This is an older review I forgot to submit, so here it is for those interested.
By now OBX is not the only company who carries/makes these Apex'i fmic knockoff.
The kit I got is obviously used, but the bulk of the parts included in the original kit were received. I just didn't have the 2 "L" shaped mounting brackets, but after some checking on EBAY I noticed only the actual "OBX" kits came with these, and the kits that were the same, but were not advertised as "OBX" did not. This is just based on the pics, so they might have included the brackets, but why would the picture show all the pipes, couplers, and clamps and not the bracket. And this brings me the case to mine, which isn't the "OBX" brand, and the seller gave me everything. Why would the original owner not use the brackets and purchase the HDR (Home Depot Racing) bracket that was included in my purchase. So take caution if you buy this kit. You probably will NOT get the mounting brackets unless you pay $20-40 extra FOR THE "OBX" brand from what I've seen in the auctions/buy it now on ebay. It might be worth it if you don't want to take the time/gas/labor to make your own brackets.
Yes I know why didn't I go with the SSAC/VRSpeed. i have that on my other GSX. and like I said i got this at a price that i could not refuse, so why not. also I wanted to keep my foglights and my bumper support. I discuss more about this throughout the review.
It's installed on my daily driver gsx. Again the kit was used so it doesnt look pretty. The previous owner sprayed it black but no complaints I wanted the sleeper look anyways.
The obx/apexi copies come withh multi ply silicone couplers and t-bolt clamps, but the ones that come on the SSAC/VR Speed kit are far better having now own them both. Still, the ones included in this apexi copy are still better than the ones included in the REAL apex'i or greddy kit, which just come with worm clamps and rubber couplers! (Yes I have owned the real Greddy brand name one as well)
All the pipes were beaded on the ends, previous owner cut a bit off on the longest straight pipe so it wasn't beaded, but he did me a favor because it looks like it would've been too long anyways and i would've had to cut it myself. So keep this in mind during install.
The long pipe and the pipe that connects to the upper ic pipe has a bracket to mount on the frame. Previous owner had messed up the brackets so it might not be pictured, but where they mount to are obvious. the brackets are easily bendable. I actually ended up just removing mine, because after being bent so much it was just about to break off anyways. For the long pipe bracket, i don't know if the kit comes with the proper bolt, but there is a hole just under the headlight in the radiator support that it bolts on to perfectly. The other bracket for the other pipe mounts to one of the stock mounts of the SMIC, use the smic mount bolt for this if the kit didn't come with it.
The piping in general is alright, its a bit thin and just doesn't feel as durable/strong as the SSAC/VR Speed kit, can't compare to the real apexi, but it's about the same as the piping on my old Greddy 24r. Not a big deal though.
As for the core, it's solid, the welds look good, nothing to complain about here. It is a tube and fin core, which are easily bent, so keep that in mind. there are bolt holes on each side for mounting brackets. As you can see in my pics, the previous owner had improvised. I showed pics on where and how I mounted it. works just fine. It's straight and aligned and you can see that in the final pics.
Install was a breeze thanks in part to the previous owner who cut the long pipe so its just the right length and the brackets he had already provided. So be aware when you purchase a new kit, which might need some cutting or forcing it to work. I believe the kit is suppose to include the "S" lower ic pipe for stock t25 or similar routing turbos. I have a b16g so that wouldn't work, and looks like the previous owner did too, so he included the right piping (SOLD SEPARATELY) that goes from the jpipe to the smic location perfect for the piping for this kit. SO AGAIN, if you buy this kit IT WILL NOT WORK OUT OF THE BOX for 14b/16g turbos. The pipe included is meant to bolt right up to the t25/t28/or similar turbos.
BE AWARE, that I already had aftermarket upper intercooler pipes. It will be VERY difficult or impossible if you are still running stock upper pipes. You will have to pull some ghetto tactics to make it mate up with the stock pipe. Most likely resulting in a boost leak at that connection. Please, before even thinking about purchasing this kit, make sure you got all the other basic mods. It will make things a lot easier, and besides, what are you doing getting an FMIC before the other mods?
The main problem for me was the piping being 2.5". The jpipe i have is 2" and the lower ic pipe after the jpipe is 2.25. My upper ic pipe is also 2.25". At first I just tightened the couplers.THIS DID NOT WORK! Massive boost leaks. If your car sounds like a bird chirping and wistles, and you have pipe size difference and try to use bigger couplers, you probably have a leak, if that wasn't enough, the car should feel weird and slow anyways. CHECK FOR BOOST LEAKS AND GET CORRECT TRANSITION COUPLERS.
As you can see its obvious my bumper support was cut up real good. I did not post the trouble in doing this, because this is an extra bumper support from my other 2g that had been cut up by a body shop for me. So this should also increase a lot of labor time IF you decide to keep it. I'm sure I could keep more of the front part in tact, but hey I wasn't about to cut up my perfectly good one when I had this already.
