FMIC

[BlitzBlackGSXR]

Im in the market for a GOOD FMIC . Im not looking to make huge power at all. Ill be staying with the stock turbo or maybe a K04 . Not looking to spend over $600 for a complete kit either.

Lets here some suggestions .

[Nevaeh_Speed]

I'm sure this is gonna get ugly....


BlitzBlackGSXR, there is alot of nice fmics out there (search around), choose one that will fit your future mods the best, it sucks to buy things more than once.

[Cryser]

Im in the market for a GOOD FMIC . Im not looking to make huge power at all. Ill be staying with the stock turbo or maybe a K04 . Not looking to spend over $600 for a complete kit either.

Lets here some suggestions .

The bolded quote leaves Ebay and kits that do not replace the C-Clip/pancake pipe as your only options, both of which I do not consider a "GOOD FMIC" kit

Yes I understand that the pancake pipe doesn't decrease flow, its the C clipe transition I have(and many others) a problem with, that transition is NOT desgined to handle more then 13PSI

if the option is avaliable to you I would find a place to make you some pipping and get a good spearco core should be less then 300 bones total, make sure they add in the port for the N75 valve, and the DV dump =)

[screwball]

This IC: http://www.kineticmotorsport.com/pro...er-499-72.html

Buy used ATP, Greddy or greddy knock off piping and you're done. You need to make sure there's a map sensor flange if you go with the knock off piping. You will have to trim your bumper a bunch.

[mercavius]

I think a good kit can be built using an eBay core if you are sticking with the stock turbo or K04.

I have a TT225 (K04-02x turbo). I made a custom kit using 2.25in piping (CincyTT was selling these pipes for a while) and an eBay core (2.5 in inlet/outlet 27x7x2.5). I'll admit that the construction quality was low: the fins weren't dense and they were flimsy. Despite this, my intake air temps are impressive. Also, is only cost $350 to build. The core itself was only 70 shipped.

On my drive to work this morning (60 F outside air temp), the IATs were 84 F while cruising and only went up to 88 F under full boost (stock 12 psi). Even after several WOT 5th gear (6-speed) pulls the temps never went higher than 88 F. I need to log IATs on a hotter day to see if I'm still impressed with the performance of this cheap core.

It is worth it to point out that I'm also running an Evolution Motorsport Phenolic spacer, I removed the weather stripping from the rain tray under the hood (makes a huge difference in venting hot air), and I have no heat shield for my K&N cone filter.

[Big_Tom]

This IC: http://www.kineticmotorsport.com/pro...er-499-72.html

Buy used ATP, Greddy or greddy knock off piping and you're done. You need to make sure there's a map sensor flange if you go with the knock off piping. You will have to trim your bumper a bunch.

^^+1

[BlitzBlackGSXR]

Ive found a couple in the range : Eurosport and Greddy , any others I should look at ?

That kinectics core looks pretty good !

Well when I bought my car , the previous owner has installed an ebay kit ( GodSpeed ) and im looking to change that for somthing that is better and more efficient.

[screwball]

If you have Godspeed piping all you have to do is drop in the more efficient IC from PTE or the Kinetic copy that I linked you to. This was what I did to mount it and beef up the rebar once I cut what I needed to mount the IC centered in the center bumper vent.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...r-Install-Pics

[BlitzBlackGSXR]

So just buy a core and call it done then ? Im good with that !

[Big_Tom]

^^^ yup, if u have the godspeed piping just keep that and replace the core with something nicer treadstone also makes nice intercoolers they are worth taking a look at. the tr6 or tr8 would be right up your alley...

TR6

TR8

[05GTIMarine]

fmic is a waste of money for stock turbo or k04. go with the eurojet piping replacement and get an aftermarket smic dont get ****ty cores either youll pay in the long run. mine is custom and utilizes a bell core.

heres what i would run
http://www.eurojetracing.com/Product...uctCode=MK4DIS
http://www.eurojetracing.com/Product...ctCode=MK4SMIC

sub 600 dollars and it can hold up to a gt28. the cooling properties and flow charachteristics are far superior in a smic than they are in a front mount. you still get good airflow through the passenger grille and if you modify your fender liner you will have great circulation.

heres a pic of mine.

[Cryser]

oh if you already have piping, just pick up a kinetic core and swap it out, you might have to mod your rebar a bit to fit the kinetic core.

I have a kinetic core and it works great

[screwball]

fmic is a waste of money for stock turbo or k04.

Yawn...

[87vr6]

Well, FMICs are never a "waste" with any turbo, but for 600 or less, I'd recommend a upgraded SMIC over any cheap FMIC kit.

