Welcome to North American Motoring, the North American MINI Community of owners and enthusiasts!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and photo galleries. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other MINI enthusiasts (PM), respond to polls, upload your own photo gallery and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact our support team.
You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!
Man, I met someone a few days ago who highly recommended the Helix IC. I was here at the forum to see what I could find out about Helix. It looks from this thread as if Helix may not be as reliable as we would want a vendor to be. Am I mistaken?
Helix is as good as a vendor as you will find. Great guys and good for the community.
Can we try another group buy on this I am interested to give money?
They have to finish the first one, before you can think of starting another group buy
__________________ 2008 MINI Cooper S R56--Astro Black/White-- -RMW Tune...v 2.0 ;-) - DDM Works Street Intake - Invidia Q300 Exhaust -Helix FMIC - Mach V Springs -------------------R.I.P. Thumper---------------------------- 2005 MINI Cooper S--Dark Silver/White--
Hey Guys, we should have some GREAT news for you in the near future
Ill update the thread as things progress. In the meantime anyone interested in one of these intercoolers for the next round please feel free to add your name to the backup list!
1) Arnel - paid
2) uMouse - paid
3) masterd78 - paid
4) BoomerMCS via orangecrush - paid
5) apudapus - paid
6) Krut - paid
7) santiage - paid
8) fignewton - paid
9) countryboyshane - paid
10) ThumperMCS - paid
11) old81 - paid
12) canvasmonkey - paid
13) Mach V - paid
14) D Unit (tentatively claiming this spot for now) *possible spot*
15) Steve P. *possible spot*
Backup List
1) Don S.
2) Mini Fireman
3) Aboss2566
4) msim
5) Bor
6) rasputinj
7)
8)
9)
10)
Last edited by Mark@Helix : 06-19-2009 at 03:45 AM.
Hey Guys, we should have some GREAT news for you in the near future
Ill update the thread as things progress. In the meantime anyone interested in one of these intercoolers for the next round please feel free to add your name to the backup list!
1) Arnel - paid
2) uMouse - paid
3) masterd78 - paid
4) orangecrush - paid
5) apudapus - paid
6) Krut - paid
7) santiage - paid
8) fignewton - paid
9) countryboyshane - paid
10) ThumperMCS - paid
11) old81 - paid
12) canvasmonkey - paid
13) Mach V - paid
14) D Unit (tentatively claiming this spot for now) *possible spot*
15) Steve P. *possible spot*
Backup List
1) Don S.
2) Mini Fireman
3)Aboss2566
4)Msim
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
__________________
Rasputinj
09' Mini Cooper Clubman S Manual Pepper White/Black
Premium Package, iPod/Bluetooth, Piano Black Interior Line, Rear Fog Lights, White Turn Signals. 17" Bright Silver UltraLeggeras. Custom Sub/Amp enclosure, vinyl wrapped grill cover, headlight rings, gas cap, beltline, NM Clubman springs, H-Sport controls arms, 19mm Sway Bar.
Sounds like I got a bad first impression from this thread. That's why I asked!
I understand, they do tend to be a little slow returning emails but they are definitely a stand up company. Don't confuse them being busy for them being a crappy company, they're great.
__________________
09 Lightning Blue JCW Purchased 5/14/09
M7 FMIC, NM Discharge Pipe Those who can’t shoot, buy a more powerful gun. Those who can’t drive, get a more powerful car. Mini Cooper- For drivers...
like orange said, they may be a bit slow on returning emails and not being able to reach them on the phone, im pretty sure they are slammed at work. fmic for minis arent the only ones they are making, they have 135/335i's as well. i waited a good 3-4 weeks for mine to come in, and i also ordered one for the 335i, and i waited about 2 months for it to come in. patience my friend, you will not be disappointed
__________________
07' mcs laser blue | jcw aero kit | jcw strut bar | BLACK 17" web spokes | alta intake | alta 3" stealth exhaust | 12k fogs | 20% tint | alta boost guage | 2" ss antenna | rd rear strut brace | whalen custom shift knob | hw v1 | helix fmic | kw v3 coilovers | RR dp | custom led lights & parking lights |
I am being as patient as possible, but I would also love an update on what time frame we are looking at. Thanks!!
