Lets talk Ebay FMIC. Especially if you have one.

[chicagoavenger]

I have read a couple of threads on ebay intercoolers but just wondering which ones out there that are actually good? Allot of them have something that goes like this

"Good for up to 500bhp(I have seen from 350-600). all our intercooler has been tested to withstand more then 80psi pressure and it has very small pressure drop across the end tanks, at 15psi inlet the out let has 14.8psi that means it has only 0.2 psi pressure drop ,compare to many other intercoolers it is an excellent figure (some intercooler has 1-2psi pressure drop) also at the same condition, the temperature has drop from 120 degree to 28 degree ( and it is an excellent figure for efficiency"

Is the above statement just a bunch of bs or true? Has anyone tried the Megan racing FMIC? I think it's crazy to spend 700+ on a core and piping. I really don't care about name brands I just want it to work. Kinda like a Dave Brode part or Megan Racing or Johnny Racecar FMIC all cheap but effective with great quality. Here are just a couple of FMIC I'm talking about that look good but do they perform and will they last? Please chime in if you have a ebay FMIC or had one especially if it worked or did not work well for you. thanks

Megan FMIC

No name brand but has the standard psi and efficiency spill

Street Imports FMIC

XOXO Core but has good feedback on the core

 

[TORONTOTALON]

Just ordered a 1G strip kit and CAI from www.extremeintercoolers.com. The guys sound really nice and i cant wait till it gets here i have heard so many good things about them. I will take pics when it gets here. It takes a little longer because of the problem of me being it Toronto Canada.

Keepin alive the 1G guys

 

[my98GST]

Installing mine has and has not been as hard as what I thought. The hardest part so far has been cutting the radiator support and trying to tighten the TB elbow, which I have yet succeeded to do

 

[unclesam099]

I just went ahead and got a 21 x 9 x 3" (2.5" in/outlet) cooler. I will have to get some pipe and then see what I can rig up.

 

[Narco]

NARCO, did you have to modified/add any piping usings that method?

Yes, the I had to cut about 2" off of both ends of the 90 degree 2" pipe. I also shaved about 1/4" off of the LICP, just to make it fit a little better.

I now only have to modify my BOV flange for the Greddy and I'll be good to go

 

[fwdeclipse]

Installing mine has and has not been as hard as what I thought. The hardest part so far has been cutting the radiator support and trying to tighten the TB elbow, which I have yet succeeded to do

How long have you been working on it and how close to done are you.Mine comes today or tomorrow i hope,I wanna try and do it all on saturday.It looks like everyone has done bits at a time,but im gonna work on it till its done.

 

[cfisher]

Yes, the I had to cut about 2" off of both ends of the 90 degree 2" pipe. I also shaved about 1/4" off of the LICP, just to make it fit a little better.
:

I did the same thing. Cut about 2" of each side of the 90 degree pipe. Also took about 2" off the lower interooler pipe and it fit up nicely. I totally forgot about the TB elbow though and havn't tightened down that nut because I couldn't get a wrench on it. I'll try the options about and see if that works.

 

[cfisher]

Could you give me an idea how much you had to cut off on each side of the center section? Top, bottom, and sides?

I'd appreciate it. That could save me some time and frustration (I have little patience) not having to trim, fit, remove, trim, fit, remove, etc...

You are going to have to cut about half of the mouth off on the sides. You don't have to cut that much off the center of the mouth though so go about half way on the sides and then about a quarter of the mouth in the center. I also cut out the black section on the top of the mouth for more flow to my radiator.

 

[fwdeclipse]

I did the same thing. Cut about 2" of each side of the 90 degree pipe. Also took about 2" off the lower interooler pipe and it fit up nicely. I totally forgot about the TB elbow though and havn't tightened down that nut because I couldn't get a wrench on it. I'll try the options about and see if that works.

So if you guys are cutting the pipes,you must be cutting that bead off as well.How are you guys gonna keep the hoses from blowing off?

 

[cfisher]

So if you guys are cutting the pipes,you must be cutting that bead off as well.How are you guys gonna keep the hoses from blowing off?

I bent up the edges just enough to where it won't blow off. I did this on my last setup as well and never had one blow off. I also used hairspray to get it sticky and tightened the t-bolt clamps down as far as they would go. There is no way these pipes are blowing off and I've got it match up so well that you can't even shake the pipes at all.

 

[Sharkcus]

So if you guys are cutting the pipes,you must be cutting that bead off as well.How are you guys gonna keep the hoses from blowing off?

I have had really good luck with the jbweld putty. Not the kind in the 2 tubes. First, rough up around the end of the pipe where the bead will be with some sandpaper or something. Roll it like playdough in a long line and wrap it around the pipe where you want the bead. Smash it down to where you want it. I have done this on 3 cars that have seen pretty high boost. Give it a little longer than the package recomends to dry. You should be golden.

EDIT: If anyone is interested, I can post some pictures of the JBWelded pipes once I finish them in the next few days so you can see what I am talking about. Maybe I'll make a little tech article for it because it is so useful.

 

[my98GST]

So what am I goign to have to cut off? The IC inlet or the pipe that connects to the inlet? Which side of the pipe should I cut off?


Yesterday I kinda took my time with it. I got my radiator support cut, somewhat the PS lines fixed and got the TB elbow and the UICP put on in about an hour and a half.... Today im going to try to get the core mounted.

 

[my98GST]

So have we decided which would be the best for the PS lines? Removing the bar and sliding the lines behind it, or just rerouting the resevoir line onto the L hard line?

Also, Should I mount the core first by mounting the left tab first onto the stock fog light holes so I can level the core with using the top tab so it would have a little left to right movement??? Tell me what you guys recommend.

