Are all FMICs created equal?
 

Basically, I'm thinking that those Ebay knockoffs are precisely that: Knockoffs. They go and buy the real deal, be it Spearco or HKS or whatever, cut 'em in half and duplicate them.

How much difference can there be, really? If I buy a $700 intercooler or a $100 intercooler, is the performance going to suffer that much???

You would be surprised. If your looking for maximum horsepower potential, don't go ebay, if your looking for just a quick upgrade for some extra horsepower and cooler intake temps, they can be ok.

There are a bunch of threads about this, just do a search, people have already done the footwork, you will have your answers.

look at new Greddy M-Spec version - thats same technology like cheap ebay intercoolers and cost half the price of V-Spec version....

that should tell you something :D

not true...... theyr practically the same..... but the M-spec is built in Taiwan instead of Japan like the Vspec

disagree with both of you Higgi and turBRO.

Greddy Type M is Bar and plate I/C, the V-Type is a Tube and Fin.

However, if you take Ebay I/C and the Greddy Type M (both bar and plate) you will see huge difference between them regarding the quality and the way how the Bar and the Fins are joined together.

REgards
Iwan

Look inside the ebay "China/Taiwan" core you will see LOOSELY packed fins and sometime rows of fins missing completely!

I replaced an intercooler core for a friend with an ebay one he bought, which involved cutting the endtanks off the ebay one and welding the old ones on. There were quite a few bent fins that could've blocked flow. Not sure how much differently the core would flow.

Ebay cores have very low fin density they will flow well, but will cool poorly when compared with a quality core of the same size.

-S-

I know this thread is old but I decided to bump instead of repost.

How much of a diff in intake temps are we talking here. 1-5 or 10-20 degrees. An extra couple hundred dollars for 1-5 degree diff is not worth it in my opinion.

The problem is that they suffer from heat soak.
Just had a friend experience the very same problem with one of those cheap cores.
The core measured 12X24X4inch. At the track on just a 1/4mile run at the 1/8th mile point the AIT measured in at 120degF and by the end of the 1/4mile it was at 220deg or the max the sensor would read. We changed the core over to a Garrett one of the same size and the difference was amazing. At the 1/8th the AIT was at 110degF and at the 1/4 it was at 140degF.
On the dyno the cheap core at the start of the run it would be around 102degF and at the end 140degF. With the Garrett core the start temp was about the same at 100degF but at the end it would only rise to about 109degF.
From what I've seen the cheap cores are not that bad for low power applications that just need something that works better than the stock setup. The cheap cores do flow very well and actaully better than the expensive cores but that's a given because of the low or lack of fin density and quite often that's why many get fooled on the dyno into believing they work. Out in the real world and under continous use it's a different story. There's a saying you get what you pay for.

cris how much power and boost was the car making. i got one of those 24x12x4 too uh oh.

I bought an innovative turbo intercooler for a customer 24x12x3 and it ran at 118degF on the dyno and after a pull it would drop to 101degF without a fan infront of it. worked excellent for us i would say at around 23psi.

Did you test it on the street or in actual use? Normally that's where the difference between the good and bad ones will show.

i never looked at the temps on the street just lon the dyno. but there would be air flowing through it on the street at least to cool it down even further i would think to make it even better.

Were running 620 rwhp on pump on a medium sized $110 Ebay IC. Previous set up with 3 Row made slightly less at the same boost. How is it on the street? The car has no traction. Ever.
So for us, this mid size IC is doing more than it needs to be doing.
This will most likely be changed out in the next year or so when we up the boost again, but will most likely run a custom IC. All the name brand ICs are outrageously priced IMO. Go with a decent Ebay IC and save your money.