is FMIC worth installing?

[FDdragon]

Ok, so I have my 07 speed3 and was thinking about installing a FMIC but am not sure if i should or not. the car only has a Mazdaspeed CAI and the Hypertech. Im trying to find something that I can add that is low cost and might improve my performance. I live in Southern California so the temperature is usually warm to hot.

I wanted to install exhaust but I would want a turbo back and thats a lot of money. I have a friend who has a used FMIC for his speed3 and am really thinking about it. Any thoughts?

 

[tddvrrn]

do it. i'm not sure how much power it will add (search!) but it will increase performance by reducing BATs and eliminating heat soak... if you can get it cheap, do it!

 

[FDdragon]

Yeah, im not expecting any big power gains, just as long at it helps out a little then im good. Currently Im not trying to go big on upgrades/mods, just a little here and there and still try to keep the gas mileage, performance and reliability. plus i like the way the FMIC looks in the grill =)

 

[b e z]

How cheap is cheap though. I know most kits are like a grand new.

 

[MSMS3]

Work on the exhaust side - catted or catless dp/rp. You'll get real gains there by eliminating the bottlenecks upstream from the excellent stock CBE. FMIC will help against heat soak, as indicated above, but will add some boost lag due the longer piping. I would not consider it as an early mod. Others may disagree. It is a good mod, but maybe not quite so early in the modding process? I'm still running the stock TMIC and we have pretty hot weather here in South Mississippi.

 

[b e z]

^ I agree with msms3 here, the only reason I would see to get it is because of looks. The tmic is great as is. I would spend the money on something that will give you some more gains.

 

[redspeed]

If you don't have a have a down pipe, get that, if you do then get the fmic.

 

[hugador]

Without my FMIC, car felt like it would sometimes run faster than other times. I felt power became more consistent after the install. Specially 3rd gear pulls. I suggest you to upgrade your IC to a Top mount or Front mount and worry less about outside temperature, BATs, heat soak and stuff. Just my 2cents.

 

[FDdragon]

so what else could i buy that can help with power gains? I have heard good and bad about a FMIC. just trying to get a feel if its worth it and/or what else I could/should be looking into buying. i also thought about turbo back exhaust but thats more money

 

[Domino81]

I was watching my IAT's creep up at idle one day until eventually they hit 176 degrees. Now on hot days I'll see 120-130 IAT's if I'm puttin' around town in stop and go. I can only imagine with a FMIC those IAT's will steadily stay down and your performance will be more consistent.

 

[MSMS3]

Don't you mean BATs? Gotta be a typo.

 

[Domino81]

No... I mean intake air temps.

 

[MSMS3]

O.K. Yeah, I've had underhood IAT's get into that range, but only by measuring with a digital temp gauge sitting in the engine bay directly at the MAF sensor. I run a CAI that pulls outside air from the left front fender well vents. Things do get super hot under the hood when sitting at idle or in slow stop and go traffic.

But I don't see how a different intercooler core, regardless of where located, would change IAT's, because that reading is made on the low pressure side, before the air gets to the compressor side of the turbo and before the turbo sends the compressed and further heated air to the hot pipe side of the IC. While a better intercooler core and perhaps a better location would bring boosted air temps down, (BAT's) I don't see how that could possibly affect IAT's measured upstream of the turbo. An intercooler can't drop under hood temps. What am I missing?

 

[Domino81]

If my intake temps are 130 and it stands to reason that heat soak would make the air even hotter if you're not putting a lot of air through it.. a FMIC just wouldn't have that issue. I'd LOVE to know now what IAT's are on the cold side of the STOCK TMIC.

 

[MSMS3]

Anything post turbo compressor is going to be a BAT, by definition. The cold side of the IC is post core and going into the intake manifold. That is a post IC BAT.

I think we are having a serious definition issue. What do you call a BAT and where do you consider BAT's to first exist?

 

[Domino81]

I think what you're calling BAT's are what I thought was on the cold side of the intake.

 

[MSMS3]

Let's just agree that regardless of our terminology, heat soak can and eventually does contribute to a degrading of performance. Whether any heat radiating from the IC after it soaks has an effect on the low pressure side of the intake system seems questionable, given that the exhaust manifold is giving off 1500 degrees of heat under the hood.

I think we can also agree that moving the IC core away from the top of the engine and to the front of the radiator will eliminate IC heat soak for the most part, although the hot and cold pipes leading to and from the core are still going to be exposed to those high underhood temps.

The reason I have not gone FMIC is that I had several other cars with factory FMIC's (Saabs and Volvo), and found that the long tube runs up front to the core did produce boost lag. It's a trade off. I like the snappy instant performace of the TMIC in comparison to those other cars. So, I give up some increased BAT's, but only when the engine is cooking the TMIC from being stationary in stop and go traffic. Once the car gets moving, the "in the grill" hood scoop feeding the TMIC cools things down pretty quickly.

 

[Darth Vader]

I have the PG piping kit and a CX racing 28X7X2.5 core. There is no boost lag with this setup. Sizing the core and pipes right results in minimal lag. The turbo's too small for any real lag here anyway. If anything, my concern is the longer pipe runs can allow the turbo to overspeed more easily as the plenum volume of the intake tract is greater. So far so good, though, it's been a couple years.

Once the stock TMIC gets hot, it tends to stay hot, due to the thermal mass of all the cast aluminum bits on it.

Ditching the throttle body water heat is a free way to lower BATs on this car.

IAT is not particularly relevant on a turbo car. BAT is the engine's nemesis and what the IC helps with. Focus on that. That said, I'd not do a FMIC first as a mod. I'd buy a tuning solution, a rear motor mount and an intake, then go from there, if I had to do it over.

 

[Wurf]

He's running a Hypertech and a CAI already. A test pipe would be a decent, second mod, but in CA you have smog inspections so....not sure I'd do it. I don't live out there so I can't say how big a deal it is.
What about any flow gains with a better TMIC or a FMIC? I've heard the OEM TMIC has some sharp, square corners and bends and flows poorly. It would seem a FMIC with mandrel bends would add some flow and help with top end HP but I don't know. I guess if the exhaust side is the cork, adding flow on the intake side isn't going to produce squat.

I believe a 3" test pipe might be a good, cheap upgrade so long as you are able to get away with it.

 

[Domino81]

I switched from IAT's to BAT's today and could not ******* believe how hot they were. 115-130 and I couldn't get them below 108.