The only thing you should be worrying about is pressure drop, as to not lose power when switching to an aftermarket IC. Since there is no objective measure (no one actually publishes their pressure drop) you are left with guessing and what needs to be guessed is how well the IC is designed from a flow perspective, are the endings well rounded with smooth radiuses (good) or angular/square? Does it has a turning vane helping the air make the initial 90° turns (good) or not? Did they use computational fluid dynamics to design and optimize the endings? Does it look like the manufacturer cares about flow at all? From that perspective, there are only two clear choices left: COBB first, and then Wagner, with Mountune a distant third, amongst those I considered. The IC’s with pyramidal endings should be avoided, no matter how popular the brand and their “scene points”: air don’t take sharp turns without a cost, those drop the most pressure and will increase lag as well as making your turbo work harder for the same power. Quality for an IC goes well beyond good fabrication and nice weldings. Finally, eloxing (anodization) is a very effective thermal barrier reducing the efficiency of the IC: you want a bare one, or a black painted one but never an anodized one (which again circles back to the three I mentioned.)
I’ve heard the impact of anodizing an ic is almost negligible in terms of negative performance. It does form a barrier around it this insulating is but it is a very small barrier which leads to not a very large impact on performance. I do not know though and if you have more information to help clarify please tell me!!
Having just bought a pro alloy intercooler is amazing quality a work of art and come with racing pedigree. I heard of a number of intercooler failure on welds with mountune on social media
@@AdamRainey My mountune big intercooler on my ST MR230 failed on the front left weld just under one year of running. lucky it was just in warranty tho. mountune was great and replaced it, just feels like I'm waiting for my second intercooler to fail which is dangerous if you are overtaking someone.
Adam Rainey mountune ones fail around the end tank because they used cast end tanks which have silicone mixed into the end tanks that make them horrible to weld and would always die after a year but are hopefully looking into better end tanks for them... pro alloy’s own own is good, the boss at pro alloy has one on his grey RS and all their intercoolers are tested at 30psi the same as the mountune ones and they get the parts sent to them to make the mountune intercoolers... airtec just try to copy pro alloy for instance pro alloy have just made and tested out the mk8 fiesta intercooler (look pro alloy up on Facebook or instagram and the results are all on there for the mk8) airtec from what I have been told are now trying to do one similar to pro alloy’s one lol
19marshall80 it is most likely the cast end tanks more the end tanks leak a sometimes but they get fix... the heat cycles to them don’t help but from what I have heard they are looking into better end tanks... but I never told you that lol
I love how im in the exact same situation with my ST as i prepare for stage 3 and am asking the exact same questions on Instagram aha. Ive heard wagner are basically at the top of the game for STs.... amazing quality and such...
If I lived in the UK I'd buy a local. For me it would be out of Mountuneand Revo but I would likely go for Mountune. They will all be very close in tems of flow and performance and even closer in real world performance.
I'm currently split between buying the Garret or Airtec stage 2 for my MK3 focus ST with my MSD 280, with the plan to go to 300 next. What would you recommend Adam?
with a fooking great intercooler and air con radiator in front of it as well as an oil cooler some people fit, its the cars actual coolant rad that needs all the help it can get and should be upgraded as all it ever sees is preheated warm air once its been through all those rads in front of it!! Its HOT man.
Adam Rainey airtec has always been cheaper then most out there , and yes as they all do the same job most companies just over change, only way you will ever really know if there is a big difference is if you are tracking your car ever week .
@@AdamRainey I've got an Airtec intake pipe on my MK3 RS. I too was sceptical about the price, but after seeing it and fitting it I can't see any reason why you would pay the extra for Mountune. Airtec intercoolers are bigger than most too! 😉
I’ve fallen out with Mountune of late. They are great for one reason and that’s the Survival of your warranty. To endear this you pay well over the odds for their packages when in reality their products are well rivalled be other top rated tuners. I’ve been researching and paying particular attention to the packages they offer and I’m a little put off by the trialed and tested figures against other well respected tuners out there. It would seem they don’t get the performance they should for a very lot of extra cash? Others may not agree. I went with Airtech as actually the build quality is very good along with tuning work carried out by Litchfield.
