Uprated SMIC - will it fit???

[RW20VT]

Hey,

I just bought one of these, was just an impulse buy really...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEAT-LEON-IBI...CarParts_SM&hash=item1e643c1c85#ht_1996wt_929

Just wondering if any other fr 1.8t owners have tried one, its around twice as deep as the OEM SMIC so should drop a bit off the intake temps.
I've had a quick read up on them and a lot of mk4 gti owners seem to have them and they are made by Godspeed, who make the Forge SMIC aswell apparently which retails for around 4x as much if i remember correctly?

I have my o/s fog out to aide air flow to the intercooler so should receive a decent amount of air flow, if nobody else has tried it, ill let you know how it goes..

 

[Andy25]

Looks decent. Looking forward to hearing what it's like once it's fitted.

I've been looking at getting a front-mount but I don't want to lose my fogs. Would be interested to know how this fits & if it fits with fogs also.. Also, if it reduces your intake temp much compared to your current SMIC..

 

[fuzzy232]

Very interesting . I'll be watching too see the results

 

[Andy25]

I was reading another thread about FMIC's where people had logged their temperature and shown it in the thread in graphical form and assessed it against a side mount, etc...

Was wondering if anyone knew how this was done? Would be interesting to see if this bad boy performed much better as it'd certainly be easier than going for a FMIC & somehow trying to keep my fogs!

 

[RW20VT]

I think you'll be able to keep the fogs with this intercooler, I just have my o/s one out to allow a bit more air to flow through, I might get one of these to neaten up the hole where the fog was..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEAT-LEON-IBI...CarParts_SM&hash=item1e643c1c85#ht_1996wt_929

I think the logs are done with a liquid gauge like this..
http://www.awesome-gti.co.uk/product.php?xProd=13800&xSec=340

would love one but dont have the money to chuck at it, just finished uni and looking for full-time work so no big spending at this point..

 

[Andy25]

Proof that the search tool works!

Check this out

This isn't the thread I was talking about with the graphs, but still decent. Looks like it could be a reasonable investment (haven't read the full thread yet as I'm off out in 5 minutes)..

I know it's on a Mk1 Leon, but it's the same one by the looks of things

 

[nikstar]

I cant see there being much benifit by putting an alloy intercooler on thats look very much the same size as the standard one. Why do you not just go for a front mounted?

 

[Andy25]

I cant see there being much benifit by putting an alloy intercooler on thats look very much the same size as the standard one. Why do you not just go for a front mounted?

According to the ebay page they are about 2" thicker (5" as apposed to 3" thick) and looking at the pictures, and posts by other members they look almost twice as thick! Means a substantial change in surface area for the cool air to hit.

Front mount means expensive pipe work, carving the bumper, removing fogs, etc. So this could be an alternative for some people if they are actually half decent.

They're obviously not going to be as good as a Forge or Seat Sport FMIC, but it's a step in the right direction and it'll still be better than the standard by the looks of it.

Can't really complain for the price anyway compared to going for a Front Mount!

 

[nikstar]

I didnt need to remove fogs to fit FMIC, its only a little bit to cut out the bumper, i no its a lot cheaper option, and i suppose it depends how far you are wanting to go. Will be interesting to see some logs on vag-com before and after.

 

[Andy25]

I didnt need to remove fogs to fit FMIC, its only a little bit to cut out the bumper, i no its a lot cheaper option, and i suppose it depends how far you are wanting to go. Will be interesting to see some logs on vag-com before and after.

Well, as far as I can see, most stage 2 Ibiza's are putting out somewhere between 235bhp and 250bhp, the seller claims that the upgraded SMIC is good up to 275bhp meaning it'd be suitable for a stage 2 Ibiza.

As you say, it'll be interesting to see some of the logs. I think if you follow the link to the other thread on my earlier post, they do mention logs, etc so not sure if they have been posted somewhere else on the forum.

What FMIC did you buy? Forge/SeatSport? I personally would prefer a FMIC, but I haven't got the money spare to pay for a Forge / SeatSport so would like to purchase a universal one but again, it's all the fitting, pipe work, whether I can keep my fogs, etc which is putting me off.

