obx FMIC kit

[nazthug]

ok, what happened to this company?

Since when does obx turn around from making rice parts to making LSD's, cams, manifolds, headers and NOW intercoolers, which are btw, EXACT replicas of APEXi????

I mean its almost as if they literally, take a product, CLONE it, and sell it for 1/3 the price

The products look nice, but WTF???

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how can you possibly do this? At these prices? Legally????

 

[XtremeGST]

what would you rather eat? macaroni and cheese or a 32 oz marinated steak? thats the difference.

 

[DSMSpyder99]

if the macaroni and cheese comes with 2 hot dogs slightly burnt then HELL YEA

what would you rather eat? macaroni and cheese or a 32 oz marinated steak? thats the difference.

 

[tom1995tsi]

Im goining to probably get JR's FMIC kit for 2g's i heard it is a decent core but i have to find out if it will work with a to4b.

 

[97gstblack]

You install it yet? hows it working what problems u run into?

 

[drk mrk iv]

I don't see why most of these people are saying, just do it right once and it will probably only handle up to 300 or so horsepower. Most of the people on here aren't running anything bigger than an evo16g. Most people with giant I/C's with this turbo are making around 300 hp.

People are running upgraded sidemounts. I am sure this is just as efficient as an upgraded sidemount.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

I don't see why most of these people are saying, just do it right once and it will probably only handle up to 300 or so horsepower. Most of the people on here aren't running anything bigger than an evo16g. Most people with giant I/C's with this turbo are making around 300 hp.

People are running upgraded sidemounts. I am sure this is just as efficient as an upgraded sidemount.

you're post takes too much effort to make sense of.

anyway, just to add my .02. the OBX intercooler is an alternative for 80% of DSMers BECAUSE 80% will NOT go out and flow test it, will not go out and dyno compare their sidemount vs. OBX FMIC vs. brand name FMIC. and also, what average DSMer is going to put enough power to outflow these 30x12 cores?

I think you guys are putting a stink on this company because it has a copied design, and is long routed.. but so is the greddy..

IMHO, make your own kit. spend the money on a good spearco core, apexi core, whatever and make your own pipes. and PLEASE dont tell me that OBX's 2.25" IC piping will be less efficient, less flowing blah blah vs. a name brand 2.25" IC piping.

 

[drk mrk iv]

you're post takes too much effort to make sense of.

Perhaps I shall put it in layman's terms.

Most people don't use big turbo's. Many just use t28's and evoiii's.

Upgraded sidemounts are just fine for these turbo's.

OBX front mount will probably be fine for these turbo's as well.

 

[blackGSX2g]

any pics of the core/installation yet??

 

[Denji]

what would you rather eat? macaroni and cheese or a 32 oz marinated steak? thats the difference.

either way once its down your full. I would consider that objective acheived. You eat when you are hungry to make yourself not hungry.

Perhaps the obx is the macaroni and cheese.. Its not as classy as the steak, maybe doenst look so good. After all is said and done you have got the job done, front mount with much better flow than your stock side mount, and if it does what it is intended to do, then what difference does anything else make?

I think sales reps are scared to death of stuff like this. Take a look at 99gst racer, he is fighting it with all of his heart on no knowledge about it at all. Why would someone be so against something with so little facts?

I have a 3' bosal exhaust i paid 325 for shipped to my house.. Fits great, looks great, works just as good as any other 3 inch catback. The welds are strong and it sounds awesome, honestly i couldnt be happier than i am with my cheap bosal exhaust, the quality is actually as good if not better than any 3" i have seen.. more expensive isnt always better.

 

[black91awdturbo]

I agree with the last post, you have no facts but continue to bash it!!! once we get facts thats another thing. But what if they come out and flow as good as other big name fmic's? I doubt it but lets wait for some info

 

[1991gs-t]

.... I had a pasesetter that caught fire then the gaskets melted. .

Omg I cant stop laughing.... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

[99gst_racer]

I think sales reps are scared to death of stuff like this. Take a look at 99gst racer, he is fighting it with all of his heart on no knowledge about it at all. Why would someone be so against something with so little facts?

I deal with manufacturer representatives on a weekly basis. I have three reps from Holley standing 15 ft. from me right now. I know what to ask these people and I know how they should react. I've spoke with reps from OBX in person and I was not impressed. They spoke broken english and could not accurately answer any of my questions. They dont offer very good pricing plans or very gould tech support, because they care of only the initial sale.

I've actually seen the OBX intercooler kit for our cars in person. I didnt like it. I'm being completely honest; I was not impressed even with the way it looked. I wish I would have taken a pic. It's hard to explain. When looking close at the intercooler, you can tell it was meant to exist, not to perform. It screams cheap. Yeah, maybe the welds are good and the price is good, but there is much more to a FMIC that welds and price.