[Big_Tom]

fmic is a waste of money for stock turbo or k04. go with the eurojet piping replacement and get an aftermarket smic dont get ****ty cores either youll pay in the long run. mine is custom and utilizes a bell core.

heres what i would run
http://www.eurojetracing.com/Product...uctCode=MK4DIS
http://www.eurojetracing.com/Product...ctCode=MK4SMIC

sub 600 dollars and it can hold up to a gt28. the cooling properties and flow charachteristics are far superior in a smic than they are in a front mount. you still get good airflow through the passenger grille and if you modify your fender liner you will have great circulation.

heres a pic of mine.

you are so lost

[05GTIMarine]

you are so lost

im def not lost. the op already stated he will not go big turbo. he doesnt need a huge FMIC. with alot of piping and a sh!t ton of volume needing to be filled.

alright
a 3"thick 8x10 bell core can flow over 550 cfm. more than enough for what the op is wanting to do with his car.

i dont know what rock your sleeping under but at the stock turbo level a fmic is just a piece of jewelery.

OP Quote
Im in the market for a GOOD FMIC . Im not looking to make huge power at all. Ill be staying with the stock turbo or maybe a K04 . Not looking to spend over $600 for a complete kit either.

Lets here some suggestions .

get a good quality ugraded smic at minimum. a good quality TIP(turbo inlet pipe) such as the apr piece will help as well.

SMIC
http://www.eurojetracing.com/Product...ctCode=MK4SMIC
http://www.tyrolsport.com/index.php?...d=50&parent=67

eurojet and tyrolsport use american made cores.

alot of ppl have issues with the slip in fittings on stock piping leaking, so eurojet makes a piping replacement kit wich works a trick and it gets rid of the pancake pipe and uses reg pipe in its place.

as for the dv get a 710n from the dealership for 40 bones and call it good. no need to go crazy with items that arent necessary.

get a powergasket for the intake manifold its 50 bones on ecs and that helps prevent the intake manifold from becoming a heatsink.

[DMVDUB]

Eurosportacc.com

$300 when they;re on sale and they're GREAT absolutely perfect from K03s to a GT28

Piping is perfect on them too. I had a Greddy kit and this one is better for me.

[screwball]

fmic is a waste of money for stock turbo or k04. go with the eurojet piping replacement and get an aftermarket smic dont get ****ty cores either youll pay in the long run. mine is custom and utilizes a bell core.

Well when I bought my car , the previous owner has installed an ebay kit ( GodSpeed ) and im looking to change that for somthing that is better and more efficient.

im def not lost. the op already stated he will not go big turbo. he doesnt need a huge FMIC. with alot of piping and a sh!t ton of volume needing to be filled.

Well the rock I live under says to me it makes ZERO sense to spend $600 when he can upgrade the IC for $250 and have a solid intercooler.

Stop talking about this extra volume to fill too. In real world use it adds up to basically nothing.

[mercavius]

None of the cores mentioned so far (front or side mount) are big enough to worry about volume. The pressure drop from one side to the other is more important and, still, it is insignificant with all of the cores discussed, even the ebay cores.

Have you seen the size of the intercoolers on the 2.0Ts? Stock, K04, and GT28 can all use the same size core and benefit from the added cooling with caring about intercooler volume. Im speaking specifically of the APR FMIC which can be used stock through stage 3. I had one on my stock turbo'd MK5 GTI TSI and it was great.

I posted a proven example of how a good FMIC can be had for under $350 including the price of the phenolic spacer using a cheap eBay core. It wouldn't be good for anything above a K04, though, but the OP has already said he won't be going bigger.

[Big_Tom]

Well the rock I live under says to me it makes ZERO sense to spend $600 when he can upgrade the IC for $250 and have a solid intercooler.

Stop talking about this extra volume to fill too. In real world use it adds up to basically nothing.

[travis_gli]

eurosport or godspeed for FMIC
Godspeed won't get you a bolt on because it will need some slight modifications however it's a great kit for the price. Eurosport will basically get you a bolt on which allows for the price to be a bit higher. SMIC's are sworn by alot of people on here however I have no experience other than the stock which is crap. If your looking for a quick stock replacement bolt on grab a SMIC. Alot of SMIC's however just for the core are the price of full FMIC kits. If you want some headroom for future upgrades then get yourself a FMIC. If you are ever planning on going BT get yourself something a little better such as the eurojet kit.

