fastcarfreak

Hey guys, im having a little trouble installing the rx7 fashion fmic. The thing is that im not sure if im suppost to completely remove that cross bar. Does this intercooler just take its place. Any suggestions, or help you can give me would be great. If you have the instructions on the install that would be even better. Pics on the install would be awesome too. Please help almost my whole car is apart awaiting the installation of my single turbo and intercooler along with everything else.
Adam

skotx

I have this intercooler but I did not do the install, it was installed when I bought it. I can take as many pics as you want, but it won't be until tomorrow after 6:00 or so. FWIW, I do not have the stock front-end, I have the C-West.

Scott

twinturboteddy

Yea you have to remove the cross bar completely. I have a couple pics from my install and maybe jr will chime in. He has some really greats pics from his install as well.

I'll post them later when I get back from dinner.

rotorbrain

hey, if anyone out there has this kit out and not installed on their car and is willing to simply COPY the endtanks and the 90deg bends out of the tanks. . . i would happily . . . gather up as much money as i can and pay you. . . i just wanna drive my car. . . . is that possible?

paul

fastcarfreak

rotobrain, maybe rx7fashion.net can fab some endtanks, but i know your out of money, and it may be costly.

fastcarfreak

hey guys, if you can get them pics for me, it would be awesome. If you have trouble posting them on here, you can email them to me ajparent@syr.edu

twinturboteddy

Jr's car

r0gu3

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

It is SUCH a FREAKIN bad idea to cut that brace out. I'm no expert on structures, but I do have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. That brace is the ONLY thing that really holds the frame rails together in the front of the car. The piece that is left is pretty much like a beer can. This is one of the major reasons I don't like FMICs. For all the people that have cut that part off, you CAN buy it new from Mazda to replace it to save your FD.

Any FMIC kit that removes that part is just a BAD idea, I don't care how cool your intake temps are or how "cool" you think the FMIC looks from the front of the car.

It is a BAD IDEA bottom line PERIOD!

Oh, nice hack job on that R1 with the stock rad.....people wonder why these cars blow motors...

fastcarfreak

to be honest with you man, i dont see it being that bad for the front support because the fmic actaully acts as the brace. Im not sure, but i think an engine strut bar will also help stiffen things up. just a thought.

rotorbrain

turbojeff. . . that "brace" as you call it is simply a gounding point/hood latch mount. its pot-metal. . . you can bend it easily. . . there is nothing that thing can do that a thicker piece of iron wont do better. . . or even the intercooler mounted between those rails. that cross. . . thingy. . . is no brace at all. . . it is tac-welded on there. why in the world would a structural brace have shitty material and shitty mounting points.

i too thought about how bad of an idea it is. . . but i weighed everything out and i believe i am right.

paul

twinturboteddy

Yes that piece is merely tac welded on. The intercooler that replaces it simply does that. It replaces it as structural reinforcement.

I've had it for well over a year and although my car is merely street driven, I have noticed no change in how the car manuevers.

twinturboteddy

Jr's website and fmic install pics.

http://www.jrx7.com/fmicpics.htm

fastcarfreak

thank you soo much twinturboteddy. That helps me out more than you know. really appreciate it! thanks to everyone else who chimed in to help also.
adam

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

I'm glad you guys think you are right, but your not.

That piece is NOT pot metal, it is steel. It is fairly stiff (being that it is steel) and does in fact tie the frame rails together up front. I've got pics of a wrecked FD that hit a pole, that cross brace pulled the pass side frame rail over 2-3" even though the impact was on the opposite side. It is strong.

A welded joint in steel is MUCH stronger/stiffer than bolting on a piece of aluminum (IC) to the frame rails. The IC isn't even stronger than the whimpy bumper support that you also remove for the IC.