__________________ 2007 MCS - 256 ft/lbs torque & 226 hp = Jan Tuned, DoS Intake, E.D. Boost Tubes w/HKS BOV & E.D. DP, Invidia Exhaust, Helix Intercooler, Alta Intake Tube, & PnP Head to produce above posted numbers!! WAHAHAHA
For those on the current GB, we are about to start shipping so if you could please call Helix and pay your balance your FMIC will be shipped out ... These things look GOOOOOD We have 14 sellable units so the 1st 14 people on the list will be getting their units!
For those on the backup list
We about to go to production on the backup list GB Ralph will be calling all on the list for your deposits, if anyone wants to get in this group buy please do so NOW as we only have a week to add to our end tank production
1) Arnel - paid
2) uMouse - paid
3) masterd78 - paid
4) BoomerMCS via orangecrush - paid
5) apudapus - paid
6) Krut - paid
7) santiage - paid
8) fignewton - paid
9) countryboyshane - paid
10) ThumperMCS - paid
11) old81 - paid
12) canvasmonkey - paid
13) Mach V - paid
14) D Unit (tentatively claiming this spot for now)
Backup List
1) Steve P.
2) Don S.
3) Mini Fireman
4) Aboss2566
5) msim
6) Bor
7) rasputinj
8) java6673
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
Last edited by Mark@Helix : 07-01-2009 at 08:11 PM.
For those on the current GB, we are about to start shipping so if you could please call Helix and pay your balance your FMIC will be shipped out ... These things look GOOOOOD We have 14 sellable units so the 1st 14 people on the list will be getting their units!
For those on the backup list
We about to go to production on the backup list GB Ralph will be calling all on the list for your deposits, if anyone wants to get in this group buy please do so NOW as we only have a week to add to our end tank production
1) Arnel - paid
2) uMouse - paid
3) masterd78 - paid
4) BoomerMCS via orangecrush - paid
5) apudapus - paid
6) Krut - paid
7) santiage - paid
8) fignewton - paid
9) countryboyshane - paid
10) ThumperMCS - paid
11) old81 - paid
12) canvasmonkey - paid
13) Mach V - paid
14) D Unit (tentatively claiming this spot for now)
Backup List
1) Steve P.
2) Don S.
3) Mini Fireman
4) Aboss2566
5) msim
6) Bor
7) rasputinj
8) java6673
9) Thomas S
10)
11)
12)
13)
I've settled up with Helix. So I hope to have the FMIC by Saturday. If so, I'm gonna try real hard to find time to install it this weekend. Can't wait!
__________________ 2008 MCSa, astro-black/astro-black, JCW stage 1 tuning kit, Alta JCW intake replacement, JCW suspension kit, Helix stepped core FMIC, Alta turbo inlet tube, Alta hot-side boost tube, Alta boost gauge, PLX digital ODBII gauges, M7 splitter, M7 lower grill, mud flaps, Alta shorty antenna, G-Racing Seki 17x7 wheels [much more @ http://www.modspage.com/show.php?id=Arnel-r56-mini]
__________________ 2008 MINI Cooper S R56--Astro Black/White-- -RMW Tune...v 2.0 ;-) - DDM Works Street Intake - Invidia Q300 Exhaust -Helix FMIC - Mach V Springs -------------------R.I.P. Thumper---------------------------- 2005 MINI Cooper S--Dark Silver/White--
Almost all of who has paid in full will go out today. Still packaging these up! There will be No shipments tomorrow because Fedex will be closed for the holidays.
Beautiful workmanship and excellent packaging to protect the unit in shipment. Good work Helix!
Some observations on the install for others to consider:
1. Go to the Forge website and use their instructions. The photos are much better and write-up more detailed than Alta's instructions. Once printed, i couldn't see the detail I needed for inside the wheel liners on the Alta instructions.
2. My push pins did NOT want to come loose. My car is an 08, and the centers of many of the pins, including the 3 under the nose were like welded in. I had to break all 3 of them to get them out, and that was using a trim removing tool to try to pry them out.
3. Getting the tabs on the flares loose-- Alta instructions say squeeze them with pliers, but that didn't make any sense. Forge inst. said push then out with a screwdriver, and that worked. I used a large flat blade turned across the center of the tab and carefully pushed forward and they pushed out of the slots.
