Hard pipes or FMIC?

[-DSM2NR-]

I want to replace my stock rubber pipes with some hard pipes but I had one question. If, later on, I decide to switch to a FMIC will I still have use for these or will I have to get a whole different piping design? I believe that I can still use the hard UICP (since I'm planning on long routing the FMIC) but I'm not sure.

 

[JDNSBR]

If you plan on using a long route piping kit then yes, you can reuse them. Depending on the size of the intercooler piping leading to the hardpipes you may need a reducer though. If you want the full potential of a FMIC it is wise to go with a short route piping kit. Hope this helps.

 

[daren_p]

Yes your pipes will work if you choose a long route fmic such as the greddy or hahn racecraft. But if your spending all that money on a fmic why would you go with a setup (ie greddy) that actually adds pipe compared to the ctock setup? They also usually have 2.25" pipeing where as most short route use the larger 2.5". Personally I wouldn't buy the Greddy kit if they sold it for half their current price, there are so many better choices out there.

 

[napkinthief]

I would say why do something twice? Just put the money you have for the hard pipes aside, and throw in 5$ everytime you have some extra money. Count it up in a few weeks and you should have enough for a FMIC off ebay or from another dsmer. If you want new itll cost more, and you just have to wait longer.

 

[-DSM2NR-]

Ok, I've never understood the difference between long rout and short rout. Why exactly is short rout better? Of course it's shorter which means it flows better but what exactly will I gain with it? Is it really worth having to remove the fogs, relocated the coolant bottle, and cut the frame just to go with the short rout? I really wouldn't like to mess around with relocating and removing things on my car. And does shourt rout affect bov sound?

 

[daren_p]

Short route will just give you less lag, ie faster response. This is simply because there is less piping to fill, your bov will still sound the same. You don't have to do all those mods you mentioned depending on which kit you get. I run the victory performance super street kit, with this kit you only lose the fog lights. You don't need to cut your rad support or relocate your coolent overflow bottle.

 

[pinder91]

A friend of mine used his Greddy UICP for his short-route setup. He just cut off a little bit and rotated it so it went under the intake pipe where it was connected to a U-bend.
Works fine if you don't mind being a little innovative.

 

[T9S1i]

Trust me and dont buy the hard pipes. I had the dejon tool ones on for like 6 months before i upgraded to a fmic with short route piping. I really saw no performance gains with the hard piping, both upper and lower. I didnt have to worry about boost leaks, but when i put my fmic on i was like wow, night and day difference from the hard piping with stock sidemount. IMO, the hard pipes are a waste of time and money. Now if you are going to upgrade your SMIC, or have a specific intercooler in mind that bolts right up to the piping, then go for it, but know waht you are going to do before you do it and dont mod twice, do it right the first time and you will save money and net larger gains.

I hope this helps, if you are shooting to make some power in your dsm, want it to look good, and be able to get consistent tunes, then go with the FMIC with short route piping the first time... wait a little save some money and it'll be woth it in the long run!

 

[-DSM2NR-]

My only serious regret would be the fog lights. The car looks better with them and I can use them in case of fog.

Of course you're going to notice a huge difference between the hard pipes and a short routed FMIC. The FMIC is mostly causing the big difference.

 

[JDNSBR]

Not tooting our own horn here but if you make your own brackets you can keep your fog lights with our kits. It has been done a few times. I will be able to give you pics when I get in the office on Monday. Just an idea.

 

[daren_p]

T9S1i, is right. If you plan on going short route smic, don't bother changing the factory ic pipes. You will see abit of difference with them but they can easily cost $200 which would be better to put towards the fmic. I ran upgraded pips and HRC smic for abit with my evoIII and thought it worked great but let me tell you once I installed my fmic I was so much happier with the performance, I actually didn't expect to be able to feel the gains I felt at 18 psi. I origionally didn't want to lose my fogs either but I descided to in order to have a great flowing fmic. Now I have nice shinny powdercoated pipes where the fogs use to be

 

[Narco]

I dropped significant time at the track with my hard pipes. But I'm now replacing them with my fmic/short route kit. You could easily re-sell them if/when you decide to upgrade.

 

[daren_p]

I dropped significant time at the track with my hard pipes. But I'm now replacing them with my fmic/short route kit. You could easily re-sell them if/when you decide to upgrade.

What was your setup at the time that made you drop significant time at the track with just ic pipes? On a stock t25 I don't see how this could make much of a difference as you may gain about 10 hp from the upgrade & would not make a huge difference at the track. I could see this making a difference if you were running a larger turbo which would move alot more air then the t25, therefore the stock ic pipes would be a larger restriction. I could also see how you could get some nice gains if at first you were running the t25 with upped boost and a stock 2g bov, then switched the ic pipes and a new bov. This would make sense as the 2g bov's leak around 12 psi so with the upped boost and leaky bov you would be making the turbo work harder to keep up this boost, creating a hotter intake charge, switching to a bov that doesn't leak and you have a cooler charge & more power.