There's a decent comparison of MQB intercoolers available on the market here:
Mk7 GTI/R Intercooler Comparison
Specs Summary (note bigger is not always better):
Mk7R intercoolers are relatively available and also pretty cheap second-hand. However if you're going to all the effort of pulling the front off your car (or paying someone else to do it) you may as well put something half decent in.
Also if you're not increasing the power significantly then a larger intercooler may actually decrease performance as the larger volume will take longer for the car to build boost. The turbo has to fill the volume with air and this takes time - especially with a smaller IS20 turbo.
So unless you're going IS38 I wouldn't go too over the top. Stage 1 or 2 I'd definitely consider installer a Mk7 R intercooler if you were DIY on a budget. For an IS38 stage 2 car I'd look at ~50% increase in volume or 800in^3
Bookmarks