to FMIC or not to FMIC

[rickyjones1209]

i thought engine mods would be finished after remap on saturday but im already considering a FMIC as recommended by will at p-torque.

i understand roughly how a fmic would work by cooling the air for more boost? but not being the best mechanic i wouldnt know where to start with fitting one. tbh i wouldnt consider payin £700 for a forge one but i know of members on here that have DIY'd it and managed to fit a fmic much cheaper. if this is possible then i may consider it but like i say wouldnt know how to fit it, i believe cutting of metal is needed....?

anyway whats the easiest and cheapest solution?

nev if you read this, i know you have fitted one yourself just wondering what your costs were and how easy the job was and is the hard work worth it for the results?

cheers boys!

 

[paul-murphys]

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=206261

here you go mate, nev sorted a good guide. ive got mine in my boot hopefully going to fit it soon but been saying this for months, i will get round to it one day.

 

[brad1]

£550 delivered from forge

 

[rickyjones1209]

no no not payin £550....im think more like £200.

 

[paul-murphys]

i really want to fit mine cause got rr at p torque on sat, will see if can give it a go today. got a grinder now so should be fun, nev hasnt had any problems with his so far an like he said is a stone goes through forge one would cry but with the diy can just buy another one for £70 so all good.

 

[rickyjones1209]

thats wot im thinkin £70 is sound plus hoses.

can you give me a list of wot i need, where i can get it from and prices? and wots required to fit? grinder etc?

cheers

 

[speedinsaxo]

thats wot im thinkin £70 is sound plus hoses.

can you give me a list of wot i need, where i can get it from and prices? and wots required to fit? grinder etc?

cheers

have you read Nev's guide and posts about this???!!! It's all there....

 

[james walker]

oldish thread, anyone got a guide on a lc not lcr custom fmic, including a full parts list of all needed...

forge are on 5 weeks waiting time now, and i aint that patient..

 

[cordobabrendy]

Aw come on fellas, put your hands in your pockets and buy a forge kit. The guys have spent a lot of time and money sorting these kits only for some to go and try to bodge a kit with funny flow rates and non tested parts. (I paid a lot more than 550 iirc back when they were just released)
I went for the forge kit and fitted it myself, It really is easy if you give yourself an afternoon to do it. The figures before and after spoke for themselves. The reduction in hot temperatures to me, was astounding.
I suppose its a little like making your own DIY induction kit, would you really want to risk it going wrong when its directly influencing the engine?

 

[james walker]

lots of thread on custom fmic, i.e nevlcr, proving custom fmics work mate, forge have a 5 week wait and is nearly 3 times the price.

the custom ones come in at 200quid ish, and from what i can gather work well.

 

[RobDon]

No offense but if you don't know what you're doing I wouldn't attempt to DIY an intercooler. Forge coolers are bolt on to make it as simple as possible for the end user and will perform better than ebay coolers. Ebay coolers are fine as a cheap upgrade, I've tried one myself, but the Forge big race I have now blows it away for build quality, fitment and performance.

Most cheap ebay intercoolers are thrown together in China and untested, no R&D at all.

 

[paul-murphys]

ive done mine an cost me 150, added 30 torque an a lot less power lost through heat. thing with cheaper option is if a stone goes through the cooler its not the end off the world its another 70 quid an new cooler delivered to door. but if that happened on a forge one would be lots of money to fix. quite a few people that have done custom coolers an as far as i no all have had gains over standard coolers.

 

[james walker]

this is my thinking, im gathering info on diy coolers now rob mate, dont know until you learn it do ya...

 

[dg-1984]

Why not mount mesh wire sort of material behind the bumper so it would stop stones from hitting the Intercooler but not restrict airflow at all. And obviously mount it so it cant be seen unless you are right up at the grill looking for it.

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

James I'm in the process of doing mine using a mk4 golf kit......bear with me and I'll let you know what I had to change in order to get it to fit. [might be couple of weeks as yet]

Hoping will work out about £250 all in for a decent sized intercooler.

My kit came this morning but they sent me a audi A4 kit by mistake and I'm waiting to hear back about a replacement

 

[paul-murphys]

this is my thinking, im gathering info on diy coolers now rob mate, dont know until you learn it do ya...

hi mate its really easy. i done mine in about 7-8 hours but was a bitch getting bumper on on my own. the slowest bits measuring up the pipes so they fit, mine fits a treat now after a little trimmong them down.

this is mine

 

[paul-murphys]

and on my car

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

Thats the cooler I'm using I think, is the core size 20x10?

looks excatly the same to me

 

[RobDon]

ive done mine an cost me 150, added 30 torque an a lot less power lost through heat. thing with cheaper option is if a stone goes through the cooler its not the end off the world its another 70 quid an new cooler delivered to door. but if that happened on a forge one would be lots of money to fix. quite a few people that have done custom coolers an as far as i no all have had gains over standard coolers.

Fair comment but I've never heard of anyone losing an intercooler due to a stone going through it. It's not hard to improve over the stock side SMIC, but the comparison is between high quality FMIC's and the cheap ones - you get what you pay for.

 

[GREY 225]

Agree with that.Cheap for a reason.Fair do to anyone for making there own system and cutting costs.But the forge or pro alloy are more expensive for a reason.Its not just the size of the cooler that affects performance.