[05GTIMarine]

eurosport or godspeed for FMIC
Godspeed won't get you a bolt on because it will need some slight modifications however it's a great kit for the price. Eurosport will basically get you a bolt on which allows for the price to be a bit higher. SMIC's are sworn by alot of people on here however I have no experience other than the stock which is crap. If your looking for a quick stock replacement bolt on grab a SMIC. Alot of SMIC's however just for the core are the price of full FMIC kits. If you want some headroom for future upgrades then get yourself a FMIC. If you are ever planning on going BT get yourself something a little better such as the eurojet kit.

well when you look at pricing you also have to remember that different companies use different cores. bell and spearco are among the best american made cores then you have the crappy japanese cores wich alot of fmic companies use. for me its always quality over quanitity. i paid 270 for my bell core and 130 for a welder to fab endcaps, map provision, stock mounting points, and in/out pipes. he water tanked it for leaks and then pressure tested it to 100 psi. no leaks or blowouts. all you have to do is trim your stock i/c shroud and there you go. i still get all the air my a/c condenser and radiator needs as well. you cant go wrong with an upgraded smic. hell you dont even need to buy piping. its simply plug and play.

[screwball]

RRRrrrrriiight, and last I checked $400 was still more than $250.

[05GTIMarine]

RRRrrrrriiight, and last I checked $400 was still more than $250.

its all about core construction/material/cooling properties. i am willing to bet that my smic cools more efficiently than your japanese ebay fmic

[steve-o 16v GLI]

This is a stupid arguement either way since the op has stated many times he is looking for a FMIC. He also stated he has the piping already.
But coming from a guy who had a upgraded side mount(tyrol) and switched to a ebay front mount your plain wrong! My intake would be hot after some good rips with the side mount and now is cool to the touch, or at least it was until I went bt now its hot regardless. And I have no quality issues either. Its held over 25psi no problem. Im not saying that side mounts are a waste but Im willing to bet you dont have enough experience to judge which is better.

[Big_Tom]

its all about core construction/material/cooling properties. i am willing to bet that my smic cools more efficiently than your japanese ebay fmic

dude calm down, just because you love your SMIC to death doesnt mean it's better than a FMIC. LOL FMIC>smic and u sound like a hater btw

[DMVDUB]

As for the OP, You just need to match the core to your needs. It's as simple as that. You already have the piping so just take your price range and shop around. If you're planning on making 250whp get a 350 or 400 core. Treadstone's seem nice and the big names are always around. Spearco, Garrett, and they'll run you around $1 per Hp for the core. (roughly)

FMIC always > SMIC

[travis_gli]

its all about core construction/material/cooling properties. i am willing to bet that my smic cools more efficiently than your japanese ebay fmic

Do you have any idea about who godspeed is or what type of cores they even use? Godspeed has had nothing but good reviews over vortex and across many other forums. Their cores are not as dense as most however a great bang for the buck. Stop talking sh!t on budget setups just because you have the money for something custom. Everytime somebody comes on here asking for FMIC opinions the freken SMIC fanboys come in here trying to take over. Again I will ask, what high performance setups do you see running a SMIC? My point exactly. I think most race teams have more experience than alot of people on here combined.

[cincyTT]

Treadstone TR12 3.5"



The TR8 is a perfect all around core. It use to be just a few bucks more than the tr6 but that changes a few months back

[travis_gli]

Treadstone TR12 3.5"

The TR8 is a perfect all around core. It use to be just a few bucks more than the tr6 but that changes a few months back

That's a very large core recommendation for his setup. I would recommend something half that. Bigger is not always better. Surface area is key for cooling, yes, however huge pipes and cores can cause pressure drops and lag. Great all around core for a BT setup though.

[cincyTT]

Guess you didnt read below the pic. The TR8 (even recommended above) is a great core and really is, about half the size of my TR12. There are several on here that are running them with a stock turbo 225TT and have nothing but positive things to say about it.

[VDuBPL]

noone ever mentioned a eurocustoms intercooler, its a FMIC and just like the neuspeed kit, it also should be good to 300 hp

heres a pic of mine I bought it off of a member on here, his s/n is 2.8

[DMVDUB]

There's alot of bad press going around right now with the s/n 2.8 and people not receiving their kits. (not spreading, just warning)

[VDuBPL]

There's alot of bad press going around right now with the s/n 2.8 and people not receiving their kits. (not spreading, just warning)

o snap, good I got mine...

[screwball]

its all about core construction/material/cooling properties. i am willing to bet that my smic cools more efficiently than your japanese ebay fmic

uhhmmm yeah, I'm quite vocal on these boards that buying something with a Garrett core is the way to go regarding intercooling. You on the other hand seem to continue to prove over and over that you're not actually reading what people are writing before you spout off your opinion.

This is the IC I recommended: http://www.manictechracing.com/pte35inas.html
Quality core, all day, every day.

You would have known that if you ACTUALLY READ my posts.

You would have known he had IC plumbing already if you ACTUALLY READ the original posters comments.