I am all about save money and being cheap, but there are certain things you dont want to cut corners on. I would be very interested to see test results comparing the OBX to something like the SBR.

I've actually used OBX product on my previous vehicles. I had an exhaust system and it was manufactured more for looks and sound as apposed to performance. I consider OBX to be the a performance version of APC. You would have to be a part of the industry to understand why I am against OBX. I guess I am more against the company than the product. I dont like any company that mass produces a full line of performance parts and totally skipped the R&D for all of them. Any average joe, an steal an idea and run it through a machine..... I perfer to deal with inovative companys.

 

[drk mrk iv]

I love paying a grand for an intercooler, and 200 bucks for I/C piping. R&D owns! Come on... Please name one I/C that is less than 500 bucks. Cores are 250-300. Piping is NOT another 400-500.

 

[AMS stampy]

As the sales manager for a shop I think I should step in and say at least our .02. By buying a product like this you are indeed saving a buck but you are also contributing to the allready staggering decline of this industry. The only reason OBX and companies like themselves are selling these for cheap because they dont have any engineering involved in them. They literally (as was stated earlier) ship the real piece to Taiwan and make it as cheap as possible with as little overhead as possible. They have been doing it for YEARS. This is one step below THEFT! its just now trickling into the import market because it has become so big. Customers that contribute there hard earned money to shop like AMS, Bushur, RRE etc are trying to keep this industry going. Do you think it costs us $200 to make a tubular manifold and we are keeping that massive profit?? HELL NO! Research takes time and time costs money. Capitialism is a great part of this country but unchecked it can destroy industries. If you really care about new products being developed then support your local or established DSM shops and keep the engineering process moving along. If you only care about saving a buck then buy OBX products. Just don't get upset when companies like Bushur, AMS and RRE close the doors because we cant sell enough product to pay for R&D.

 

[prostreetdsmx1]

As the sales manager for a shop I think I should step in and say at least our .02. By buying a product like this you are indeed saving a buck but you are also contributing to the allready staggering decline of this industry. The only reason OBX and companies like themselves are selling these for cheap because they dont have any engineering involved in them. They literally (as was stated earlier) ship the real piece to Taiwan and make it as cheap as possible with as little overhead as possible. They have been doing it for YEARS. This is one step below THEFT! its just now trickling into the import market because it has become so big. Customers that contribute there hard earned money to shop like AMS, Bushur, RRE etc are trying to keep this industry going. Do you think it costs us $200 to make a tubular manifold and we are keeping that massive profit?? HELL NO! Research takes time and time costs money. Capitialism is a great part of this country but unchecked it can destroy industries. If you really care about new products being developed then support your local or established DSM shops and keep the engineering process moving along. If you only care about saving a buck then buy OBX products. Just don't get upset when companies like Bushur, AMS and RRE close the doors because we cant sell enough product to pay for R&D.

my god thank you for chiming in as well, i was histant at first to be the only vendor talking in here. I couldn't agree more. Consider that fact that most of us vendors have everything made right here in the USA and supporting our economies. While that may not mean alot to some of you, i think it's one of the best things we can do. Anyone can ship a product overseas to have crap stamped out by 9 year olds in a factory but i rather help, Jim, John, Bob and Bill and offer a better product made right here at home.

And I mentioned earlier that products like this being bought will just keep manufacturers from developing quality products for people who accept nothing less. I know i would have to have an aftermarket for my car where APC and OBX were my only choices.

Thank you again for chiming in bro.

 

[Denji]

Customers that contribute there hard earned money to shop like AMS, Bushur, RRE etc are trying to keep this industry going. Do you think it costs us $200 to make a tubular manifold and we are keeping that massive profit?? HELL NO! Research takes time and time costs money. Capitialism is a great part of this country but unchecked it can destroy industries.

Sometimes, as in the case for my car, im only trying to run mid 13's. I dont need tons and tons of hours in research developement into my parts to get me down to that kind of time, where is the parts for a market such as myself?

Im either going side mount intercooler or cheap front mount, i dont need a core that outperforms every core on the market. I am cheap about my parts becuase to run a mid 13 you only need mild modifications.

If the market fails its not the consumers fault, that sounds like its the producers/sellers fault....

I guess according to the vendors i should i pay for my own advertisement to go on top of the dsmtuners homepage asking someone to make me a part? give me a break.

When a certain vendor fails its because THEY mess up, not the consumers. Thats simple business there.

However, im not on OBX side completely either, i just want more facts before i go downing their intercooler. If it performs better than an upgraded sidemount, its perfect for me.

 

[JessesTalon]

DSM's have been out for 15 years and counting...

thats 15 years you vendors have had the chance of having your R&D tested out... I think your R&D should be payed off already.


