I got my catalog from Spearco today, and decided to go out and measure the A4 to see how big of one I could fit in the lower grill area...<p>It's only about 1 1/2" to from the A/C condensor to the bumper.... hardly room for the intercooler, let alone the hoses!<p>Anyone that has a front-mount.. what's the dimensions of yours? and where do the hoses run? Thanks.<p>Rich Quinlan<br>Nowhere enar stock 1.8tqms<ul><li><a href="http://home.att.net/~richquinlan">Quinland</a></li></ul>

Jeff Hsi from the Vancouver club has one. There is more info on him at http://avant.extreme.com/va4.<p><br>NeilM<ul><li><a href="http://avant.extreme.com/a4org/boom5.jpg">Another Picture</a></li></ul>

I admit not to know squat about turbo cars and intercoolers, but putting a piece of equipment under (assumed) 1.0 bar pressure in the open way of harm...<p>Imagine hitting something at high speed and blowing that thing up.<p>This is of course just MHO, and as I said, I do not know squat about these things. After all, it may not be a big deal to blow that thingie up...

Yeah, it is putting itself in harm's way, but the benefits are incredible, and personally, I'd leave my grilles in place... But think about vehicles like the Supra TT... the intercooler on it is not protected by anything, either... I've pulled some feathers out of my friend's before.... I'm not too worried... but thanks for the concern.<p>

Hey everyone,<p>I'm no expert either, but I think the main concern with putting a large intercooler is the drop in boost pressure. For an intercooler to work, the air travelling through it must spent sufficient time in the unit for the charging air to cool it down. This restriction causes a drop in boost pressure. The extra length (and often width) of the intercooler pipes also contribute to the drop in boost pressure. The trick is to find a balance between temperature and pressure drop. Otherwise, the benefits of a large intercoler will not be realized.<p><br>James Wu<br>A4 Club of Vancouver<br>1998 Black/Onyx 1.8tqa<ul><li><a href="http://avant.extreme.com/va4">A4 Club of Vancouver</a></li></ul>

I would put a fine screen to keep the junk from bending the fins. It is a real pain to do by hand, but there are special tools available to help.<p>Pardon my ignorance, but are you all kkk04 owners?

I couldn't agree more. There are a ton of issues with intercooling sizing and efficiency. Spearco has some readable manuals that cover this subject well.<p>BTW Steve is right, one finger can apply the equivalent psi of 1 bar.

I've found a good shop who wants to do a prototype using a T28/T25 hybrid... a unit designed from the start as a small-displacement, high flow, high HP unit for something just like our 1.8's..<p>But for now, I'll settle for a K04, even with all its shortcomings....<p>Rich

Feathers??? That's the least of your concern! Rocks and road debris! Had a rock blast through thin mesh grille of a VW Synchro once and it broke the condensor. Sorry, but if I had a front-mounted intercooler and not a lot of extra cash to be replacing it, I'd make darn sure it was protected by a very strong grille.<br>-C.

I thought the t3/4 Garett hybrid was the one for our boost levels and displacement? Isn't the t28 the big Pcar locomotive turbo?

Well, with feathers comes the WHOLE BIRD..... I didn't wanna gross anyone out... :)<p>Rich Quinlan<ul><li><a href="http://home.att.net/~richquinlan">Quinland</a></li></ul>