Look at my thread. I'll upload my logs soon but from what I noticed I see 2 above ambient when I do pulls and it stays there. Fitment was spot on, the BMW bodyshop refused to install it if it required a lot of modification. And the only problem I had was the intercooler cold side was blowing off but that was an install error as I was able to fix it in my driveway.

 

2 degrees above ambient is not what I would expect from any intercooler.

 

My Forge IC was 2F above ambient this morning. It's was 71F this morning, and my IAT was 73F at zero boost, driving about 45mph.

 

basically thats what i saw last night when i took my GF home, cruising on the highway was basically 2 above ambient and when i did a couple pulls on the highway it didnt move at all

I lost my logs from last night but ill do some more logging later and post them to my thread

 

The real question is where would it have been without the aftermarket intercooler versus stock intercooler? I'll have to pay more attention to my ambient temperatures and my IAT. Whenever I park after running in warm weather for awhile the underhood temperature skyrockets and that's when I used to get engine knocking. I need meth!

 

yes, no, yes.

no I don't have a way to data log, but I noticed an immediate difference in power, especially when giving it a lot of gas, boost on the freeway was excellent.

no issues at all, aside from user error issues putting my car back together.

feels great, absolutely worth it. my friend who helped me install it said it was identical to the forge he had on his mini.

 

i have logs for my car stock and with an intake, IATs on the stock intercooler is about 8 above ambient cruising and when you get on it, you will see temps as high as 137F maybe higher(thats the highest i saw IATs on a pull)

 

Any more updates on these intercoolers. Its on my list and need to get one soon. Looking at forge and helix... but sure like the price of the ebay one.

 

no problems whatsoever. had no clue I could notice that much of a difference on a mod having no tune. best 270 I've spent. don't let other people discourage you on going with an eBay cooler.

 

I have heard a rumor that one of the tuners are looking at perhaps manufacturing a better more efficient intercooler, it's just all talk as far as I know.

 

subscribed. I've been aching to upgrade my IC for far too long. I saw one on aliexpress a while back for under $200. regretting not buying it then...

 

So there's that much of a seat of the pants difference going from a stock FMIC to a larger one?

 

No not much "seat of the pants" difference. There will be a big difference when my stage 2 manic is done Monday because I now have an ebay front mount.

 

I personally felt a noticeable difference in throttle response, though I did install a new BOV spring at the same time. I guess I assumed it was the FMIC cuz I didn't figure a 14 dollar upgrade would make that much of a difference.

 

There is a horspower gain possible with fmic. If it is dropping your intake air temp to a lower temp then your stock intercooler can, you are getting denser, more oxygen saturated, air into the combustion chambers. Creating a more efficient and powerful combustion. But completely stock, in non-extreme weather conditions, the hp gains with a front mount are minimal really. If you're going to increase boost, the turbo generates more heat increasing the intake air temp. At this time, the fmic makes a big difference because of the increased cooling capabilities. So to give the quick summary after you've already read my long, general thought on fmic's. If you plan on getting a tune or increasing boost,OR if you live in a very high temp area, a front mount is a must. Otherwise, you could better spend your money elsewhere.

 

Find this on eBay notice that there is no centre bracket. Will there be any issue my is a LCI R56 model.