DSM tuning is all about being cheap, you have to spend 20,000 on a civic and parts to make it into a "fast" car...
I'll spend 1000-4000 on a 1g and if its already stock a couple bucks will take it into the mid 13's and if you want it to be reliable 13's then under 1000 in parts will get u reliable 13's while paying someone to do the job.

MOST DSM's are stock or close to and the ones that are really fast usually do something with DSM's and can afford to break shit every week at the track.

I love all the vendors and have bought products from alot of them and never had any problem... but when ebay ads have FMICS for 275 25 shipping then who is going to pay for something that "may" give you a few extra ponies, and no not 10 or 20 more... maybe 5 or 6 more...

Vendors do what you have to do, but if your R&D is taking up so much time and effort and money maybe you should all get together and do 1 test on each couple of products and all carry the same stuff.



for example you have a exhaust manifold you want to "R&D"

well if your a shop you should have variety of cars there plus customers that want to be apart of R&D and maybe they can get a discounted price


so you get 2 6bolts 2 7 bolts and put the same exhaust manifold on each one, dyno each car before and after... if you deicde to change the exhaust manifold then do it again... engineering is to a point where everything is math and you can pretty much tell a computer to do it all and tell you what is going to give you the best airflow... it cant take more than a day to do all the R&D on a exhaust manifold given you have approipate amount of workers and help and a dyno.


wow that was alot of crap i just wrote doubt half of you read it

 

[AMS stampy]

So because product has been developed over the past 15 years we should stop. We are all still making advancements. The biggest problem with the DSM community is that you are all spoiled. I came from the VW/BMW world were the power to $$ ratio was crazy expensive because it was a harder car to pull good HP out of. You throw a little bit of money at a DSM and its flying. We will never sign our name to something that has less then 100% of our effort put into it. Why? because we know that way it will always be a high quality product that we can back up and support. If this industry keeps going the way its going all the good shops will either shut down or move on to a car that there R&D can benefit more from. This industry was never about making a killing on parts. The owners of the bigger DSM shops are not rolling around in there vaults full of money. They probally where a suit 4 times a year at most. If you would like to hand this wonderful industry over to them then keep at it. I am not saying you should be paying $1600 for an IC but if a good shop makes one that is higher quality and make a little more HP for $200 more I personally would rather save up the extra money and have a product on my car that wasnt made in a sweat shop for pennies on the dollar. What do you think will happen when that manifold cracks?? do you think big OBX is going to help you out. Do you think he knows you by your first name when you call in?? Bottom line is that you can't argue with money and as long as someone makes something dirt cheap its going to bought. I just really hope this thread isnt a barometer for things to come.

Eric

 

[Denji]

The demand is high, if you sell for cheaper you will make an equal profit to say the least, because more people will buy. The car HAS been around for awhile, Your designs arent going to change much anymore and neither is the way that we make them fast. This is why people get "flamed" when they try to come up with new ideas. There is a definite way to make our cars fast and its been proven. Thats why we have step by step tuning guide. You cannot be constantly making that drastic of improvements on your designs 15 years after the original.. lets be realistic.

 

[AMS stampy]

we are in the process now of developing a from scratch intake manifold for the 1G and 2G. so far on the evo its making 25whp over the leading competitors manifold...I say thats pretty advanced. look at the turbo advancement. we went from 16Gs to complete balistic series turbos like GT35R's and GT42R's. look at the advancement of the import world in general over the past 10 years. I am not trying to be an ass here but do you really think that once a car has been out for 15years that big advancements in the 4G63 cant be made??? I think that is beyond unrealistic. The 4cyl has been around for over 15 years and they are still making INSANE progress on its engineering. and will continue to do so. If we though the way you did we would be closing our doors. Places like AMS Buschur and RRE are not part shops. We fabricate and engineer product. The parts from other companies that we sell are for convience to our customers and to help offset some of the overhead.

Eric

 

[Denji]

so far on the evo its making 25whp over the leading competitors manifold...I say thats pretty advanced.

Eric

I'd say that there are different kinds of lies, white lies, intentional lies, and then statistics. Statistically that quote is like any other advertising pitch.. "now 25% bigger". "makes 25 more hp". Than what? under what conditions? What previous mods are on the car? I would like to bet on a stock car, putting all the competetors and then your parts on it, it would not make 25 hp over their part. For instance, on a 500 horespower car, a 25hp gain over a competitors product is not as huge as a 25hp gain on a 200hp car. Also, what do you mean by making 25 more hp? Does it dyno in at a peak hp of 25 more than the other competitors? Or is it consistently better all throughout the power band? Its vague statements like that i find bothersome. I would like to see a third party's dyno sheets before such claims are made.

steps can be made, but like i said, if you want to run a 13.5, you can do without all top of the line parts.