You guys say "I don't think" it is bad or it changed anything in the car. I'm telling you with some engineering judgement that it DOES make a big difference.

rotorbrain

i think youre over-reacting on this one. . . my bad for saying its pot-metal. . . i knew it wasnt. . . what i meant is that its about as dinky as pot-metal. it really has no use. what you saw was doubfully due to that thing pulling it over as i was able to "pry" the welds off by hand.

now, lets say this thing is a reinforcement. . . anybody who drives an FD knows that if they have a front end collision the car is toast. . . so. . . the question stands. . . "does it make a difference?" taking that thing out is NOT gonna take any of the structural rigidity out of the car. . . there is a subframe connected to those rails and a strut-tower brace connected as well. that brace bends and flexes with ease. . . it IS NOT a structural piece. . . it IS NOT a crush zone. . . it simply is a grounding point and a little backing for that bumper support. . . .

paul

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

The car is MORE toast at lower speeds without that brace.

There is no way you pried that part off with your hands. You drilled first, then pried it off.

What I saw is absolutely ONLY due to that brace. Nothing hit the other side of the car, one side got smashed, the other side didn't touch a thing and the rail is bent over. I cut that "little" brace and it separated from the other side by about 1".

The problem is your doing a lot of "thinking" without listening to people that have experience. That is what's wrong with this place. I'm telling you what I know, your telling me what you think...

Oh, if you called that "tack welded on" then you might consider the whole freakin' car "tack welded"...

Jeff

rynberg

...sits back with popcorn.....

After all this time, a new wrinkle to the FMIC vs SMIC debate...(well, it's probably not new, but at least it isn't the same old intake temp vs water temp debate).

alwan16

i love these types of conversations on the forum.

removing that part of the car is not a good idea even if it adds a nice huge ic. mazda designed it to be put there for many reasons including the crumpling effect of a front end collision. it looks like it will distribute a great deal of force to the sides of the chassis where it can be absorbed to prevent the engine from being rammed into the passenger bay. i'm sure it won't pass any federal safety front end tests with that ic! be careful.

tbonerx7

Are you talking about the front bumper reinforcement? If so, I had a custom fmic w/o the reinforcement, smacked into a guard rail @ high speed. Needless to say, the bumper was history.

It isn't a good idea to have the intercooler as the stress point in the front. Ideally, it would be better to have the fmic behind the bumper reinforcement or any 5mph accident will damage your mic--or risk damaging the fmic.

A re-designed bumper reinforcement /w venting to a overly large fmic would be more appropriate. Racers really don't care because it's not street driven and the risk of having a huge fmic and gaining good power far exceeds damage costs... while a smuck on the street....

The bumper reinforcement are fiberglass if I remember correctly and they help hang the bumper on the front. Just remember for front collisions, parts should crumble or fold and usually are specfically designed to distribute the force of impact.

I'd love to have a FMIC again if it fit in the opening of my '99 spec bumper w/o removing the reinforcement.

fastcarfreak

needless to say it is on there and the front end feels a lot tighter then with that brace. thanks guys, i really apreciate the help. and to the other guys, about the front brace being removed, it doesnt really matter to me cuz i already bought the fmic, so there is no point in crying over spilt milk. Ive heard a lot of great things about this intercool so im gonna go with the flow, and hope it doesnt **** **** up. I dont think i drive the car enough to worry about to many front end collisions. i usually only drive it on a friday or saturday night to go to the spot we set up races. then i usually drive to the race, race, then come back and do it again. If i drove this during the day, i would prolly be more concerned about the front brace as there is much more traffic during the day. Also im not so worried about over heating the car because i have the fan mod and i usually only drive at night when its cool out. Thanks again for all the help, and thanks for chiming in and sharing how you feel about the situation. It was really appreciated.

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

Let me explain it like this. THe front of the car is a box. The sides of the box are the frame rails, the bottom is the engine cradle, the front is that brace your cutting off and if you have a strut tower brace, that is the top of a box.

Take a actual cardboard box, and cut one side off it, let me know how much stiffness that takes out of the box...

Seldon

Here we go... Mazda designed it that way so its better.

That's why everyone adds an aftermarket catback isn't it?
And what about the AST?
Hmmm..... I don't buy it

rynberg

We're not talking about decisions based on exhaust noise sound levels and cost, we're talking about structural design of the car. You're comparing apples and oranges here.

jdhuegel1

I think when it comes to the structure of the car it's a little different...

I'm not cutting away anything like that.. I don't "KNOW" what will happen, but I'm not going to find out either.

I can't imagine re-selling the car like that either..