Cheers Graeme :) The mirror caps had a fault so I was promised a replacement set. It took about 2 - 3 months for them to arrive and when they did they were cheap crap, the likes you might find on ebay (literally didn't fit). After that Kuro flipped and started being a dick and then sent a couple of his goons after me to harrass me and threatening me to stop me from telling anyone about it. At that point I said I would just send them back for a promissed refund just to make them go away. I sent them, I have proof Dave Kuro received them but they all then disappeared and never gave me my refund so Kuro is a thief as well. After all that stress I didnt have the motivation to keep on the carbon stuff, at least for now
@@AdamRainey oh shit, seen a few things online about him, all negative, but I got a couple of bits previously which thankfully were fine, and ordered the mirror caps 2 weeks ago so really hope they're ok when they eventually arrive! I'm enjoying what you're doing with the channel, keep it up mate, and good luck with the intercooler.
I had the door spears which were ok and the first set of caps fitted just fine but then developed an issue. I think the laquer/top layer wasnt sealed properly so went weird underneath. So basically you might get lucky, if you get caps that weren't made on a Friday afternoon type of thing. And of course if you do have an issue, be prepared to be abused by an ass hole called Kevan
@@AdamRainey ordered them through JW Racing so I think if theres any issues I deal with them rather than Kuro, hopefully I do get lucky though and they're fine. Definitely wont be letting any pricks intimidate me, if theres an issue I'll be putting it all over social media, cant let people get away with that shit.
That is wise mate, I unfortunately dealt with Dave Kuro directly so had no options for come back, especially cos I gave them so much time in the first place to sort it all out. When I see anyone having an issue on social media I chime in and tell of my experiences. The world needs to be warned! I am not the only one that has been hassled by the Kevan twat. His threatening goon was saying that he had my home and work address and all this crap and that they were going to come and steal my car, etc. Mega lolz
AirTec Mountune CPe Altitude Motorworks ^ Those are my picks. Mishimoto is questionable as far as quality and their welds are concerned. As with most things we buy, you get exactly what you pay for. Then again, we're buying and paying for a " name". I'm in the USA, but same as you I do a lot of reading and research on these cars, AirTec has been around the block so to speak and IMPO they're very well known and respected in the U.K. and probably for a good reason. I've also talked to many ST/RS owners and enthusiasts, you'll generally get a plethora of answers and or opinions, at the end of the day, research and knowledge will pay off in the end. I take opinions and hearsay with a grain of salt. People can tell you what to buy but then again most people won't man up and pay your bills or pay for your modifications/upgrades. Good luck and happy modding, your RS has always been one of my favorites and I religiously follow your channel. Cheers!
Cheers Scott :) The thing with Mishimoto though is they have pretty good warranties so if the welds did go then they would sort it out and here in the UK for some reason we still seem to have V1 of the mountune cooler which is very hard to even get in stock vs the USA who have a V2 and then the V1 has had some quality issues that I have read about as well so all a bit of a mine field it seems :O
So...what was your choice regarding the IC? I had in the past on my ST a Pro Alloy IC, and I was very happy with the quality and performance. Now, on the RS I have to choose between Pro Alloy and Mishimoto. The last one seems to be bigger.
Hi Mate, so I still haven't made a decision. Just been busy with other things while watching the mountune website for stock - it is still out of stock all these months later! I suspect they are preparing a V2 or something but at this point I am starting to think either pro alloy or mishimoto as well. I think I could get the mishimoto a bit cheaper but will look into it probably near the end of the year
I bought the Mishi and they sent me the wrong cooler and then tried claiming it wasn't their fault. Good products maybe but only if you can get them and avoid their shockingly bad customer service
Haven't heard great things about mountune ones as they seem to split near the end plates but haven't heard anything wrong with the others, yes pro alloy make the mountune ones but obviously to a spec specified by mountune.
The only thing you should be worrying about is pressure drop, as to not lose power when switching to an aftermarket IC. Since there is no objective measure (no one actually publishes their pressure drop) you are left with guessing and what needs to be guessed is how well the IC is designed from a flow perspective, are the endings well rounded with smooth radiuses (good) or angular/square? Does it has a turning vane helping the air make the initial 90° turns (good) or not? Did they use computational fluid dynamics to design and optimize the endings? Does it look like the manufacturer cares about flow at all? From that perspective, there are only two clear choices left: COBB first, and then Wagner, with Mountune a distant third, amongst those I considered. The IC’s with pyramidal endings should be avoided, no matter how popular the brand and their “scene points”: air don’t take sharp turns without a cost, those drop the most pressure and will increase lag as well as making your turbo work harder for the same power. Quality for an IC goes well beyond good fabrication and nice weldings. Finally, eloxing (anodization) is a very effective thermal barrier reducing the efficiency of the IC: you want a bare one, or a black painted one but never an anodized one (which again circles back to the three I mentioned.)
I’ve heard the impact of anodizing an ic is almost negligible in terms of negative performance. It does form a barrier around it this insulating is but it is a very small barrier which leads to not a very large impact on performance. I do not know though and if you have more information to help clarify please tell me!!
