champions. (For reference, Adam’s old car can easily be seen on YouTube) Most people complain about the larger cores AMS/do88’s acting as heat sinks. They cause boost delays with pressure drops, caused by the increased size. As mentioned above, I picked the Champions over AMS after riding in a turbo car with AMS ic’s. It should also be mentioned there were fitment issues with the AMS kit. The hoses were blowing off because the design was poor. (Which can be verified by doing a search on this website) I would say the do88’s are the best bang for the buck but the quality is lower.
Adam's car was quick, but there are plenty of ESmotor 997.2s which are crushing his 60-130 times. I don't believe he did any quarter mile runs, but so far I believe the fastest stock turbo car is either a 9.7 or 9.8...with the recommendation from Esmotor for either the AMS or the Do88 kit. I have a Do88 big pack on my car. I installed it myself. I didn't have fitment issues, and I've not had one single issue since install coming up on 8 months ago. If you've actually upgraded the entire plumbing tract from the turbo outlets to the TB from the stock stuff to the 3" piping, you can hold the hosing in your hands and see the massive differences in size, particularly at the connectors which neck down considerably with the stock hardware.
I have hundreds of logs of my car. There is zero discernible difference in boost onset either by seat of the pants, or in the logs.
There are more variables than pressure drop as well...which can be meaningless unless you are comparing apples to apples. A straight pipe with no interaction of the air molecules with any resistance and no heat transfer would have the best pressure drop of all...and be totally useless.
#14
Instructor
Adam's car was quick, but there are plenty of ESmotor 997.2s which are crushing his 60-130 times. I don't believe he did any quarter mile runs, but so far I believe the fastest stock turbo car is either a 9.7 or 9.8...with the recommendation from Esmotor for either the AMS or the Do88 kit. I have a Do88 big pack on my car. I installed it myself. I didn't have fitment issues, and I've not had one single issue since install coming up on 8 months ago. If you've actually upgraded the entire plumbing tract from the turbo outlets to the TB from the stock stuff to the 3" piping, you can hold the hosing in your hands and see the massive differences in size, particularly at the connectors which neck down considerably with the stock hardware.
I have hundreds of logs of my car. There is zero discernible difference in boost onset either by seat of the pants, or in the logs.
There are more variables than pressure drop as well...which can be meaningless unless you are comparing apples to apples. A straight pipe with no interaction of the air molecules with any resistance and no heat transfer would have the best pressure drop of all...and be totally useless.
I have hundreds of logs of my car. There is zero discernible difference in boost onset either by seat of the pants, or in the logs.
There are more variables than pressure drop as well...which can be meaningless unless you are comparing apples to apples. A straight pipe with no interaction of the air molecules with any resistance and no heat transfer would have the best pressure drop of all...and be totally useless.
But back to the do88’s. As I said earlier, they are probably the best bang for the buck... (For those on a tight budget) But they have many flaws, as you or anyone else who has installed them knows. I’m sure you noticed the welds? It’s clearly lower quality. And the worm clamps? Nice... (T bolt clamps should be used) And the o rings/aka zip ties which caused similar problems with AMS are a poor design. Hopefully you don’t hit a bump? (Champion has super thick rubber pads to hold everything in place... The do88’s end tanks are rough and unpolished. The rubber hoses are thinner and more flimsy/lesser quantity than those used by AMS or Champion. I could go on but the lower quality is well documented...
#15
Rennlist Member
Porsche uses worm clamps in the same locations, but I guess they don’t know what they are doing. Welds were fine. Casting were fine. I don’t go out and caress my intercooler end tanks,, so the texture of them is a non-issue.
What I did care about is the tangible differences in flow before and after in my logs and the fact that I’ve never seen IATs more than 15 degrees above ambient. I care about results. You care about aesthetics of a part nobody will ever see. YMMV.
What I did care about is the tangible differences in flow before and after in my logs and the fact that I’ve never seen IATs more than 15 degrees above ambient. I care about results. You care about aesthetics of a part nobody will ever see. YMMV.