antoine@DriverMotorsport
Ready to race!
The front bar is your protection in case of frontal accident... So I'm not sure that cuting 30cm in it is a great idea..
I got my kit from Issam through my Spanish dealer.
This is what comes with the kit:
The radiator itself, you can now choose a black Setrab core, but the Mocal is just as good:
Prior to the install I wrapped each fitting with tape to avoid any scratch:
In addition I bought some aluminium hose separators on eBay for a cleaner look, no indications or instructions are included in the kit.
Because I am not running a FMIC and I don´t plan to install one I thought that the best place for the cooler was behind the front lower grill where it receives a huge air flow.
A friend of me designed a U-shaped bracket, which wasn´t included in the kit, that we powdercoated later in black.
It was a tight fit for the cooler, but we wanted that, also on each support from the cooler to the bracket we added rubber to dampen any possible vibration and used nylon nuts to avoid any loosening problems in the future. ANY of this hardware was included, remind this.
Some modifications to the front bar behind the bumper were needed:
And the first test fit, this was just to measure the length of the lines, I didn´t get much left from the lines included, take this into account when thinking about where to place the cooler:
The sandwich plate torqued at 30Nm:
The lines attached to the sandwich plate and the new oil filter installed:
Because of the sandwich plate 1.8 20VT filters are required since they are female type and not male type like the stock 2.0 TSI filters, the good part is that they are cheaper, the part number is Mahle 719/30, this filter WASN´T included in the kit.
Another shot:
Because of the lines touching the frame on some places you will get some kind of whining noise, I got used to it, but at first it was annoying for sure.
Some trimming was required on the engine cover to accomodate the new filter:
And the final pic with it installed:
Hope this helps to any user that is considering this kit and a DIY, there A LOT of things that need to get considered and planned before the install so it all goes smooth and trouble free.
I don´t regret of buying and installing this, the oil temperatures now are perfect and I am much more comfortable pushing the car hard in the summer months. I just wish someone had written a post like this to know all the details of the install before I started mine, hopefully this will help some of you.
Any question please ask :thumbup: