smic vs fmic(hard facts no b.s.)
 

ok, I have searched these fourms for hours and still can't seem to find very many real world numbers if there were any differences in water temps on cars that went fmic from smic. please post acutal facts (not just what you think). I am looking for the differences in the intake temps and water temps.

I live i florida so I am very weary of a fmic, but my stock ic heat soaks somthing fearce (50c-60c read off pfc)in 110degree heat 100% humidity.

With a stock rad. and fan mod I run 85c-88c under normal driving and as high as 93c in spirited driving. With a different rad., could I use the blitzfmic or should I stick with th asp smic.

My car doesn't see the drag strip(2times) or any street courses( 0 times but i plan to) very often. So tell me the differences with the different intercoolers at the drag strip and a road course.

thanks....

Ever considered a V-mount (HKS or Rotary Extreme)?

Its a simple rule of thumb.. if you go fmic upgrade your radiator.. Cam @ pettit will swear by a stock mount ic for a street car.. for track he runs front mounts on his race cars.. There is reason on why people who build race cars use certain setups.. Your intake charge will drop with a fm compared to a sm, you get just as much flow to the radiator if you build a sheild that dirrects air through the ic to the radator, it just want be fresh air.. there for the need for a upgraded radator is needed. Toss som nice eletric fans on it and your set..

And on you wanting hard facts.. its imposible.. it will be comparing apples to orange because you can not replicate weather, temp, humidity ect....

what i mean buy hard facts is actual experinces of change in intake and water temps of people who went fmic from stock. I under stand the differences in weather n such. I just want actual #'s.

I like the v-mount idea, but its alot of green backs. If I am going to bitch about money though i think I own the wrong car.

more...

I have personally went from a stock mount to a fm back to a stock mount and I noticed on my stock radiator I noticed very little changer on my pfc. The car warms up a little bit quicker on a hot day with a front mount.. and the under hood temps are slightly higher than with a stock mount but its not enough to warrent the extra heat soak on the intercooler.. Intake temps made about a 10-15degree difference with a fm though..

Even I'm tired of these semi-troll threads about IC's and that's saying a lot, I'm one of the manufacturers. There are at least 20 comprehensive threads on the exact topic already here. Search harder. I really think you should do that Liquid to Air IC the one person made.

Kevin T. Wyum

P.S. I don't recall the other IC threads being filled with B.S. Hey that kinda rhymes with the PS : ).

The ONLY problem I had with the stock cooling system (when I went FMIC) was the fan temp switch setting being too high. With the PFC datalogit, it changed all that. I saw NO water temp change(both on my PFC and on the defi water temp gauge) from stock mount to front mount. I DID see an air intake temp difference of over 25 degrees celsius sitting in 98 degrees F Okinawan weather with 80%+ humidity...sitting in traffic idling with little to no movement. And once I started moving the intake temps difference increased with the FMIC cooling much faster than the SMIC. Matter of fact, I remember watching my air intake temps soar to 70+ and would not drop lower than 50 C~ while moving. My FMIC has NEVER been that high. It's rare to see it hit 40 C.

^^


There's some good first hand data.

See Sig for Mods...

My temps on the PFC read 84-88 in stop and go traffic. Intake temps typically stay around 29-35 degrees in 60 degree weather.

Water injection kicks in above 10 lbs of boost and I see a dramatic, Instant drop in intake temps.

I believe a lot of the data with FMIC's can be skewed, because a lot of these guys have single turbos, or go non sequential. Both of these setups create a LOT more room in the engine bay and help a car cool.

my $.02 FWIW......

I like the V-Mount Idea.

For many the it can be cost prohibitive.

But I elected to go with the Greddy SMIC for a few reasons:

It's the ONLY Intercooler kit that is CARB certified. Smog police and what not are getting tougher and tougher in CA. And since I have been pulled over a few times and inspected for modified smog equipement, etc. it serves my interests to keep that car as stock looking as possible even if that means going CARB at the slight expense of performance.

2. I like the fit of the Greddy SMIC. No rubbing whatsoever. It's nice to have an aftermarket component that doesn't require bloody knuckles and hammer to make it fit. Some of the other Intercoolers might have more cooling, but u can see the hammering and hacking that went underway to get it to fit.

3. I'm NOT a "hard-core" racer nor do I have the time to track it every week or month. But I like my set-up since it serves me every now and then for weekend-warrior driving and/or occasional contribution to the kill section.

4. I don't like the look and notion of a FMIC due to heat soaking the radiator (which, IMHO is a more important heat issue than the charge air). The FMIC advertises that the car has some "illegal" mods to the local officers. It's bad enough that I have it visually modded.

5. With the SMIC, it helps maintain the boost build better than a FMIC which most have greater volumes of air to build boost due to increased intercooler volumes and piping distances. All of these add up.

If I wanted to go with a Single turbo then FMIC would make more sense since they usually generate greater CFMs than the stock turbos.

Furthermore, single turbos generate less heat and some models don't tax the cooling system, therefore u can "afford" to have a slightly elevated heat soak in the radiator due to the placement of the FMIC.

I wonder if adding a cooling fan to the SMIC would emulate cooling numbers of the FMIC.

I tried that. I also blocked/directed all air to the intercooler as much as posible when I was SMIC. Still couldn't keep them down. Zerobanger has a kick ass setup with Water Injection/SMIC. If I was a Cali resident, that's what I would do.

Batman is right V-Mount, looks stock cause you can't see the FMIC, and so you don't get harrased....
Two rules of success that have worked for me, is look as stock from the outside as you can, nothing useless and only functional exterior mods (lights etc..) and stay within the law as much as possible while on public roads, then go whop some ass on a track... drag or road.. :D and get it out of your system... you'll be good for another 3-6 mo. depening on the amount of nitrous in your veins :D

jspecracer7, did u place ur fan behind the SMIC so that it pulled air or infront of the SMIC so that it pushed air?

I think the pulling part is better since the body of the fan doesn't block a portion of the SMIC body.

thanks for the info keep it coming.

sorry for another which intercooler is better thread, but i just wasn't able to find the temp differences i am looking for. Please keep the #'s coming.

what does it take to get a water injection system on a smic??? I like that idea.

with my fmic. . . custom gtr core (apexi). . . i have trouble warming up my car. when im driving around. . . it usually stays at around 80-83 degrees C. my car was hotter than hell when running the stock mount.

water injection installation will be the same as on an smic.

paul

i am not to sure about this but i heard V mount setup is only really preferable for a track setup due to the fact that there is too much heat consumption on regular roads and slow traffic any one else have any things to say about v mounts?

IC spray will get rid of heat soak and make your stock mount a lot more effective. I think you are right about the lack of facts. It's usually "I love my FMIC". Not many people post before/after temps after installation and pressure drop by attaching their boost gauge before the IC. I will do this for the Blitz SMIC I just installed when I get a chance.

I used a puller fan on the SMIC. I tried damn near everything(except for water sprayer) to keep my intake temps cooler, but I was pretty unsuccessful. I did NOT use water injection on my SMIC system and probably would have benefitted if I had installed it before going FMIC.

I think our intake temps will be the most similar to anybody else's. I used to live in Florida, and the weather was the same as here in Okinawa.

You must have had an IC with no duct or something because a SMIC with a decent duct and a good fan will provide much better charge temps at a stop than any FMIC made, I could care less if you're on an island with 50mph speedlimits and no track or not, unless of course you forgot to turn the fan on while running your test : )

Most of what's in this thread so far is pretty laughable, who cares what the water temp is on the freeway or what the charge temps are while sitting in a traffic jam? Get the cars on the track and give some real data points or test results from the manufacturer instead of what's posted in this thread. I just knew what was coming when I saw the Informercial style herbal supplement title of the thread : ) Messageboard Mechanics and Web Racers. If people spend over a thousand dollars to get better freeway charge temps they need to be beaten to death.

Sorry if I'm being rude but I just ran through that thread about people from the old rx7 list leaving and this is a good example of what's being discussed.

Rant off.

Kevin T. Wyum

I've NEVER complained about a topic being beaten to death, but good lord. I swear, practically every week, "FMIC or SMIC?" Do a search.

I don't think there is a definitive answer. It's like the Republicans and Democrats. They each are two different schools of thought, and you either subscribe to one or the other. Research to determine which is best for you.

I think for the street, autoX, and even mild track days, a SMIC is all you'll ever need. I have the large ASP, and it kicks ass. I know two guys with the Greddy FMIC though, and they love 'em.

You can debate the pros and cons all day. Seriously though, do a search - intercooler, fmic, smic, asp, kevin wyum, v-mount, etc.

Kevin once again hits the nail on the head -- regarding the temp data and why the old people leave.

i never once said a thing about "freeway" temps. . . mine are at a sit still and around town. my coolant temps went down. . . ill get track temps later. when the car is tuned. . . sorry i didnt have the thousands of dollars to do the things mr. wyum does. . . so i made my own. . . and am willing to bet its better than most of the other fmic kits out there.

paul