What Happened When You Added A Fmic?

[ausdrift]

OK, so my question is,

What difference did you see from JUST adding an aftermarket intercooler?

Boost increase?

power increase?

lag increase?

better/worse drivability?

etc?

I have a 33 with basic mods but standard boost and while im not planning to go all out on power (spending the money on suspension and other instead) I did wonder if there would be much benifit alone from just wacking on a FMIC.

I know there is alot of BS and lack of knowledge about this stuff, so actual experiences and info please : )

thanks all

[R34_Wong]

My experiance

GTT:

Slightly more lag, throttle response tad slower, small increase in power (before tune)

GTR:

Small increase in power (before tune)

I would go ahead and do it. If you've got all the stage 1 mods done, go ahead and get it tuned on the dyno and enjoy the ride

[Guilt-Toy]

the chicks started to notice my car, was easier to take advantage

[Shazza24]

More lag, about 20-30Kw gain with standard ecu. Did alter drivability for me, only because before the FMIC was installed i was very happy with near instant spool with just pod and full turbo back exhaust.

GL

[R31Nismoid]

20-30rwkw?

[Shazza24]

20-30rwkw?

Yes it went from 153rwkw to 183rwkw +\- 2kw

Y is there a problem?

Edited March 23, 2011 by Shazza24

[jrm]

Boost increase?

power increase?

lag increase?

better/worse drivability?

For my R34 GTT with a 3" turboback exhaust - I didn't notice anything after fitting a Blitz return-flow - lag, power increase, boost increase, etc. All seemed about the same?

To be honest, the only real thing I did notice is that in summer I had less issuse with the car feeling sluggish on the really hot days?

[paulr33]

if you go from std SMIC to FMIC and change nothing else

no power gain

loss in throttle response

slightly extra lag between open the throttle body and boost response

i cannot see any way you would GAIN power by changing the core size and adding more pipework at the same boost level

if you turn up the boost, tune it etc then yes youll make power, but just by chainging core and pipework = 0 rwkw gain

[rondofj]

I already had a 12psi boost T, turbo back exhaust and pod, after adding the FMIC, I didnt really notice and lag but the car pulls noticeably sharper and harder in the mid and esp top end now.

[Shazza24]

if you go from std SMIC to FMIC and change nothing else

no power gain

loss in throttle response

slightly extra lag between open the throttle body and boost response

i cannot see any way you would GAIN power by changing the core size and adding more pipework at the same boost level

if you turn up the boost, tune it etc then yes youll make power, but just by chainging core and pipework = 0 rwkw gain

So the dyno was lying?

EDIT: Just found this and it explains quite well.

"So, in a nutshell a front mount intercooler cooler upgrade will NOT make HP in your Supra, but it will free-up power that has been lost from inefficient intercoolers and most importantly it will maintain power for a longer period of time and reduce the chance of deadly detonation."

http://www.suprastore.com/dofronmounin.html

Edited March 23, 2011 by Shazza24

[Munkyb0y]

i went from 11psi + r34 smic + full exhaust + tune >> to 13psi + fmic + same exhaust + new tune.

it makes more power everywhere, and more consistantly than with the smic. throttle response suffers a bit, and you will notice it.

but for out and out WOT adventures, fmic feels better.

[SlowSkyline]

i noticed straight away more mid range torque, and a freed up top end. Also was consistently faster.. with the SMIC it would be ok if i hit it a few times but after that you could tell it was heat soaked.

I installed a Return flow fmic and noticed no difference in lag tbh.. Fuel economy was terrible though, 250km to a tank untuned, The smell the car made was nice though haha

[QWK32]

pfffffftttt.... i noticed SFA difference when adding a front mount intercooler. the only thing that happened after i installed it was i then had piece of mind that i could safely turn the boost up or upgrade my turbo.

i've had 3 RB powered turbo cars now and done the FMIC upgrade on each of them and on each occasion there was no noticeable difference, no increase in lag, no increase in mid range or overall power, no decrease in response. though, if i kept telling my self there was a noticeable difference i'm sure i would start to believe it. after all, nobody wants to say that they spent $600-$1000 on a mod that has no noticeable effect.

a FMIC is in the same group of mods as bigger injectors and Z32 AFM's, while they don't add any power to your setup they support the ability to achieve more power with more boost, or a bigger/hiflow turbo.

Edited March 23, 2011 by QWK32

[Birds]

Disagree^

Reason being: I spent $800 expecting no difference, thinking I would have to wait until I had upped the boost before I saw anything change. So there was no placebo effect or post purchase dissonance at work here. On the other hand, the fact you haven't noticed anything across 3 cars maybe points towards you not being as in tune with your vehicles as others may be

Slightly laggier. This is to be expected with more pipework and a bigger core.

Slightly more power. Remember that intake charge temperatures are much more than ambient temperatures...consequently more exposure of the intake charge to ambient temperatures is going to be better at cooling it. A larger cooler core is also more robust to changes in heat. More consistent performance on a hot day thanks to things like this.

Dynos have shown differences between FMIC and side mounts on the same boost. Full benefits can't be seen until you up the ante, so don't expect a radical change in the way a car drives, but a front mount does make a difference straight up.

[QWK32]

Disagree^

Reason being: I spent $800 expecting no difference, thinking I would have to wait until I had upped the boost before I saw anything change. So there was no placebo effect or post purchase dissonance at work here. On the other hand, the fact you haven't noticed anything across 3 cars maybe points towards you not being as in tune with your vehicles as others may be

Slightly laggier. This is to be expected with more pipework and a bigger core.

Slightly more power. Remember that intake charge temperatures are much more than ambient temperatures...consequently more exposure of the intake charge to ambient temperatures is going to be better at cooling it. A larger cooler core is also more robust to changes in heat. More consistent performance on a hot day thanks to things like this.

Dynos have shown differences between FMIC and side mounts on the same boost. Full benefits can't be seen until you up the ante, so don't expect a radical change in the way a car drives, but a front mount does make a difference straight up.

i'm not disagreeing with the fact that a FMIC will help maintain a more consistent performance well after the stock side mount has succumb to heat soak. but that isn't an increase in power, its the normal expected power being maintained, were as with the stock side mount you may experience a decrease in power on those particularly hot days, after a bit of spirited driving, or have reached the limits of the stock setup.

one thing that does happen, and i have heard/seen plenty of comments about it, is that after installing a front mount an increase in standard boost by a couple of PSI can occur. that could be playing a part in some people's experience of more power after installing FMIC, especially if your not running an aftermarket boost gauge and can see the increase in turbo pressure.

[Mayuri Krab]

Well I just got a Just Jap return flow FMIC (the black one) installed & didn't really notice anything different compared to before. Car felt more powerful but that is probably just in my head .

On a related topic, does the additional of a FMIC warrant a re-tune?

I had a SAFC 2 tuned for my old set-up (which consists of turbo back exhaust, R34 SMIC, 10Psi boost Tee & POD), now that I have replaced the R34 SMIC with a FMIC, do I need to get it re-tuned again? Or would my old tune be sufficient for the time being?

Keen on putting the car on a dyno again to see if there is any difference compared to last time.

[tridentt150v]

You don't need to get it retuned........wait until you have other mods installed that will affect the tune as well.

You may want to get it tuned???

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

When I added an intercooler hahhaa...

I blocked off the BOV and it make fully sick noises bro....

stock car, stock boost, stock this and that, FMIC waste of time and money

[ARTZ]

speakin to a guy at natrad the other day and he reckons intercoolers perform better with a thin coat of black paint on them

waddayareknfellaz?

[89CAL]

Black is better for dissipating heat apparently