AWE vs. RS4 IC's: install comparison

[davenew]

Plenty of people speculate on which IC flows and cools better. While researching I didn't find many details comparing ease of install.

Here's the highlights and drawbacks of the RS4 IC install:
1) Bumper must be cut for RS4 ICs. Do AWE IC's require cutting the bumper?

2) RS4 IC's require cutting the outer half of the stock plastic shrouds, which leaves a big open hole, causing reduced pressure in front of the core. RS4 shrouds solve that problem but aren't included in the IC kit. AWE IC kit includes custom fiberglass shrouds.

3) RS4 ICs are not supported by oem support brackets. The weight of the ICs causes the upper IC hoses to rub on the frame knife edge. The APR hoses are very durable but it seems engine vibration could cause hose wear over time. I attached the outer edge of the ICs to the fender for support. Do AWE ICs use the oem support brackets to support the wieght of the ICs?

4) I had a very tough time stretching the A/C condenser hose under the passenger side RS4 IC. I'm afraid it's so tight that the condenser hose might develop a leak at one of the crimp connections. Those hoses are designed to have some amount of slack. Do AWE ICs allow for slack in those A/C hoses?

5) RS4 ICs use the very durable APR hoses. AWE ICs reuse the four original IC hoses. The AWE install is much easier using old hoses but the APR hoses are MUCH more durable.

6) The plastic shroud on the bottom of the car won't go back on without cutting around the lower hose connection area of the RS4 ICs. Do AWE ICs require cutting of the plastic piece?

After installing the RS4 IC's I'm thinking AWE ICs would be much easier to install. They were designed specifically to replace oem S4 ICs.

[Mark P]

3.) Yes use OEM supports:
Here you can see the peg on the Driver's side AWE IC that gets insterted into the stock support:


The passenger side uses a separate piece of metal which has a peg on one end and a curved flange on the other. This curved flange connects to the IC with a band clamp. This makes install easy as you don't have to navagate a permanent mount post sticking off the side of the IC:
Left band clamp here:


Here you can see that separate support piece:


4.) More slack on AWEs:
Naturally these lines make the passenger side harder to install than the driver's side, but it's not all that bad. If you install the passenger side first it will be easier (we installed drivers side first, and passenger was still not that bad to install):


There is some plastic & sheetmetal cutting needed for the AWEs, but it is minimal - see below...

AWE IC install document (with photos of my car in it). See Figures 9&10 for cutting requirements:

• http://www.awe-tuning.com/media/pdf/...tercoolers.pdf

[Milpitas2.7T]

[Nick Gustas]

I'm sure yours has turned less than mine given all your highway mileage, but I bet the brushes are getting close to done.

[Mark P]

I didn't just stop at answering the questions that were asked. I went on to discuss the cutting that wasn't specifically asked about. Sorry the subject line isn't long enough to fit that as well :\

[Mark P]

[Nick Gustas]

Quick failure too, alt worked in the morning, worked on the way home, I stopped halfway home to pick something up, alt dead on restart, came to life a few times on the way back, stone dead at home.

I'd at least give the brushes a visual check next time you have the car apart. My commute is short enough I can get home on the battery, IIRC, yours isn't :O

[davenew]

Damn.. As I said, had I known all of this before I bought the RS4 units, I probably would've gone with AWE. This post is mainly for the next person shopping for ICs

The next thing we need is some performance comparisons. Maybe log inlet air temps on two similar cars the same day? I assume the RS4 units have a slight advantage but the difference is probably tough to measure.

To most people, including myself, the much easier install would be more of a deciding factor than negligible performance differences. If I worked for AWE I would list the specific install differences as selling points. Seeing that list would've sold me!

[davenew]

[Mike2kS4]

I don't know of anyone who has experienced a failure of the OE IC Hoses. Given my experience with Samco-type hoses, retaining the durable OE reinforced hoses was a definite plus for me.