ECS Tuning Intercooler & Charge Pipes - Audi B9 S4 3.0L V6 TFSI

[@Kiss__Kiss]

Well Done.. Thanks for speaking clearly when doing a step by step. As sometimes, KZbinrs FLY though most of their installs, and we as (Older)viewers, are left with the, "What the heck just happened??" LOL!!

[@DmitrysGarage]

Thanks! I think it's usually the effort to cut down the video length. Sometimes you really just cant get the content in there and have a 5 minute video that makes sense :).

[@Kiss__Kiss]

@@DmitrysGarage Exactly.. As a result, you found that sweet spot...

[@kylekappauf]

If you click the gear in the bottom right you can change the playback speed to faster or slower, 50% speed is nice for following tutorials.

[@ZlatanKnowsBest]

Nice video quality and content. You’re making good progress and I hope the rear end repair is going well. I had the ECS intercooler and found that at the higher power levels it struggled to keep up. I upgraded to the IE unit and it has been way more consistent then the ECS. That said, if you’re planning on going stage 2+, you may want to swap it out.

[@DmitrysGarage]

The car is in the body shop today finally! State Farm took forever. Interesting on the intercooler, what sort of IATs were you getting? It's been July/August level hot out here, and truth be told car is farther ahead than videos show. It's actually stage 2 atm. I shot several videos at the same time as it was just more practical from an install perspective, i.e. I don't want to take off the front fascia off over and over. So far even in the heat, before the crash, it was doing fine on IATs. I'll do an overall recap video. I don't think the IE intercooler is that much bigger, volume wise they're about the same, the IE just has a bit more surface area (it's thinner). Will be interesting to see at peak heat out here in Houston.

[@Corbots80]

CAP is the one you should have went with

[@Driffty_Shiffty]

Nice video, love watching your S4 videos as I have one myself. Wish I had access to a nice lift and garage like you do so I could upgrade my S4, but she’s a lot of fun as is with an IE tune. Thanks for making the videos!

[@DmitrysGarage]

Thanks for watching and the kind comments :). You can definitely do most this stuff without a lift, but the garage does help. Though when I was younger I definitely did this kind of stuff in front of the apartment to their dismay.

[@jasonlake2165]

Thanks for the thorough videos

[@toddmitchell8116]

Another great video. Excellent hope to. Keep them coming. Sorry to hear about the rear collision. Super annoying.

[@DmitrysGarage]

It's not the end of the world, but frustrating. At least my insurance has finally accepted their fate since there really is no one else to go after. I'll actually get it to the body shop tomorrow. The question is will I get it back this coming month, hah! Glad to have you watching these :), hope you're staying well!

[@ferozeali3492]

Thank you so much for your time to make these videos i have really learnt so much from you I have a b9 s4 in navy blue

[@DmitrysGarage]

Glad the videos have helped :), thanks for watching!

[@OLYMPIANSUNRISELLC]

Great video! 💪🏼💯

[@Matt-yj9ew]

Hey Dmitry. I'm really enjoying your S4 content so far. I was wondering what your thoughts are on detailing the B9 S4 engine bay using water? I've just replaced the stock plastic covers by the strut towers with the revised OEM rubber plug (8W0803593) as dirt was starting to build up in that area, and I'm now considering a detail of the engine bay. I can't really find any information online about detailing these engines (the EA839 in general), and I'm not sure if it's worth the risk or if I should stick to a waterless detail. If you have a process you would follow for detailing this engine bay, I think it would make a great video 😄

[@DmitrysGarage]

Thanks Matt, glad you're liking the content. Generally under the hood is not considered a "dry" space. If you drive through heavy rain and puddles you're definitely getting things wet. Most everything should be designed with this in mind. That being said you should not just blast away with the pressure wash at areas where you have obvious electrical connections, ECU, coil packs, air filters, etc... You can also mask those things up with plastic bags to avoid risk. Aging vehicles can also be a problem as plastics become brittle, etc.. So anything older than 10 years I'd say is more risk. I'll make a video about this for sure at some point soon.

