Ok, I did it. Ordered a fmic from aliexpress. (Saw the video on Youtube of the guy putting one on). Cost was $200 and it took 21 days to get here, (MI). The picture is of a nicely polished fmic with mounting tabs. Looks just like the Forge. What I got was a painted version with 3" thick mounting tabs. Not happy. Messaged business and they said some modification would be necessary. They would like me to get a price on having it stripped and the tabs modified, (any ideas on this). Shipping all the way back to China is what is trying to be avoided here. Getting my money back may be a challenge. Sometimes it pays to pay for service. Please don't post that this is unamerican and I deserve what I got. Saving $600 is certainly worth a try. Also, these same issues are happening with vendors right here in the good old U.S. of A. Try buying slotted discs for your JCW from Power Slot via Auto Anything, it took 7 weeks to get those...

 

To be honest if the only thing that needs to be modified is the mounting tabs your doing alright. Any exhaust shop should be able to hook it up for around $50-$75. Are they 3" thick or just oversized to fit in the mounting location? You might be able to cut them down with a dremel and cutting disc, or a Dotco and cutting wheel if available. What part of Michigan are you from? I was born and rasied in SE MI just above Toledo. You may want to see if Detroit Tuned can help you out if your close enough. All in all $200 and a little DIY isnt a bad deal as long at it flows properly and cool effectivly.

-Brian

 

Do you have any pictures of what you actually got? I've always been curious about these intercoolers.

 

I too got one from that site. Mine came polished just like the image.
It seems to be fine. The welds look fine, although not as perfect as forge.
The thing I'm worried about is the inside. The forge has a nice rounded edge for the air to pass over and travel through the core. This unit is square and even has a slight lip on the core "tubes". I'm wondering how this will effect the air flow.

I'm with you though. I figure It was worth the experimenting for the 200 dollers. I've been logging temps with the stocker for a few months so in a couple of weeks I'm going to swap them and see what happens. Should be interesting.

 

Here are the pics of the actual fmic that I received. Opened a dispute with the vendor. We'll see what happens. Thanks for the input, it is just so different from what was expected that trying to work with it may be more hassle than it's worth. In southwest Michigan by St. Joe/Benton Harbor. No tuners over here that I know of...you guys?

 

oh wow... Thats a completly different unit than what I got. Mine looks just like the forge unit minus the inside...
Whats up with those tabs!

well If its just 50 dollars to fix the tabs then maybe its still worth pursuing...
They should pay shipping since its obviously not the product you purchased...

frustrating...

 

what its the vendor, i want to buy one.. but with better finish polished

 

Hate to say it.... Got what you paid for. It looks less thick than the Forge (not "Forged", Voodooman) and those tabs!!! I'm sorry but I don't believe in putting cheap parts on expensive cars. Better wait until you can afford quality. Sorry.

 

Yea, it's pretty pathetic. You're right, cheap parts on an expensive car are a bad match. Maybe it'll go on the rat rod...Thanks for the input, it's been a learning session.

 

There is also a bit more with IC's than just the welds and looks. Airflow and cooling efficiency are the big components of it and to be honest, you have no clue how well that will do. We have seen R53 ICs that were cheaper that actually worked less efficient than the stock unit. Just keep an eye on you IAT!

 

meh... Its worth the fun of seeing if it does anything...

I'm not building a race car. Just curious.

 

Maybe you will have found something that actually does work better, this is why I said watch your IATs. Who knows...

 

Do you have a dremel? If not, get one at home depot, or if you're trying to save money, you can get one at harbor freight for $10... get a bunch of cutting discs and go at those tabs! That seems to be the only problem with it... You don't need any of the 3 tabs to install the FMIC. My helix fmic doesn't have any tabs and is held in securely with the boost hoses.

I wouldn't be put off by what you got for a mere $200, thats plenty cheap for a FMIC that has in/outlets pointing in the right directions/locations. What do you have to lose at this point? It actually isn't nearly as bad as some of the units I've seen of people getting flebay fmics.

Good luck and let us know what the AIT's look like afterwards.


And to note the difference with the R53 TMIC and our R56 FMICs... yes i know that many aftermarket tmic's are outperformed by the stock tmic on the r53... but consider the difference in sizes... in the 53 you can basically only thicken the core and change fin density/shape/size etc. The R56 has a tiny 4" tall face with thin aluminum core and heat soaking plastic end tanks. The aftermarket units enlarge the face/volume significantly, and while volume increase isn't always great, it certainly can be beneficial in cooling air charge.

Yes, there is consideration to fin density, air flow, bar design, etc... but thats like saying people should be measuring pressure density of airflow and meter air that comes through from opening the hoodscoop and putting on an open element filter. 80%+ of enthusiasts who go "CAI" just put on a filter without any additional personal research besides reading vendor websites. And we all know vendors don't lie.... not.

Lets let OP use his $200 spent and let us learn something from his test results... don't just shoot him down ahead of time because of improper tabs.

 

 

At this point we don't know and without proper testing it isn't worth the risk to be honest. What it can cause is a loss of boost and with that comes a loss of HP. If you lose HP or don't gain a thing, all you did is toss out $200 to look cool. That is the point. Now, if he tests it and shows gains then it is money well spent. So, until it is tested we really won't know a thing.... That is my point.

 

So...one day I bought this one off of ebay...took a gamble. I thought maybe it could be legit since the dude said he bought a used mini and the original owner threw it in the sale....looks decent not sure if its a knockoff or not but who cares gonna install it and tune soon.

 

With this attitude we should still be pulling carriages with horses.. Or using carburetors

 

Looks like the Helix IC to me. Seems like you got a good deal.

 

How do you figure? Just because someone fashions a part doesn't mean that it will give you performance, I think we have covered the hell out of this in the past. You have to test it and make sure that it actually works. Your comment makes no sense at all!

The idea is to gain performance. If strapping parts on your car is just about trying to look cool, you are doing it right. If you want to gain HP, you need to make sure that what you are strapping to your car actually does what you want it to do. As I said, that thing could cause a loss of performance, is that what you are trying to achieve?

I'm not against a bargain, but I would be testing it to make a determination if I was going to keep it.

 

I was thinking Helix as well!
I'm loving mine!

 

Jcarlos, when we installing that IC man? lol
It only takes like 1hr 45mins tops.

 

looking forward to hear how things go.

 

With a FMIC you may not see any real HP gains without a tune and may actually lose .5 (ish) psi of boost. What you will see is reduced IAT's which will result in what power you do have lasting longer into the RPM band.

 

Yes, I am aware. Am I speaking German? My point, again, is that if there are no gains whether it is lower IATs or HP or both, then the money isn't well spent.

You guys seem happy with just strapping on parts for the hell of it Enjoy...

 

Even if you were I would not understand! I agree with you. It just seemed like you were talking about a solid HP increase being a "Performance gain" and lower IAT's not being a "Performance gain"