Also I forgot to talk about the bumper. Guess what, i did not have to cut it at all! That was nice, a sigh of relief for me because I really didn't want to do anymore work. You can see the effects of not trimming the bumper even a bit, it crunches up in the middle there, but its not too bad. And yea I know I couldve cut the black part for that more aggressive look, but I already have one 2g like that, this one just wanted to keep under the radar.
As I have mentioned I do also have the SSAC/VR Speed kit to compare with.
If I was buying it brand new at regular price, yea the SSAC/VRSpeed is superior.
I think i mention above what i found to be key points. But here they are in a bit better format.
OBX/APEX'i COPY PROS OVER SSAC
easier to install
keep foglights
no need to cut radiator support
keep 5mph bumper support
dont need to trim/cut the bumper (unless you are a perfectionist)
no need to relocate overflow.
SSAC/VR Speed PROS OVER OBX/APEX'i COPY
cheaper (i think) unless price went up
superior core
short route piping
ALL PIPING even upper ic pipes
superior t-bolt clamps and couplers
----------
i have the ssac/vr speed in my weekend car, even if i got another one for that unbeatable price I got the obx, I would've bought it no doubt, but probably not put it on. the reason I bought the obx, was not only because of the price it was offered to me, but because I already had upper ic pipes that look stock and route to the smic area. and the obx piping also routes there which will keep my intentions of having a low key vehicle true. this goes with the next couple of things hand in hand--so it means no cutting of anything, except trimming the bumper support, but it still manages to stay on, keep the fogs.
Performance wise, I never did get any data on it. I was running an MHI b16g with all supporting mods. It seemed to be plenty for the 20lbs of boost I was running. I never had any issues after everything was installed.
However, unless someone's goal were like mine: keeping the engine bay stock looking as possible, and/or really swore by the foglights, much easier install, and got it at a dirt cheap price like i did; the SSAC/VR Speed or the Punishment Racing Kit are way better kits for the 2G (SPEAKING IN TERMS OF BUDGET KITS THAT WORK). They are superior in every which way, and about similar in price. I have noticed it seems like the sellers of these Ebay/obx/apexi copies are aware that their kits are inferior now and have lowered the price it seems. So for what it is, it does the job. For the money (if you are to buy it new) there are much better, but if you do decide to go with this, it will work as advertised.
Chop another one up on the OK list for Ebay DSM parts to use.
For discussions and more info & install pictures, go to the biggest thread regarding this FMIC:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/159016-obx-fmic-kit-11.html
By now OBX is not the only company who carries/makes these Apex'i fmic knockoff.
The kit I got is obviously used, but the bulk of the parts included in the original kit were received. I just didn't have the 2 "L" shaped mounting brackets, but after some checking on EBAY I noticed only the actual "OBX" kits came with these, and the kits that were the same, but were not advertised as "OBX" did not. This is just based on the pics, so they might have included the brackets, but why would the picture show all the pipes, couplers, and clamps and not the bracket. And this brings me the case to mine, which isn't the "OBX" brand, and the seller gave me everything. Why would the original owner not use the brackets and purchase the HDR (Home Depot Racing) bracket that was included in my purchase. So take caution if you buy this kit. You probably will NOT get the mounting brackets unless you pay $20-40 extra FOR THE "OBX" brand from what I've seen in the auctions/buy it now on ebay. It might be worth it if you don't want to take the time/gas/labor to make your own brackets.
Yes I know why didn't I go with the SSAC/VRSpeed. i have that on my other GSX. and like I said i got this at a price that i could not refuse, so why not. also I wanted to keep my foglights and my bumper support. I discuss more about this throughout the review.
It's installed on my daily driver gsx. Again the kit was used so it doesnt look pretty. The previous owner sprayed it black but no complaints I wanted the sleeper look anyways.
The obx/apexi copies come withh multi ply silicone couplers and t-bolt clamps, but the ones that come on the SSAC/VR Speed kit are far better having now own them both. Still, the ones included in this apexi copy are still better than the ones included in the REAL apex'i or greddy kit, which just come with worm clamps and rubber couplers! (Yes I have owned the real Greddy brand name one as well)
All the pipes were beaded on the ends, previous owner cut a bit off on the longest straight pipe so it wasn't beaded, but he did me a favor because it looks like it would've been too long anyways and i would've had to cut it myself. So keep this in mind during install.
The long pipe and the pipe that connects to the upper ic pipe has a bracket to mount on the frame. Previous owner had messed up the brackets so it might not be pictured, but where they mount to are obvious. the brackets are easily bendable. I actually ended up just removing mine, because after being bent so much it was just about to break off anyways. For the long pipe bracket, i don't know if the kit comes with the proper bolt, but there is a hole just under the headlight in the radiator support that it bolts on to perfectly. The other bracket for the other pipe mounts to one of the stock mounts of the SMIC, use the smic mount bolt for this if the kit didn't come with it.
