Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

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TonyMoneo
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Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by TonyMoneo »

Good day VAG people,

I was in the process of upgrading my two side mount intercoolers on my 2007 Audi A4 with a single larger (and more efficient) OEM front mount intercooler when I ran into some hose issues.

I have since found a supplier that has all the bends that I need, which left me with one question: is it worth it?

My biggest concern is that I need approx 2x135° bends and 4x90° bends to retrofit the FMIC. That seems like a veeeery inefficient way to move air. Will that not in itself lead to a significant pressure drop which will just undo the benefit of the less restrictive intercooler?

Keen to hear your thoughts

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panic-mechanic
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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by panic-mechanic »

have you actually logged intake temps to see if you think you need it.
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TonyMoneo
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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by TonyMoneo »

No I have not, sounds like a good idea!

What type of logs will be able to tell? Back to back sprints? You prob want to determine at which point heat soak starts to occur? I got a mk 2 Audi TT RS intercooler as a present, so I figured it couldn't hurt treating my tractor with a bit of an upgrade..

The photos show my current setup with the two SMICs and what could possible be with the FMIC. ImageImageImageImage

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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by Ashveer03 »

A decent sized fmic will definitely be more efficient than 2 small side mounts, especially if u have or plan on software.

Another thing is u rather get piping welded up than having too many silicone joiners, u would probably also require a map sensor Flange

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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by MarshallGTi »

Why not run all 3...?
It is an ingenius solution to a problem that should have never existed in the 1st place...

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TonyMoneo
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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by TonyMoneo »

The FMIC is rated for 250kW, I am nowhere near that so having three would we a bit overkill in my opinion.

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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by panic-mechanic »

Is it a daily, is otna drag car? Where is it that you think where you will getbthe advantage. Log that. If you think daily grind in traffic - well lemme tell you no matter which cooler you have on it will make absolutely no difference there.
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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by TonyMoneo »

It's a daily, running software making about 155kW on the crank. There is also minimal traffic where I stay. To be honest this is a case of curiousity. I got the IC - might as well use it. In my mind there is less piping to route from the one SMIC to the next and the FMIC is less restrictive so there should be a benefit associated with the upgrade. But that's an opinion, would love to get other views as well :)

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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by panic-mechanic »

My view of it is sell the cooler and buy beers with that.
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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by THANAS »

The gains in your application moving from twin SMIC to single FMIC are not worth the money/time. I think you will find the intake temps with the twin SMIC are perfectly acceptable for a mildly tuned car.
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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by dcmk4 »

If the side mount coolers aren't leaking or giving any trouble I would have to agree with the general consensus, it's not worth the trouble or work to change them as they should be more than sufficient to support the car in its current state.
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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by TonyMoneo »

I really appreciate the feedback guys, thanks for taking part in the discussion!

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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by THANAS »

dcmk4 wrote: Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:11 am If the side mount coolers aren't leaking or giving any trouble I would have to agree with the general consensus, it's not worth the trouble or work to change them as they should be more than sufficient to support the car in its current state.
I think you need a twin FMIC.
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Re: Advice needed: FMIC upgrade

Post by TonyMoneo »

Now we getting somewhere :D

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