AWE Tuning B8 / 8R 3.0T ColdFront Heat Exchanger

4510-11032

The finest cooling system on the market:

• ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger, ColdFront™ Reservoir, and ColdFront™ Coolant Pump, best in combination, but available separately
  
• The proven solution for reducing intake air temperature
  
• 100% increase in coolant flow rate when equipped with optional ColdFront™ Coolant Pump
  
• Lowers Intake Air Temperatures (IATs) by up to 15F
  
• Reduces coolant temperatures by a maximum of 24F
  
• Maintains consistent power in extreme conditions
  
• Perfect OEM fitment for easy installation
  
• Only Heat Exchanger on the market with a drain plug and bleed screw to ensure no air is trapped while adding coolant
  
• Designed in house at AWE
  
• AWE ColdFront™ Protection Screen also available
  
• Fits Audi Drive Select cars with addition of AWE Drive Select Cooler
  
• Perfect Fitment - Guaranteed

Presenting the AWE Audi 3.0T ColdFront™ System.  Designed in-house at AWE, our ColdFront™ product line is the solution for consistent and reliable performance for modified vehicles looking for maximum power and security.  AWE ColdFront™ products include:

• The ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger
• The ColdFront™ Reservoir
• The ColdFront™ Coolant Pump
• The add-on ColdFront™ Protection Screen

The ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger 

The AWE ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger was developed to reduce high air intake temperatures found in supercharged engines. Designed and conceptualized in house at AWE, the AWE ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger should be a mandate for supercharged 3.0T engines looking to keep things consistent and reliable. 

The AWE ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger is a direct replacement for the factory heat exchanger, fitting neatly behind the front bumper and grill assemblies. This product was specifically designed by the engineers at AWE to include a unique drain plug and bleed screw, allowing the system to be bled without the need for external tools. In other words, all the benefits of a cooling upgrade with none of the fitment downsides.

Why a heat exchanger? 

Insufficiently cooled air entering your vehicle’s engine will rob power and performance. Modified vehicles, notably those flashed and/or equipped with a modified supercharger pulley like the AWE Stage 2 Performance Pulley, are particularly susceptible to higher intake air temperatures. Enter the AWE ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger: Proven to maintain consistent intake air temperatures and power, even under the most demanding of conditions.

How it works

The AWE ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger utilizes a larger frontal area, resulting in in cooler supercharger coolant temperatures, leading to better air intake temperatures and consistent, reliable power.

Partner products:

The AWE ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger can be used either in combination with other members of the AWE ColdFront™ product line, or it can be used as a stand-alone upgrade.

The ColdFront™ Reservoir

The AWE ColdFront™ Reservoir is CNC Machined from 6061 Billet Aluminum and plumbed directly into the heat exchanger coolant system to increase supercharger coolant capacity. The increase in coolant capacity leads to lower coolant temperatures, in turn supporting lower air intake temperatures. To further reduce coolant temperatures, the AWE ColdFront™ Reservoir incorporates a true flow through design which acts to reduce coolant temperature as it flows through the unit. The AWE ColdFront™ Reservoir features an anodized aluminum cap laser etched with the AWE logo, ensuring that checking the coolant level is a breeze.

Partner products:

The AWE ColdFront™ Reservoir can be used either in combination with other members of the AWE ColdFront™ product line, or can be used with the factory heat exchanger.

The ColdFront™ Coolant Pump

The AWE ColdFront™ Coolant Pump is the final member of the ColdFront™ family. Manufactured by the cooling-system wizards at Meziere Enterprises, who have nearly three decades worth of experience in engineering and manufacturing performance cooling system components, the ColdFront™ Coolant Pump replaces the stock heat exchanger pump -- and out-performs it to the tune of an impressive 100% gain in flow-rate over the factory pump. During excessive dynamometer torture testing on our in house 3.0T, we recorded an additional 8% decrease in intake air temperatures when the pump was combined with the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger and ColdFront™ Reservoir. Cool.

Partner products:

While the ColdFront™ Coolant Pump may be used in conjunction with the stock heat exchanger, it cannot be used without the ColdFront™ Reservoir.

The ColdFront™ Protection Screen

The AWE ColdFront™ Protection Screen is the solution for guarding the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger from road debris. The ColdFront™ Protection Screen guards the full face of the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger with durable stainless wire mesh and is surrounded by a stainless steel frame, protecting it against any small objects that may find their way past the vehicle’s grill. This keeps the heat exchanger fins free of damage, allowing them to perform with maximum efficiency.

ColdFront™ Drive Select Cooler (for B8 S4s with Audi Drive Select)

For 2010-2012 B8 S4s with Audi Drive Select, you’re going to need this. The factory Audi Drive Select Cooler snakes through the area where the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger lives. But we fixed that. Our ColdFront™ Audi Drive Select Cooler places the new cooler in a safe new location beneath the crash bar. 

Please note,  AWE ColdFront™ Systems are for racing use only.

You've got questions? We've got answers. Click "ask an expert" at the top of this page.