The piping in general is alright, its a bit thin and just doesn't feel as durable/strong as the SSAC/VR Speed kit, can't compare to the real apexi, but it's about the same as the piping on my old Greddy 24r. Not a big deal though.
As for the core, it's solid, the welds look good, nothing to complain about here. It is a tube and fin core, which are easily bent, so keep that in mind. there are bolt holes on each side for mounting brackets. As you can see in my pics, the previous owner had improvised. I showed pics on where and how I mounted it. works just fine. It's straight and aligned and you can see that in the final pics.
Install was a breeze thanks in part to the previous owner who cut the long pipe so its just the right length and the brackets he had already provided. So be aware when you purchase a new kit, which might need some cutting or forcing it to work. I believe the kit is suppose to include the "S" lower ic pipe for stock t25 or similar routing turbos. I have a b16g so that wouldn't work, and looks like the previous owner did too, so he included the right piping (SOLD SEPARATELY) that goes from the jpipe to the smic location perfect for the piping for this kit. SO AGAIN, if you buy this kit IT WILL NOT WORK OUT OF THE BOX for 14b/16g turbos. The pipe included is meant to bolt right up to the t25/t28/or similar turbos.
BE AWARE, that I already had aftermarket upper intercooler pipes. It will be VERY difficult or impossible if you are still running stock upper pipes. You will have to pull some ghetto tactics to make it mate up with the stock pipe. Most likely resulting in a boost leak at that connection. Please, before even thinking about purchasing this kit, make sure you got all the other basic mods. It will make things a lot easier, and besides, what are you doing getting an FMIC before the other mods?
The main problem for me was the piping being 2.5". The jpipe i have is 2" and the lower ic pipe after the jpipe is 2.25. My upper ic pipe is also 2.25". At first I just tightened the couplers.THIS DID NOT WORK! Massive boost leaks. If your car sounds like a bird chirping and wistles, and you have pipe size difference and try to use bigger couplers, you probably have a leak, if that wasn't enough, the car should feel weird and slow anyways. CHECK FOR BOOST LEAKS AND GET CORRECT TRANSITION COUPLERS.
As you can see its obvious my bumper support was cut up real good. I did not post the trouble in doing this, because this is an extra bumper support from my other 2g that had been cut up by a body shop for me. So this should also increase a lot of labor time IF you decide to keep it. I'm sure I could keep more of the front part in tact, but hey I wasn't about to cut up my perfectly good one when I had this already.
Also I forgot to talk about the bumper. Guess what, i did not have to cut it at all! That was nice, a sigh of relief for me because I really didn't want to do anymore work. You can see the effects of not trimming the bumper even a bit, it crunches up in the middle there, but its not too bad. And yea I know I couldve cut the black part for that more aggressive look, but I already have one 2g like that, this one just wanted to keep under the radar.
As I have mentioned I do also have the SSAC/VR Speed kit to compare with.
If I was buying it brand new at regular price, yea the SSAC/VRSpeed is superior.
I think i mention above what i found to be key points. But here they are in a bit better format.
OBX/APEX'i COPY PROS OVER SSAC
easier to install
keep foglights
no need to cut radiator support
keep 5mph bumper support
dont need to trim/cut the bumper (unless you are a perfectionist)
no need to relocate overflow.
SSAC/VR Speed PROS OVER OBX/APEX'i COPY
cheaper (i think) unless price went up
superior core
short route piping
ALL PIPING even upper ic pipes
superior t-bolt clamps and couplers
----------
i have the ssac/vr speed in my weekend car, even if i got another one for that unbeatable price I got the obx, I would've bought it no doubt, but probably not put it on. the reason I bought the obx, was not only because of the price it was offered to me, but because I already had upper ic pipes that look stock and route to the smic area. and the obx piping also routes there which will keep my intentions of having a low key vehicle true. this goes with the next couple of things hand in hand--so it means no cutting of anything, except trimming the bumper support, but it still manages to stay on, keep the fogs.
Performance wise, I never did get any data on it. I was running an MHI b16g with all supporting mods. It seemed to be plenty for the 20lbs of boost I was running. I never had any issues after everything was installed.
However, unless someone's goal were like mine: keeping the engine bay stock looking as possible, and/or really swore by the foglights, much easier install, and got it at a dirt cheap price like i did; the SSAC/VR Speed or the Punishment Racing Kit are way better kits for the 2G (SPEAKING IN TERMS OF BUDGET KITS THAT WORK). They are superior in every which way, and about similar in price. I have noticed it seems like the sellers of these Ebay/obx/apexi copies are aware that their kits are inferior now and have lowered the price it seems. So for what it is, it does the job. For the money (if you are to buy it new) there are much better, but if you do decide to go with this, it will work as advertised.
Chop another one up on the OK list for Ebay DSM parts to use.
For discussions and more info & install pictures, go to the biggest thread regarding this FMIC:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/159016-obx-fmic-kit-11.html