4. The two "tricky" torx screws that go in toward the center of the car will require a ratcheting scewdriver handle with small torx bit. You have to pull the leading edge of the flare away from the car to be able to see these, much less get to them. Even with the short ratcheting screwdriver, in order to get the flare out far enough to get to the torx screws, I still managed to break one of the upper clips on one side and 2 on the other side. Pulling the flare out, they just popped right off-- the part that slides into a groove on the flare itself. This is very thin plastic. They're made to be pushed on during install and NOT to come off. Once broken, getting them out of the car is a real b*tch. The clips are short, sharp on the end, very hard plastic, and fit tightly through the hole so that the flare is tight when pushed into place. There is not room to get needlenose pliers up inside the wheelwell to grab and squeeze them together to come back out of the hole in the fender, and the sharpness of the point on them won't let you grab them anyway. (I tried one a broken one after I got it out.) I finally had to just pry them out with a screwdriver while trying to compress one "barb" on the inside to get it started. Never did figure a way to compress both simultaneously so that it would come out of the hole. Fortunately, I had some other clips in my collection that I could slide back in the slots on the flare, and then push them back in on final reassembly. Haven't heard of anyone else having this problem, but they broke at the flare very easily. It wouldn't hurt you to get some of these to have on hand before starting tho. Otherwise, if you break them, you won't be able to get the flares reinstalled right and hold tight to the fender.
5. The FMIC fit very well, and I had no trouble getting the left side hose onto the inlet. On the right side, the angle of the inlet seemed a little different than the corresponding of the hose. The hose slid up near the end tank on the left side of the inlet, but less so on the right side. I kept working with it to make sure that the hose was as far onto the inlet as I could, and that the clamp was to the inside of the expanded end of the inlet pipe. After install, took it out and ran it up to 5 grand in several gears to make sure that I wouldn't pop the hose off or have a leak.
6. Noted that when putting the nose back on and installing the two tricky torx screws, needed to lift UP on the bumper cover to get it high enough to mate with the tabs on the bottom front edge of the flares. There is some adjustability on that screw and the two torx that go in on the front. If you don't want to have to readjust, go ahead and push the bumper cover up when tightening the side screws.
Drove about 70miles this afternoon, but nothing rippy. Can't say for sure if there is any more oomph, but that isn't the purpose of the FMIC. The goal is not to lose any power in hotter months or slow traffic due to dial-back of boost, timing, and fuel.
Overall I'm pretty happy, and will give it some more butt-meter tests toorrow.
Fig
__________________ "RIPPY": DS/BL, Premium, Cold, and Sport packages, LSD, 6sp, ebony punch leather; JCW: Alcantara wheel, mesh scuttles, slotted/drilled rotors; Stratmosphere cat-back; Helix FMIC, H&R 19mm rear bar, TSW springs, Carbotech Bobcat pads, tint, Euro armrest and mirrors, rear fogs, GoMiniGo plate holder, splash guards, Black Jack sunroof graphic, UUC Magnum Rob Knob, 18" Konig Again 4s, more to come...
My JCW
We have 14 sellable units so the 1st 14 people on the list will be getting their units!
Ralph will be calling all on the list for your deposits, if anyone wants to get in this group buy please do so NOW as we only have a week to add to our end tank production 
2008 MCSa, astro-black/astro-black, JCW stage 1 tuning kit, Alta JCW intake replacement, JCW suspension kit, Helix stepped core FMIC, Alta turbo inlet tube, Alta hot-side boost tube, Alta boost gauge, PLX digital ODBII gauges, M7 splitter, M7 lower grill, mud flaps, Alta shorty antenna, G-Racing Seki 17x7 wheels [much more @ 
"RIPPY": DS/BL, Premium, Cold, and Sport packages, LSD, 6sp, ebony punch leather; JCW: Alcantara wheel, mesh scuttles, slotted/drilled rotors; Stratmosphere cat-back; Helix FMIC, H&R 19mm rear bar, TSW springs, Carbotech Bobcat pads, tint, Euro armrest and mirrors, rear fogs, GoMiniGo plate holder, splash guards, Black Jack sunroof graphic, UUC Magnum Rob Knob, 18" Konig Again 4s, more to come...
Linear Mode
