Best Mk7 GTI IC Finders Fee $$$

Searching for the “best” intercooler to install on my Mk7 GTI and willing to pay $400 to the person who identifies it for me.

The intercooler is the next performance part I am researching following the air intake, turbo inlet elbow, and charge pipes.

The claims:

Looking for credible data comparing intercooler products has been unsuccessful but there has been no shortage of claims of one product or another being the best.

When asking for evidence that supports the claims that one product is the best replies range from “the information is out there, go search for it yourself“, to “I saw it posted on a forum somewhere“, or “I saw it but don’t remember where“, or “a guy at a shop that builds high horsepower cars told me, he knows what he’s talking about“.

The common theme of the claims has been that product XYZ is the best but there is no proof to support the claim.

The rewards:

If somebody can provide evidence that demonstrates a particular intercooler for the Mk7 GTI is better than the majority of other options, a list of some others is here, then I’ll pay them $400.

Alternatively, pay for the shipping and the person who points me the “best intercooler” for my Mk7 GTI can have my current Unitronic do88 direct fit replacement for free, because I’ll be buying that best intercooler.

Unitronic Mk7 GTI Intercooler
Unitronic Mk7 GTI Intercooler

Now for the fine print:

What must the evidence consist of?

  1. Intercooler pressure drop data that allows for standardized comparison between products and assigning a performance ranking.
  2. Charge air cooling data that allows for standardized comparison between products and performance ranking of the intercoolers.
  3. Experimental data that includes an explanation of the conditions of the test and the procedures followed to collect data.
  4. Data and results that are accessible so that I can review them.
  5. Data that clearly shows the product that achieves the highest performance in each of the stated measures.
  6. Data that allows for comparing more than half of the intercoolers list on this page.

If the evidence does not clearly support the claim, then the finders fee has not been earned.

If you have evidence that proves which Mk7 GTI intercooler is the best performing and meets the criteria I have listed, contact me.

8 thoughts on “Best Mk7 GTI IC Finders Fee $$$”

    1. Jeff

      Thanks for the suggestion Roberto, I have not seen that product before.

      I don’t see information about the product that meets the requirements I have.

        1. Jeff

          They claim it is the best, I wonder if they’d back that up?

          The airflow data is peculiar. They show the Audi A3 OE IC outflowing the Audi S3 OE IC along with the APR IC. I suspect they mislabeled the A3 and S3 data and made an error at the 1 psi test point while measuring the APR IC.

          The gain they show for their IC vs stock A3 is inline with the flow gain I have measured with the GTI IC vs the eBay OE location.

          Update:
          I noticed that IC is not for the Mk7 GTI. They offer a different IC for my platform;

          https://www.do88.se/en/artiklar/audi-seat-skoda-vw-18-20-tsi-mqb-intercooler.html

  2. Michael Scott

    I’ve been looking for this information myself. You seem to have the most comprehensive list of intercoolers along with compiled date in a nice chart. The new ECS Front Mount Intercooler has a lot of data available with it’s release and it compares stock, aftermarket direct fit (Unknown brand), and the ECS FMIC. Only problem with the ECS data is it doesn’t meet your criteria of having more than half of the products you listed. I’m currently looking at the LT Motorsport FMIC, but have been waiting for results from someone with the Vibrant Core. Your website has been extremely helpful with my build. Thanks for all you do for the MK7 community.

    1. Jeff

      Thanks for the feedback Michael. The ECS FMIC does look like a nice option. Since the ECS OE Upgrade outperforms the ECS FMIC according to the ECS data I don’t think the ECS FMIC is going to be the top performer of all the candidates.

      As far as FMICs go I am curious to see how the ECS product stacks up versus some of the other options.

  3. larry

    hi jeff, i am looking to go stage 2 with my mk7 gti I was wondering if you found the best intercooler? direct replacement and fmic. thank you larry

    1. Jeff

      Hey Larry, I think whatever the best turns out to be the difference between it and the majority of popular ICs will be relatively small. Sorting out how the products rank will make for good debates, but I doubt a driver would be able to notice a difference between them.

      Pick something that users have found works well and you should be set.

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