Which FMIC for my 2g DSM

[MetalMulisha]

Trying to decide what FMIC to go with, first off let me say the car isnt stock at all. I just got my JM Fab divided t3 manifold setup to run twin 38mm W/Gates On my HX35w setup. 7 bolt 95 TSI. Im trying to decide what FMIC to go with. Long route, where the charge pipe crosses back across the fmic and up through the existing fender hole, or do I just buy a universal with lower straight inlet and outlet's and fab the piping my self. I have a Tig and can weld aluminum no problem. I dont really see any rerason to buy a kit for a 2g dsm being that nothing is really in the stock location on my car. Input please!

 

[92AWDHX40]

It seems if you can weld maybe a custom set up ive seen lots of fmic on ebay, and some cores on vendor sites.

 

[gofer]

Copy/pasted from a past post of mine. Do the math to find the core you need for your specific setup...

To start of deciding which IC core to spend your hard earned cash on you need to come up with a airflow figure at a specific boost level. I'll use my DSM results for an example here, just input what you want to come up with the correct number for your application.

I bought my 68HTA knowing that it was capable of flowing 47lbs/min and I was going to run about 30psi to get it there. So you've got to convert airflow to cubic feet minute (CFM) and boost pressure to pressure ratio (PR).

CFM = (L x RPM x VE x Pr) / 5660
PR = (14.7 + Boost) / 14.7​

So just plug in the info and do the conversions for CFM and PR, here are the numbers for my application.

PR = (14.7 + 30) / 14.7 = 3.04
CFM = (2.0 x 6500 x 95% x 3.04) / 5660 = 663.32

46lbs/min @ 30psi = 663.32 @ 3.04​

Now you'll be able to figure out exactly what size of intercooler you'll want for your specific setup, below are the equations.

Minimum Cross Area = ((CFM / PR) + 12.84) / 11.63
Intercool Height = (Minimum Cross Area / IC Depth
Total Volume = (WHP - 50.17) / 0.533
Intercooler Width = (Total Volume / Minimum Cross Area)​

So just plug in the info (I used 400whp as my goal and a 3.5" deep IC)

((663.32 / 3.04) + 12.84) / 11.63 = 19.87 sq/in (MCA)
19.87 / 3.5" = 5.68" (Height)
(400 - 50.17) / 0.553 = 632.60 cu/in (Volume)
632.60 / 19.87 = 31.84" (Width)​

So the perfect IC core size for my setup, using the above equations, is 32" x 6" x 3.5". Since size contraints do come into play its not always possible to find a IC core that "fits the bill" of the perfect core. For example, if the widest core for your application is 28.5" then you'll want a taller IC to make up that surface area you'll be losing. The ideal core for my numbers is 32" x 6" however, the VRSF core is 28.5" x 10" so I lose 4" off the width but gain it off the height so its perfect.

Here are the dimensions of the three kits we keep referring to, see which one fits your car the best.

VRSF - 28.5" x 10" x 3.5"
PR - 29" x 11" x 3"
ETS - 25" x 10"x 3"​

To make it fair, lets see what the numbers would come out to had I used a 3" depth for the core.

((663.32 / 3.04) + 12.84) / 11.63 = 19.87 sq/in (MCA)
19.87 / 3" = 6.63" (Height)
(400 - 50.17) / 0.553 = 632.60 cu/in (Volume)
632.60 / 19.87 = 31.84"​

You'll notice the only thing that changed was the height of the core, and being that the PR core is 1" taller and 0.5" wider the 0.5" you lose in depth doesn't matter.

I wish we could know for certain each cores pressure drop or CFM, we just have to go off whats advertised. I pulled all the above info from here and just applied it to DSM's. ---> Intercooler Calculator

 

[atownturbo]

Vsrf is having group buy right now and I've heard notbing but good things about them.

 

[MetalMulisha]

It seems if you can weld maybe a custom set up ive seen lots of fmic on ebay, and some cores on vendor sites.

yeah I think im gonna just do that! I can get the core and piping they call a "Universal" kit for like 240$ ill just chop and tig whatever I need to make it work.

Copy/pasted from a past post of mine. Do the math to find the core you need for your specific setup...

Thanks bro, that a lot of shit. I did the math and compared the results to some of the specs on the ebay kits, looks like ive found a few that I like.

Thanke for posting guys, now I need to decide if I want the charge piping to go up throught the existing finder hole where the stock piping went, or take the short route and go up inside the engine bay and hug the inner finder to the throttle body. What route would you guys reccomend? Im not crazy about the kits that have the cooled charge piping going back across the intercooler, its just a lot more piping, and looks shitty to me.