TMIC or FMIC - suggest me

MSP507

Member
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MAZDA, MS3, 2007
My MS3 has the following mods, SU Test Pipe 3 ", Magnaflow Exhauts 3 ", Turbosmart Dual Blow Off, Injen CAI and rear SU engine mount. The next mods will be to change the intercooler, which TMIC or FMIC suggest me and which it brand.

Greetings
 
Do a search but im in a good mood so ill break it down for you.

TMIC
pros - ease of install, price, throttle response
cons - heat soak if you sit in same spot for like 30+ seconds

FMIC
pros - no heat soak
cons - price, install is "long" (warranty), more turbo lag

You have to weight the pro's and con's but mainly I think it comes down to if you plan on tracking the car or if you have no worry about warranty. I thought about a FMIC for a long time but decided against it because with all my mods its already going to take most of a day to revert to stock. I don't have that kind of time if heaven forbid something were to go wrong and warrant a dealer visit. If warranty is not a big deal for you than hit up the FMIC. No reason not to.

TMIC and FMIC will perform almost the same at max efficiency. The only difference really is the heat soak. The turbo is so small the lag is very minimal with the FMIC.
 
cataphract 40, how long did it take for the install of the fmic? I'll be doing it next month and want to know how smooth it's gonna be.

Msp507 I've been going back and forth between the tmic and fmic. And the m3m fmic is a great deal and I think it will look so much better than the tmic. I don't think install will take that long and every other mod I have is pretty easy to un install. It's all about what you want. i sit in traffic alot in florida so I'll alway have heat soak. It's all about you want. Out of the ets and su tmic. I'd go with ets just because it's a thicker core
 
FMIC installs done by someone who has done it a bunch can be done in 1 hour. Most first timers take at least a good 5-6 hours to do it. Obviously depends on the model of IC and whether or not it requires messing with the crash bar.
 
ETS 3.25 TMIC. Awesome deal. Throttle response goes up (virtually no lag) and easy to swap for dealer visits.
 
You could get the PG FMIC kit installed in under one hour if you have done it before and have people helping you. If you're working alone and have never done if before, expect more like 3-4.
 
It used to be a money issue choosing between them cause fmic's would be almost twice the price. Now with the PG deal its about the same price. An FMIC for the same price as a TMIC is basically a no brainer to me unless you would prefer easier swap out for dealer visits. You should see slightly better gains with the FMIC and won't have to worry about heat soak. From what I hear there really isn't a difference in lag with the PG kit.
 
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I prefer the astonished look on their faces when some wagon walks their Mustang or Camaro :D

I was just in Orlando on vacation, I've never seen so many Speed3's! To my knowledge, I'm the only one around in my area, it sucks.
 
TMIC = Heat Soak. It is sitting on top of the engine which is the hottest place in the car.

FMIC = No Heat Soak. Turbo lag is unnoticable and if you ask me our turbo spools too fast as it is. I don't mind slowing the spool time by 200RMPs or so.

FMIC > TMIC is almost any application. Unless you want a quick swap to stock. Even then it only takes a few minutes to pull off a FMIC. Putting it on take a little more time, but I can rip my FMIC out in about 10m I assure you.
 
I thought about going FMIC but the big thing for me was cost. My TMIC was wayyy less expensive for very similar performance.
 
For the speed 3's its a no brainer now. PG sells the tubing for pretty cheap. Buy a core and your set for the same price as a TMIC.
 

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