[@dragomirarthur]

Very helpful man, we almost have the same spec s4

[@quickhandcam8596]

Great video, as always!

[@DmitrysGarage]

Thanks! :)

[@iantitus7122]

Hey, so this intercooler can be installed without the ecs charged pipes?

[@DmitrysGarage]

Ian, yes absolutely. The charge pipes aren't necessary, they're just a nice to have.

[@yeffy95]

Just curious, is this intercooler good enough for a stage 3 tune (hybrid turbo)?

[@DmitrysGarage]

I've not had issues with my hybrid turbo and this intercooler. I'm running the 710 on E85 with 034. I know the Wagner is supposed to be better and having seen Wagner's stuff at SEMA this year it is quite nice. I would say it depends on your goals; If you're going to be doing 1/4 mile street pulls back to back, using pump gas instead of ethanol in high heat, or doing racing (i.e. road racing) on a track, then yea you might want to go for a pricier option. I'd say if you're not going top of the line (i.e. Wagner) you may as well just get this ECS. The ECS is a perfectly good IC and it is very large, I think people don't realize just how big it is until they see it in person and size in this case really does help.

[@yeffy95]

@@DmitrysGarage Okay, thanks for the reply! Yeah, I recently grabbed a catted downpipe and the ECS IC, so planning to go IE stage 2 soon. I've heard people upgrading because of the exact reason you mentioned (not big enough). I am currently running 93 pump gas as ethanol isn't readily available for me. But I was really curious if this IC would be enough for a stage 3 93 octane. I might get a Pure750 or TTE810 in the future but as of now, this is just a daily. I'm not sure if I will take it to the track but I will probably do some pulls here and there :). With that said, it could get hot in the summer time over in Jersey. I’m also curious, what oil do you use for your stage 3 tune? I have heard most people use 5W40 for stage 3, but I currently have Audi care up until 70k miles. I know they use whatever is rated which I believe is 0W20.

[@Corbots80]

Of course. But don't waste your time on such a small one. The CAP one is what you want

[@DmitrysGarage]

I don’t think its fair to call the ECS IC small. Its a little smaller than the CAP one. CAP doesn’t seem to list a size on their sales page, but claims 26% bigger than ECS and 49% bigger than APR. I could see calling the APR small but the ECS one is one of the largest. Im running a hybrid turbo now and have absolutely no issues even in 100F+ Houston heat.

[@Corbots80]

@@DmitrysGarage 26% is a big difference.

[@DmitrysGarage]

Sure but someone who is 26% bigger than Dwayne Johnson doesn’t make Dwayne a small guy ;-). Im not saying the CAP one is bad, I haven’t seen it before TBH, but the ECS unit is quite large and working well with nearly double the stock S4 horsepower in a very hot climate. My Mustangs intercooler is only slightly bigger and that car is at 1k whp at the moment.

[@josemarrero9878]

👌👍

[@AngelDiaz-pu1go]

Hi. So I already upgraded intercooler but left stock piping. Is it really worth going through all that work to change the piping?

[@DmitrysGarage]

It's probably not worth taking the car apart again. There's not much benefit other than some preventative maintenance since the stock pipes will eventually need swapping as they age.

[@andytran-ry7yc]

will i benefit with this intercooler even if im stock?

[@DmitrysGarage]

Yes, especially if you live in a hot climate, because the stock intercooler is very small. The stock unit heat soaks very quickly and robs power. It's even better with a tune or other mods of course, but even stock it's a big improvement.

[@darrinscoilsclouds1498]

nice coment

[@DmitrysGarage]

haha I do ask for a nice comment :)

[@DrewB439]

Will this void warranty on a new vehicle with Audi factory warranty?