A straight swap for a thicker SMIC seems a cheap and easy "half way" solution to me..

Proof is in the pudding though, bring on the logs!

 

[nikstar]

Well, as far as I can see, most stage 2 Ibiza's are putting out somewhere between 235bhp and 250bhp, the seller claims that the upgraded SMIC is good up to 275bhp meaning it'd be suitable for a stage 2 Ibiza.

As you say, it'll be interesting to see some of the logs. I think if you follow the link to the other thread on my earlier post, they do mention logs, etc so not sure if they have been posted somewhere else on the forum.

What FMIC did you buy? Forge/SeatSport? I personally would prefer a FMIC, but I haven't got the money spare to pay for a Forge / SeatSport so would like to purchase a universal one but again, it's all the fitting, pipe work, whether I can keep my fogs, etc which is putting me off.

A straight swap for a thicker SMIC seems a cheap and easy "half way" solution to me..

Proof is in the pudding though, bring on the logs!

My FMIC is the seatsport one, with forge FMSKINT pipe work kit, then i replaced all the rest of the standard pipes with aftermarket ones. I think i got the FMIC and forge kit for bout £500. There photos on my readers ride thread here, http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=256123

 

[RW20VT]

This uprated SMIC isn't going to be the best IC obviously, but as already said,for the price it aint bad at all. I'm at stage 1 and dont plan on getting a stage2 map anytime soon so it should be perfect for me, although I would love a FM if monies were available

 

[Copey]

I asked forge about this a few times and never got a reply, it wont be as effect as a FMIC for obvious reasons but if it dropeed the temp a few degrees then should help out abit.

 

[Gooner_Mike]

Looks good. Wish I saw this when I had my FR..... Logs are done in VAGcom to measure intake temps etc.

Get some pics up when fitted and give us your opinion on this mod as it seems a good price for those not wishing to go for a FMIC!

 

[knight85]

is this a straight swap...would be good to see if there were any gains?

 

[trebormint]

I've an upgraded SMIC on my TDI as I did not want to go FMIC. Its a Eurojet SMIC - same size as the one's on ebay.

Very pleased with the reduction in temps. On the standard SMIC I could get intake temps up to 75 to 80 degrees C. In fact it didn't take much of a blast to get intake temps of 50-55c.

Now the max I've had with the new SMIC was 54c blasting uphill (without WMI on BTW) when the outside temp was around 20c. Cruising between 60 and 75 intake temp is between 4-7 degrees above ambient.

 

[knight85]

I've an upgraded SMIC on my TDI as I did not want to go FMIC. Its a Eurojet SMIC - same size as the one's on ebay.

Very pleased with the reduction in temps. On the standard SMIC I could get intake temps up to 75 to 80 degrees C. In fact it didn't take much of a blast to get intake temps of 50-55c.

Now the max I've had with the new SMIC was 54c blasting uphill (without WMI on BTW) when the outside temp was around 20c. Cruising between 60 and 75 intake temp is between 4-7 degrees above ambient.

hmmm good to hear that, how does that compare with a fmic? do you have any logs?

 

[trebormint]

Not sure how that compares with a FMIC. I use the torque app on my HTC Wildfire so I get instant intake temp info. I'll see if I can pull some logs of it.

 

[knight85]

Not sure how that compares with a FMIC. I use the torque app on my HTC Wildfire so I get instant intake temp info. I'll see if I can pull some logs of it.

wow cheers that would be great,

can we look on forge for their logs and maybe compare, is it a direct replacwentn, no extra hoses etc...?

if it is, seems like a great find!

 

[trebormint]

wow cheers that would be great,

can we look on forge for their logs and maybe compare, is it a direct replacwentn, no extra hoses etc...?

if it is, seems like a great find!

It can be a direct replacement if you get some SFS billet connectors to fit into the end of the hoses/pipes as the upgraded SMIC does not use the spring clip system to hold the pipes on.

I replaced the turbo hose, pancake pipe and the intake pipe from intercooler to EGR, and, er, replaced the EGR with an EGR delete pipe too! So no more spring clips for me.