xs2man:
Yeah. The intercooler itself wont actually see you any gains, and is really only necessary with a BT. Try the exhaust side of things first, that should help.
I'd disagree, Speak to Forge and ask their opinion on std Intercoolers in VAG cars.... puny and ill-placed. An exhaust will gve you as much or as little gain HP as an IC will on an untuned car. You only need to improve gas flow out of the engine if you are getting more air and fuel in. Having spent £000s on exhausts over the year my one conclusion is that if your car an't tuned its a waste of moeny except for looks and sounds.... 2-3 HP at most, none of this 10-15hp quoted nonsense regardless of RR figures!
A good IC will charge cool much better than the std one which in hot weather and this is what you want. Google 'heat soak' and see what I mean!
My pref would be this order
1 - Remap, Brakes and suspension
2 - Intercooler, panel filter
3 - Exhaust and uprated induction system, ie CAI
:)