[@DmitrysGarage]

Audi can choose to not honor their warranty for pretty much any reason and it would be up to you to take them to court for potentially violating the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act if you're in the United States. In practice most automakers will only void warranty on components that you have replaced and any components affected by your choices, not the entire warranty for the whole car. For example if you tune your ECU they won't honor the warranty on your physical ECU/TCU if they break. If your engine or transmission breaks, they will likely try to blame your ECU/TCU tune on that failure as a related component. You'd then have to either accept the loss of coverage or go to court. However, it would be highly unlikely they would try to deny a warranty claim for a broken seat or a failing door speaker because of your ECU/TCU tuning. Replacing the intercooler will void the warranty on your factory intercooler. It is possible, though in my opinion unlikely, that Audi would void the warranty on your powertrain (engine/transmission) as a result of this modification alone. I think it would be hard for them to make that claim and expect to defend it if you did sue. Anything is possible though. Ultimately if the warranty is the most important thing for you then you should keep the car stock. I would not modify the car if you are unable or unwilling to pay to fix it out of pocket if the warranty does not come through.

[@DrewB439]

@@DmitrysGarage Thank you for the detailed response. Awesome content on the videos!!

[@xsavier7984]

which engine is better 3.0 tfsi or 2.9 tfsi have some problems?

[@DmitrysGarage]

They're the same EA839 engine. The 2.9 version has a shorter stroke and lower compression. As far as what's better it depends on what you want.

[@xsavier7984]

@@DmitrysGarage are there any problems with these motors?

[@DmitrysGarage]

I haven’t had any, but every engine has some failure rates. Seen a few cases here and there of rocker arm failures requiring a head replacement/rebuild, some fuel injector failures a few of which have taken out engines entirely. Wouldn’t say its any better or worse than any other engine.

[@TheCompyshop]

@@xsavier7984 If you're looking for one avoid the 2018 model year for both the 3.0 and 2.9 models. They have upgraded rocker arms

[@erich.5875]

What’s the company name of the honey comb front fascia

[@DmitrysGarage]

No idea, they’re all made in china. You can find them on ebay, aliexpress, etc. just search “rs style grill s4 b9” or similar and you can find a ton of sellers. I recommend finding someone who had stock in your country as shipping from china is a pain. There are some aftermarket audi parts websites that sell them but they charge a premium and often drop ship from the same Chinese supplier.

[@erich.5875]

Thank you for your response! I a fan and watch your channel as I have a B9 S5 with all ECS tuning bolt ons with an APR tune ECU and TCU and can’t wait until I get it back to see the performance! Thank you for your great videos! Keep it up!

[@DmitrysGarage]

Thank you! Its such a fun platform =].

[@erich.5875]

Thanks, do you know of any tune / flash that will REMOVE the “check engine light” for the O2 sensor ( code:20420)?? APR doesn’t remove that code/ light.? Thank yiu

[@DmitrysGarage]

@@erich.5875 034 does remove the light, but it doesn't mean you'll pass state inspection, it depends on what they check. 034 won't force catalyst readiness so although you won't get a light, you may still not pass if that's required in your state.

[@roderickroderick7216]

Intercooler = Yes ECS = No

[@DmitrysGarage]

have you tried the ECS intercooler?

[@davidmusiyenko4158]

Sorry man but you bought the trashiest intercooler even for the stock turbo. Upgrade to IE or Wagner Intercooler ASAP!

[@DmitrysGarage]

Why is it trashy and have you actually seen one? How would you quantify the upgrade to a Wagner or IE? What about them makes them not trashy?

[@salimsanchez89]

I'm running this ic along with a stage 1 tune and am very happy with the consistency of the performance. Did a track day at daytona international raceway earlier this month (May in Florida..) It was a very hot day and I never felt any loss in power. I wanted an ic that would lower IATs without completely blocking direct flow to the radiator. This did the trick👌 I think it's perfectly adequate for stock and stage 1 setups..

[@DmitrysGarage]

@@salimsanchez89 Yep definitely agree with you that the ECS intercooler is perfectly fine. It's massive and I haven't found any fit or finish issues to complain about. The Wagner setup is really the only one that on paper would be better. In real life I doubt anyone is pushing enough power through their 3.0T today to need it outside of actual road racing/endurance racing, etc...

[@Corbots80]

LOL why would you suggest a better one. And not say CAP