 

[cfisher]

So what am I goign to have to cut off? The IC inlet or the pipe that connects to the inlet? Which side of the pipe should I cut off?


Yesterday I kinda took my time with it. I got my radiator support cut, somewhat the PS lines fixed and got the TB elbow and the UICP put on in about an hour and a half.... Today im going to try to get the core mounted.

Best advise I can give you is to mount the intercooler and then match up your pipes. If you have a t25/t28 it probably has the elbow already on it so you will want to cut that off and use the 90 degree pipe. I basically hooked up the pipe going to the TB which was no problem fitting wise. The pain was the lower section and I hooked it all up, cut some piping, hooked it up again, cut some more until it all fight up right.

 

[cfisher]

So have we decided which would be the best for the PS lines? Removing the bar and sliding the lines behind it, or just rerouting the resevoir line onto the L hard line?

It was so much easier to just elimate those lines and loop it on the resevoir. At least thats what I did.

 

[eclpsgsx97]

Also, Should I mount the core first by mounting the left tab first onto the stock fog light holes so I can level the core with using the top tab so it would have a little left to right movement??? Tell me what you guys recommend.

Here's what I did:
I cut the radiator support so that there was enough room to fit the IC outlet and have some room for slight adjustment.

I drew a vertical line through the center of the foglight bracket bolt holes to be used, so I knew where to start drilling later on.

With the upper bumper support removed, I placed the front mount up against the car and supported it with jackstands.

I adjusted the height of the IC such that the side tabs were on the same level as the foglight bracket holes. Do this with a level on the IC to get it as level as possible.

I used the center mounting tab on the IC to center the IC. Pretty much lined up the middle of the tab to the bottom bolt of the hood latch.

Make sure the IC is still level. Then, I drilled holes in the side tabs for the foglight bracket mounting bolts. Follow your verical line that you drew to know where to drill.

 

[fwdeclipse]

My final question is did you guys leave the triangualar part where the hood latch is or does it have to be cut out.Also did any of you guys get tracking numbers,I paid for mine on sunday and still no word about a tracking number or if its been shipped.I live in Utah so i figure from north carolina if they shipped it monday it should get here tomorrow.Does anyone have a phone# for them.I have left like ten emails no response.They emailed back in like an hour when i asked abouth the group buy,but nothing since.

 

[mdgoodrich]

How much trimming is required on the actual outer bumper that is painted. Is there alot required or what. This is for the group buy one.



thanks

matt

 

[Narco]

My final question is did you guys leave the triangualar part where the hood latch is or does it have to be cut out.

I cut mine.

 

[cfisher]

My final question is did you guys leave the triangualar part where the hood latch is or does it have to be cut out.

I cut mine.

I cut mine out also but used the top portion to support the bumper.

 

[my98GST]

call me a retard or wtf ever you would like..... I've done so far everything that you guys have said to do. The PS lines are gone, I've cut the radiator support and still I cannot get my core to mount up like it should.... The top tab must be screwed up... The triangle part does not seem to be in the way, its just the main beam..... I cannot figure out how to make it work... How much did you guys have to bend your top tab? Has anyone mounted their tab behind the triangle????

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

Just use natural instinct.

I didn't even use the top tab. I just bent it as much as I can so it doesnt get in the way for mounting. Mounting it on the fog light holes is already secure enough. I couldve just cut the top mounting tab, but I didn't just in case.

 

[my98GST]

either way though, it doesn't matter... I wouldn't use the top tab, if I could get the core to go high enough to get it to line up with the fog light holes but the tab is just in the way...I'm going to try trimming just a little more radiator support and see if that will give me a little more room.....

 

[blcknspo0ln]

Suprisingly I've been ghosting this thread for a while, but I've also just got my FMIC in the mail from them. Ever since this thread started, the prices have been jacked up about a hundred dollars! I paid 380 shipped for mine and got it in 2 days.

At the moment, I defeated the power steering line by just using pliers and a couple zipties to move and secure the PS line far enough back so that the line does not interfere with the IC. The only thing I can see that will be a problem is the driver's side bumper support. This problem will soon be solved with a sawzall.

Secondly, Are you guys using the bottom fog light bolt? or the top two bolts? As it sits now, my FMIC brackets are about an inch right above the bottom single fog light bolt. Since I have no problem drilling/tapping a new hole, I am only concerned with FMIC mounting height. I wonder if the core will be mounted too high the way it is now. Tomorrow i'll snap more pictures and give you guys my progression.

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[eric]

call me a retard or wtf ever you would like..... I've done so far everything that you guys have said to do. The PS lines are gone, I've cut the radiator support and still I cannot get my core to mount up like it should.... The top tab must be screwed up... The triangle part does not seem to be in the way, its just the main beam..... I cannot figure out how to make it work... How much did you guys have to bend your top tab? Has anyone mounted their tab behind the triangle????

dont know if it will help any but if you got to post # 127 of this thread he has a nice close up pic of how he bent his top tab.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

Secondly, Are you guys using the bottom fog light bolt? or the top two bolts? As it sits now, my FMIC brackets are about an inch right above the bottom single fog light bolt. Since I have no problem drilling/tapping a new hole, I am only concerned with FMIC mounting height. I wonder if the core will be mounted too high the way it is now. Tomorrow i'll snap more pictures and give you guys my progression.

I used the top two. More specifically the outer hole. Using this positions the fmic (imo) perfectly. With the front bumper back on the bottom part of the mouth opening will be right on the bottom row of the core. Using the lower hole of the fog light holes will have the core pretty low, not to mention might affect the fitment of the rest of the piping.