Since I live in the states I went with a ets intercooler. Love it. There stuff is priced right and high quality.
They do look good, I gotta say. Too bad we stung on import costs :(
Having just bought a pro alloy intercooler is amazing quality a work of art and come with racing pedigree. I heard of a number of intercooler failure on welds with mountune on social media
I have heard of dodgy welds on the fiesta st big intercooler welds but I hadn't heard of any issues on the RS intercooler :O
@@AdamRainey My mountune big intercooler on my ST MR230 failed on the front left weld just under one year of running. lucky it was just in warranty tho. mountune was great and replaced it, just feels like I'm waiting for my second intercooler to fail which is dangerous if you are overtaking someone.
Adam Rainey mountune ones fail around the end tank because they used cast end tanks which have silicone mixed into the end tanks that make them horrible to weld and would always die after a year but are hopefully looking into better end tanks for them... pro alloy’s own own is good, the boss at pro alloy has one on his grey RS and all their intercoolers are tested at 30psi the same as the mountune ones and they get the parts sent to them to make the mountune intercoolers... airtec just try to copy pro alloy for instance pro alloy have just made and tested out the mk8 fiesta intercooler (look pro alloy up on Facebook or instagram and the results are all on there for the mk8) airtec from what I have been told are now trying to do one similar to pro alloy’s one lol
19marshall80 it is most likely the cast end tanks more the end tanks leak a sometimes but they get fix... the heat cycles to them don’t help but from what I have heard they are looking into better end tanks... but I never told you that lol
I love how im in the exact same situation with my ST as i prepare for stage 3 and am asking the exact same questions on Instagram aha. Ive heard wagner are basically at the top of the game for STs.... amazing quality and such...
You didnt go wagner in the end...
If I lived in the UK I'd buy a local. For me it would be out of Mountuneand Revo but I would likely go for Mountune. They will all be very close in tems of flow and performance and even closer in real world performance.
I'm currently split between buying the Garret or Airtec stage 2 for my MK3 focus ST with my MSD 280, with the plan to go to 300 next. What would you recommend Adam?
@@scuba_steve73 I like airtec, their stuff is good
with a fooking great intercooler and air con radiator in front of it as well as an oil cooler some people fit, its the cars actual coolant rad that needs all the help it can get and should be upgraded as all it ever sees is preheated warm air once its been through all those rads in front of it!! Its HOT man.
I rate Airtec as I've used them before and think there perfect on performance and look good and fairly lightweight and really well made 👍
Airtec had them on my mk3 st and on my mk2 rs and my mk3 rs never let me down great looks and performance
Why do you think they are such a chunk less expensive? You think the others are just pushing profits?
Adam Rainey airtec has always been cheaper then most out there , and yes as they all do the same job most companies just over change, only way you will ever really know if there is a big difference is if you are tracking your car ever week .
Adam Rainey plus my mk3 st was running 305 bhp the mk2 rs was 420 and the mk3 rs is 410 and like I said never had any problems in cooling
Thanks for all the info Tony, very helpful. Iv'e certainly not heard anything bad about airtec and indeed held them in high regard for a long time
@@AdamRainey I've got an Airtec intake pipe on my MK3 RS. I too was sceptical about the price, but after seeing it and fitting it I can't see any reason why you would pay the extra for Mountune. Airtec intercoolers are bigger than most too! 😉
I can’t really comment because I haven’t got a clue... But if it was me I’d go for Mountune they seem to make really good stuff
Fair play, cheers Michael!
I’ve fallen out with Mountune of late. They are great for one reason and that’s the Survival of your warranty. To endear this you pay well over the odds for their packages when in reality their products are well rivalled be other top rated tuners. I’ve been researching and paying particular attention to the packages they offer and I’m a little put off by the trialed and tested figures against other well respected tuners out there. It would seem they don’t get the performance they should for a very lot of extra cash? Others may not agree. I went with Airtech as actually the build quality is very good along with tuning work carried out by Litchfield.
Got the Mountune intercooler, very happy with it but of course the normal issue is availability. What's happened to your carbon mirror caps??
