Thread: Will I gain any horsepower/torque from upgrading just the intercooler?

By no means do I pretend to be an expert of have experience with TDI's, but an upgraded intercooler will do the following to any turbo charged engine -

Provide cooler air to the induction side of the motor, the cooler the air/fuel mix, the denser so you can get more in...so more power.

Additionally the cooler air/fuel mix the lower the EGT's.

I have read on here that the mechanical fuel pump may need to be tuned for the best results.

In theory the bigger IC will provide some benefit, but practically speaking the reason for a bigger IC on a TDI is so you can tune it for more power/torque.

If doing that a bigger radiator is usually recommended as well.

I have a Tdi Discovery, and a bigger intercooler on that. Just swapping the intercooler I could not "feel" any difference in the power. Tuning up the pump made a big difference, but you need a pyro/EGT gauge before you start. I got the Auberins one, been working great for 5 years now. Auto gauges, EGT Boost : auberins.com, Temperature control solutions for home and industry

Never had any cooling problems with the Disco, just had the the stock radiator cleaned and rodded when fitting all the "go fast goodies"

If you are interested in performance tuning a 300tdi you might also be interested in this: Scientists turn snails into slug-like creatures -- ScienceDaily

i fitted the full front allards intercooler to mine, no difference at all until the pump was tuned to suit, then a huge difference, i also reccomend the auber pyro guage, mines been in for nearly 200,000ks and is great[car rolled over 450000 on monday]

thanks for your responses.

I looked on the Auberins site, but was a little confused as to which model/unit to buy and whether it comes as a kit.

I found this as well:

ThermoGuard Instruments

I really don't have anywhere for a 52mm round VDO gauge so the smaller electronic gauge is preferred

Thanks

The Auber one is this:

Digital EGT Thermometer Pyrometer W Probe NPT Blue | eBay

Comes in red or green screen as well.

An intercooler makes the air denser, allowing for more fuel to be burnt. You will not get any significant increase in either torque or power without adjusting the fuel injector pump accordingly.