Description

Overview

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.

Features:

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 1.16" - 457.1 in³ - OEM Tiguan
-- 24.25" x 16.25" x 1.25" - 492.5 in³ - OEM MK7 GTI
-- 24.25" x 16.25" x 1.37" - 529.8 in³ - OEM MK7 Golf R (Similar to Arteon)
-- 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

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 92% greater than the OEM Golf/Tiguan, 78% greater than the OEM GTI and 62% greater than the OEM Golf R Intercooler.

Core Specs

System	Core	Thickness	Width	Height	Volume	APR Volume Increase over Stock
OEM Golf / Tiguan	Tube and Fin	1.160"	24.25"	16.25"	492.5 in³	92 %
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!