Below are graphs of the performance testing done on the ColdFront System. All tests were performed on the AWE Mustang MD-500-SE AWD dyno using a 6-speed B8 Audi S4 equipped with G.I.A.C. Stage 2 Performance Pulley Software on 93 octane pump gas in a controlled ambient temperature of 90F.

Above is a graph showing the supercharger coolant temperature difference of the coolant before entering vs. after exiting the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger. The red line represents the pre heat exchanger coolant temperature. The green line represents the post heat exchanger coolant temperature. The top graph shows the temperature difference the stock heat exchanger is capable of producing, the middle graph shows the temperature difference the ColdFront Heat Exchanger is capable of producing, and the third graphs show the temperature difference the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger and Reservoir are capable of producing.

It can be seen that the stock heat exchanger struggles to keep the supercharger coolant temperatures low, especially at high RPM, yielding a maximum temperature drop of 8.6F @ 4760 RPM. In contrast, the ColdFront Heat Exchanger produced a maximum temperature drop of 13.7F @ 6960 RPM, and 14.5F @ 7100 RPM when adding the ColdFront Reservoir to complete the ColdFront System. This results in a total maximum temperature drop of 24F when compared to the stock unit.  

Above is a graph showing the intake air temperatures when performing back to back pulls on our dyno. (Eight in total using 30 sec. intervals). The red line represents the stock heat exchanger, the green line represents the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger, and the blueline represents the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger and Reservoir.  

It can be seen that the stock unit suffers greatly from heat soak. During the eighth pull the intake air temperatures had climbed upward of 180F at redline. In contrast, the larger ColdFront Heat Exchanger produces a maximum air intake temperature of slightly over 165F after eight pulls. Adding the optional reservoir to complete the ColdFront System results in a maximum air intake temperature of just under 165F after the eighth pull, with lower temperatures throughout the first seven pulls as well.  

Above is a graph representing the horsepower produced when performing back to back pulls on our Mustang dyno (Four runs in total). The green line represents the wheel horsepower during the first dyno run. The red line represents the wheel horsepower during the fourth dyno run.  

It can be seen that the stock heat exchanger suffered from heat soak, resulting in a power loss of 12 WHP @ 6900 RPM. In comparison, the ColdFront Heat Exchanger had a power loss of just 4 WHP @6900 RPM. When adding the optional AWE ColdFront™ Coolant Reservoir to the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger, there was no power loss at all even multiple back to back dyno pulls.

Below are graphs of the performance testing done with the ColdFront™ Coolant Pump installed. All tests were performed on the AWE Mustang MD-500-SE AWD dyno using a 7-speed DSG B8.5 Audi S5 equipped with G.I.A.C. Stage 2 Performance Pulley Software on 93 octane pump gas in a controlled ambient temperature of 85°F.

Above is a graph showing the supercharger coolant temperature difference of the coolant before entering vs. after exiting the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger. The red line represents the pre heat exchanger coolant temperature. The green line represents the post heat exchanger coolant temperature. The top graph shows the temperature difference the stock heat exchanger is capable of producing, the middle graph shows the temperature difference the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger is capable of producing, and the third graph show the temperature difference the full ColdFront™ package, with the ColdFront™ Coolant Pump, is capable of producing. It can be seen that by simply replacing the stock coolant pump with the ColdFront™ Coolant Pump, coolant temps are decreased by a maximum of 6.2°F @ 4169 RPM.

Above is a graph showing the intake air temperatures when performing back to back pulls on our dyno. The red line represents IATs recorded using the stock heat exchanger coolant pump, and the green line represents IATs recorded with the ColdFront™ Coolant Pump. It can be seen that the ColdFront™ Coolant Pump, due to its increased flow capacity, yields not only more stable IATs, but also cooler IATs, with the IAT temperature peaking at 165°F after eight pulls. The stock coolant pump, in comparison, yielded IATs of more than 175°F.

Above is a graph representing the horsepower produced when performing back to back pulls on our Mustang dyno (Four runs in total). The green line represents the wheel horsepower during the first dyno run. The red line represents the wheel horsepower during the fourth dyno run. It can be seen that the addition of the ColdFront™ Coolant Pump to the ColdFront™ Heat Exchanger and ColdFront™ Reservoir helps maintain power after repeated full-throttle acceleration runs, reducing power losses from 23 WHP @ 6900 RPM to just 10 WHP @ 6900 RPM.

Why is the factory heat exchanger not enough?

Heat soak is an issue that plagues all forced induction vehicles. Hot intake air leads to decreased performance, and becomes noticeable with more aggressive driving. Modifying the 3.0T motor to produce increased boost pressure either via software, a smaller pulley, or both, will result in even higher air temperatures.  The stock heat exchanger simply becomes overwhelmed and cannot sufficiently cool the charge air. Recovery times for intake air temperatures to come back down are also increased due to the increased heat. The factory heat exchanger is simply too small to operate well enough during performance driving, especially when the vehicle is running increased boost pressure. 

Download Installation Instructions: Installation Instructions for the AWE ColdFront™ System

Download Installation Instructions: Installation Instructions for the AWE ColdFront™ Coolant Pump