Seems vendors are mad because they never thought about marketing to someone like me, then they realize there are a lot more like myself, not trying to run 11's. Also not trying to spend a lot, as i am a college student i dont have a lot.

 

[99gst_racer]

steps can be made, but like i said, if you want to run a 13.5, you can do without all top of the line parts.

Then just stick with a sidemount rather than spending $500 on a generic, untested, and gaudy FMIC. I would rather have stock parts plus money in my pocket than use OBX.

Also not trying to spend a lot, as i am a college student i dont have a lot.

, Yeah I'm in college too, but I dont let that stop me from doing things the right way. Being a college student = saving a little longer for the nice parts; not getting half way there and settling for the cheap stuff.

 

[AMS stampy]

I'd say that there are different kinds of lies, white lies, intentional lies, and then statistics. Statistically that quote is like any other advertising pitch.. "now 25% bigger". "makes 25 more hp". Than what? under what conditions? What previous mods are on the car? I would like to bet on a stock car, putting all the competetors and then your parts on it, it would not make 25 hp over their part. For instance, on a 500 horespower car, a 25hp gain over a competitors product is not as huge as a 25hp gain on a 200hp car. Also, what do you mean by making 25 more hp? Does it dyno in at a peak hp of 25 more than the other competitors? Or is it consistently better all throughout the power band? Its vague statements like that i find bothersome. I would like to see a third party's dyno sheets before such claims are made.

steps can be made, but like i said, if you want to run a 13.5, you can do without all top of the line parts.

Seems vendors are mad because they never thought about marketing to someone like me, then they realize there are a lot more like myself, not trying to run 11's. Also not trying to spend a lot, as i am a college student i dont have a lot.

if you are going to play semantics on this then I will give you cold hard facts.

on a 600 hp EVO VIII our manifold made 25 more Hp then the Leading sheet metal intake manifold....to the WHEELS! same boost same fuel same everything.I am not divuldging there name because they are a close friend of ours and I know that you guys will then start to bash them in this thread. He know the gains we made and he was very astonished and applauded us.

as far as marketing to people like yourself. We just developed a nice polished alluminum upper IC pipe for use with the stock sidemount. I dont think that is designed for sub 10 second passes

I am done trying to reason with you in this thread. You either cant see where I am coming from or simply value $$$ over quality. In either event I cannot sway your decision. This was in no way shape or form meant to get this ugly and Myself along with AMS holds no ill feelings towards anyone for posing there opinions in here. Best of luck to you and I hope to talk to you in the future.


Eric

 

[eclipsegsx9797]

I'd say that there are different kinds of lies, white lies, intentional lies, and then statistics. Statistically that quote is like any other advertising pitch.. "now 25% bigger". "makes 25 more hp". Than what? under what conditions? What previous mods are on the car? I would like to bet on a stock car, putting all the competetors and then your parts on it, it would not make 25 hp over their part. For instance, on a 500 horespower car, a 25hp gain over a competitors product is not as huge as a 25hp gain on a 200hp car. Also, what do you mean by making 25 more hp? Does it dyno in at a peak hp of 25 more than the other competitors? Or is it consistently better all throughout the power band? Its vague statements like that i find bothersome. I would like to see a third party's dyno sheets before such claims are made.

steps can be made, but like i said, if you want to run a 13.5, you can do without all top of the line parts.

Seems vendors are mad because they never thought about marketing to someone like me, then they realize there are a lot more like myself, not trying to run 11's. Also not trying to spend a lot, as i am a college student i dont have a lot.

ok dude no one cares how much money you have, if you dont want the extra hp then dont buy it, go buy something that makes less power for what reason i dont know. do you even think about the things you so. smart people (unlike you) would say wow they made more hp with a better desinged manifold, and then think, hey i do need just that much more hp. Ams is a very well known and very good shop who puts 110% into there work to make it just that much better.

 

[optimuspeterson]

I understand where the guy is coming from with the "top of the line" parts. It comes down to what you want with your car for looks/performance. ***All numbers past this are made up*** X intake produces 10 horses for $100 while another company has Y intake that produces 18 horses on the same application for $200. So therefor X intake makes 1horse for every dollar spent, and Y intake makes 1.11 horse for every dollar spent. Obvisouly Y intake gives the best performace per dollar but inorder to increase the extra .11 horse per dollar there is an opportunity cost of $100. Someone that is just looking for per performance and money is no object then obvisouly Y intake is the way to go. But someone that wants an upgrade but doesn't have the extra 100 to step to the next level will obvisouly go for X intake because that item was aimed in his price range.

I'm not taking a stand on this specific OBX intercooler issue just trying to show you where i think that guy is coming from.


BTW if my post doesn't make sense its because i'm tired.