FMIC too big??

[mark95turbo]

OK. I've got a chance to get a FMIC from a guy that I know for a fairly cheap price. It will be going on my 1st gen if I do get it, but this thing is freaking huge. I've read that if your FMIC is too big that you can actually loose some perfromance. Is this thing too big? Its 48" long, looks like its about 5-6" deep and 10" tall. I know it will fit if I rip everything out of there and cut the ehll outta the car, so my question isnt will it fit, my question is will it be too big for a 16G turbo, walbro 255, 550CC's, all free air mods, SAFC2, and all of the other basic upgrades. Thanks, and any\all input is helpful or directions to theories as to why this would be true that a FMIC could be too big are appreciated.

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Dude that's huge.

My IC core w/o endtanks is 24x12x3.5 and it still barely fits after cutting the front bumper like mad.

 

[Cirus_93TSI]

im fairly sure that ic would hand about 2 or 3 inches below ur stock bumper(u can immagine how bad that would look), and if its really 5" deep then ur going to have to rip ir ac out and cut alot of stuff up to get it to fit(u will probally end up cutting the radiator core support all to hell and then ur hood wolnt close right, we went through this on my friends 2g and made a custom radiator core support), expect to need custom ic piping, and make sure u look at it and consider how the piping would go before u buy it cause if u get it on the car and have to put a bunch of stipid bends in the ic piping to get the endtans connected to the turbo uicp it wolnt be any good
i dont know about it being too big, if an ic can be to big for a certain set up then i would bet that one is too big for urs, if it really is the sixe u say it is i doubt it will even fit, and if it does ur going to end up needing to spend another 500 on an upgraded radiator or ur car will run hot and u will lose lots of power from pressure drop cause it will completly block ur stock radiator
id look into a different ic, someone else will probally know if its too big, i dont, but i would actually go measure it insead of guesstimating on how big it actually is, cause a 3.5" thick ic is very big for a dsm and would require cutting on a 1g, ur going to end up mangeling the front of ur car trying to fit a 5" thick one on if its really that thick

 

[greyforestgst]

haha

no, way too ####in big

 

[mark95turbo]

Originally posted by greyforestgst
haha

no, way too ####in big

Yeah. I found a differnt intercooler for cheaper. The custom piping and stuff is no problem. And I dont mind hacking the shit outta the bumper, and all that stuff. As far as the A\C goes, what in the hell is that?

 

[ItsStockOfficer]

It wouldn't fit, period. But bigger is better generally. I have never driven a setup with to large an ic, even a IRC race core on a stock turbo....but I think that may be to big, haha, were talking 6-8 times the volume of a race core.

 

[Wobble]

just realize that you WILL have to buy a new radiator due to heat probs.. so tack on an extra $360 to what your gonna spend.. oh yea, and your probably gonna have to replace at least 1 fan due to clearence probs.. so another 100 or 200 bux there...

 

[slowAWDTSi]

F@#K it all just go buy 2 dodge turbo desiel intercoolers and weld them to gether and use them as your hood! That will surley be enuf.

Drew

 

[LaserRST]

ya dont forget to strap about eight fans to that hood!!

I would honestly worry about pressure drop. if its too big it may loose alot of pressure after the turbo. Especially if it isnt an IC designed for sport use. I have seen people weld ICs together but dont have the same gains as buying something aftermarket from an IC vendor. Pressure drop is one issue and efficiency(heatsoak) is the next. But if its cheap!! Well hey make it work...

 

[loreak]

sounds like it was off a truck, they dont make good intercoolers for performance

http://www.are.com.au/techtalk/intecoolersMR.htm#Import or 'Grey'%20Intercoolers

 

[born4music04]

I agree with loreak. I bet it was off a turbo semi or something. Since this FMIC is so big, it will cool the air down a lot. But, it will slow down the air so much that it will end up hurting you in the long run. Get a FMIC that is meant for your car. Also, if you do look at other FMIC's, stay away from the BIG GReddy FMIC. If you look at it, it has one of the pipes covering the top of the inter-cooler core. This blocks air from the radiator and as a result can cause heat problems with-in your engine. I don't know too much about some of the other front mounts specifically because mine was custom made. Use the link that loreak gave. It will help you find the right intercooler for your set-up. Good luck.
-Cory

 

[mccurdy]

yeah i got a big greddy 24 row FMIC. 1,100.00 Brand freakin new. The upper IC connects above the IC itself, but if u get an aftermarket front bumber with better flow it fixes the problem cause the air still reaches it enough to cool it down. But ive ran my car in 105 degree heat at full boost plenty of times, never overheated once =). U can also mount the IC in diff ways to prevent overheating. u can move around your radiator too like john huh did and put your fans inbetween to free up room and cool down your oil better

 

[loreak]

move it back a couple inches? what did he do, fabricate brackets to move it back or what, its already pretty close to the engine

 

[cait sith]

Originally posted by mccurdy
yeah i got a big greddy 24 row FMIC. 1,100.00 Brand freakin new.

Unless you got raped on shipping, you got hosed.

RRE has Big Greddy's for 900 bucks.

http://www.roadraceengineering.com/eclintake.htm

 

[89 mirage evo]

you could cut it down and make sidemounts out if them. maybe make some profit off them. hmm. its a possibility

 

[Cirus_93TSI]

overheating is not the issue, pressure drop is, if u buy a giant ic and dont get a giant radiator to match it defetes the point of the ic, if u dont get a radiator ur underhood temps will raise considerably, and then all the air u just pushed through a $1000 intercooler to cool down gets heated right back up when it goes through ur upper ic pipe thats 400 degrees because its absorbing all the engine heat that doesnt have any way to discipate from the engine compartment because ur stock radiator is too small to handel the load, and the majority of the cool outside air that supposed to be flowing through it is being blocked by the ic so it isnt even working as good as it is supposed to, sure u can put more fans in and move the radiator around but thats not going to get any cool outside air too it, its still only going to get the air thats already been through the ic core

 

[Slow99x]

The piping is routed very similarly to my A'pexi GT when you have the Greddy but I have never had cooling issues. Hell, I don't think I have ever heared of anyone upgrading thier radiator when they have an A'pexi.

 

[Wobble]

Maby in the mid to upper US, but here in south TX where i live its usually in the high 90 low hundreds from mid june to early september.. a FMIC with stock radiator is not a option unless ya only driver after 7pm or before 9:30am..