Cheers Graeme :) The mirror caps had a fault so I was promised a replacement set. It took about 2 - 3 months for them to arrive and when they did they were cheap crap, the likes you might find on ebay (literally didn't fit). After that Kuro flipped and started being a dick and then sent a couple of his goons after me to harrass me and threatening me to stop me from telling anyone about it. At that point I said I would just send them back for a promissed refund just to make them go away. I sent them, I have proof Dave Kuro received them but they all then disappeared and never gave me my refund so Kuro is a thief as well. After all that stress I didnt have the motivation to keep on the carbon stuff, at least for now
@@AdamRainey oh shit, seen a few things online about him, all negative, but I got a couple of bits previously which thankfully were fine, and ordered the mirror caps 2 weeks ago so really hope they're ok when they eventually arrive! I'm enjoying what you're doing with the channel, keep it up mate, and good luck with the intercooler.
I had the door spears which were ok and the first set of caps fitted just fine but then developed an issue. I think the laquer/top layer wasnt sealed properly so went weird underneath. So basically you might get lucky, if you get caps that weren't made on a Friday afternoon type of thing. And of course if you do have an issue, be prepared to be abused by an ass hole called Kevan
@@AdamRainey ordered them through JW Racing so I think if theres any issues I deal with them rather than Kuro, hopefully I do get lucky though and they're fine. Definitely wont be letting any pricks intimidate me, if theres an issue I'll be putting it all over social media, cant let people get away with that shit.
That is wise mate, I unfortunately dealt with Dave Kuro directly so had no options for come back, especially cos I gave them so much time in the first place to sort it all out. When I see anyone having an issue on social media I chime in and tell of my experiences. The world needs to be warned! I am not the only one that has been hassled by the Kevan twat. His threatening goon was saying that he had my home and work address and all this crap and that they were going to come and steal my car, etc. Mega lolz
Mountune ! The fit is perfect . I had a airtec before and wasn’t impressed
Thanks :) You weren't impressed with the fit or the quality or the performance of the airtec?
Adam Rainey it was the fit , I sold the airtec and got the mountune
AirTec
Mountune
CPe
Altitude Motorworks
^ Those are my picks. Mishimoto is questionable as far as quality and their welds are concerned. As with most things we buy, you get exactly what you pay for. Then again, we're buying and paying for a " name". I'm in the USA, but same as you I do a lot of reading and research on these cars, AirTec has been around the block so to speak and IMPO they're very well known and respected in the U.K. and probably for a good reason. I've also talked to many ST/RS owners and enthusiasts, you'll generally get a plethora of answers and or opinions, at the end of the day, research and knowledge will pay off in the end. I take opinions and hearsay with a grain of salt. People can tell you what to buy but then again most people won't man up and pay your bills or pay for your modifications/upgrades. Good luck and happy modding, your RS has always been one of my favorites and I religiously follow your channel. Cheers!
Cheers Scott :) The thing with Mishimoto though is they have pretty good warranties so if the welds did go then they would sort it out and here in the UK for some reason we still seem to have V1 of the mountune cooler which is very hard to even get in stock vs the USA who have a V2 and then the V1 has had some quality issues that I have read about as well so all a bit of a mine field it seems :O
So...what was your choice regarding the IC? I had in the past on my ST a Pro Alloy IC, and I was very happy with the quality and performance. Now, on the RS I have to choose between Pro Alloy and Mishimoto. The last one seems to be bigger.
Hi Mate, so I still haven't made a decision. Just been busy with other things while watching the mountune website for stock - it is still out of stock all these months later! I suspect they are preparing a V2 or something but at this point I am starting to think either pro alloy or mishimoto as well. I think I could get the mishimoto a bit cheaper but will look into it probably near the end of the year
I'm probably late to make a comment... But can't beat Mishimoto when combining the performance with their lifetime warranty on all Mishimoto products.
I bought the Mishi and they sent me the wrong cooler and then tried claiming it wasn't their fault. Good products maybe but only if you can get them and avoid their shockingly bad customer service
@@AdamRainey sorry to hear that. But was the IC they sent at least decent?
I'm sure it was ok quality yea but being for a completely different car I cant say for sure
Pro Alloy. Mountune is just branded Pro Alloy anyway but more expensive.
I do somewhat like the pro alloy...
I looked into intercoolers on my mk3 rs and struggled to find an insurance company that’ll insure the car with it on 😂
Mountune. But it might kill your insurance. I’ve had quotes go up by £2000 for adding an intercooler.
Don't mention the I word lol
Haven't heard great things about mountune ones as they seem to split near the end plates but haven't heard anything wrong with the others, yes pro alloy make the mountune ones but obviously to a spec specified by mountune.
Mountune 100% quality is 2nd too none 👍👍
That's what I've been going on for a long time. Might be back in stock this time next year :P
Airtec all the way have got one on my st makes a difference on the st let alone an rs and has to be blue !!
For me the best is proalloy.
It does look good for sure
Wagner
Are they that superior?