I have the opptortunity to get a howerton hfs-3 or a helix intercooler for roughly the same price. Which one should I choose and why? Thanks!

 

I will be getting both. I already have the Helix intercooler, just waiting for a little extra cash before I buy a HFS4 water/meth kit.

Dave

 

Buy an ic ONCE, refil the meth again...and again....start with the IC...LOWER COST OF OWNERSHIP over the life of the car....then add meth later, and also it has the side benifit of keeping the valves clean.

 

Well get the hfs4 since that is the new one and wait on the IC for a little bit.

 

I only refill my water/meth tank every 800-1000 miles, or about once a month. Methanol is less per gallon than gasoline here. Also the sooner you put the HFS on, the sooner you stop carbon build up.

 

Get the meth kit. It's good to have both but with a good meth system, you essentially negate the need for a larger FMIC.

A FMIC can never provide the knock supression that a water/meth kit can

 

get the meth kit...it makes a cool noise when its injecting :D lol

 

Meth is the answer... Unless you are smoking it.

The I/C upgrade is worth the cash, but a good meth setup will do more for you than just a bigger I/C.

Meth: continuously cleans the valves (R56's have a bad problem with carbon due to direct injection), it does a better job at cooling the incoming air than your big I/C could think about, it raises the octaine level giving more performance safely, and is cheap-ish insurance for a longer lasting happy engine.

Bigger I/C's: Cools the air but at a cost of pressure drop.

You do the math.

 

I'm surprised nobody said do both :-) I did meth first because regardless of boost/mod level, there are benefits. I'm doing a bigger IC in addition to WMI with stage 3. But I tend to operate on the side of overkill when in doubt.

 

Look, look, I said both! ^^^^^

Dave

 

Thanks everyone for the info. If I could do both I would, but right now 1 is what my checkbook will allow.

How about ease of install? IC or Meth injection?
Is it important to have the guage for the meth injection visible? I really don't want another guage installed, I would probably mount it in the glove box. Bad idea?

 

You dont need to have the gauge visible, but it helps to let you know what is going on with the system.

The I/C is easyer to install, even with removing the front of the car to do it. With the W/M there is wireing, plumbing, drilling, taping, mounting of components, then seting it all up. But even after all of that W/M is still better.

 

Thank you again!

 

Would get the Meth kit, Call and talk to Howerton about buying one if you have any questions.

 

Water/Meth

 

Does the WMI kit come with an external tank, or will you be repurposing your windshield washer tank? While not difficult, the meth install is slow. You don't need to mount the gauge in direct line of sight, but its handy to see the fill light come on, otherwise you will need to check the tank frequently for fluid level.

 

The Howerton Kit comes with an external tank and pump that mounts nicely in the back of the car.

 

Not for nothing, but where would you put your golf clubs with something else in the back taking up space?

 

The tank holds about a gallon and doesn't take up very much space, you could still put your golf clubs in the back.

http://www.howertonengineering.net/m...ncluding-tank/

Dave

 

Not with the Integral Audio sub. Lol

Besides, I've got water/meth on my supercharged M3.

 

And richard thats why you dont think mini performance is worth the trouble.
The tank is not that big and besides the seats fold down anyway.
thats the beauty of a mini.

 

And where exactly do you put your precious golf clubs in your M3?

 

If I can get my golf clubs into my Coupe, I don't want to hear about it ;-)

 

thats the beauty of the Mini the seats fold.
I fit stuff in my mini that wont fit in my 3 series.

 

Off the wall question but what size is the gauge in the Howerton kit?