So, I am fighting the demons in my brain right now. I don't plan on racing my JCW nor do I see myself pushing it to the limits for extended periods. I also currently live in the northeast where the temps are not as bad as they were when I was in NC. I am putting on the new AEM CAI and a Riss Racing Catless DP which will necessitate a tune so, for the most part, one would think a new FMIC is probably a worthwhile investment. I am not looking for maximum HP from my car as well. I have heard that Jan feels the factory IC is sufficient and that is where I become lost. If someone as well respected as he says the factory IC is good enough for most applications, why should I make the $800 investment and the time needed to install something which I may not need?

Thoughts?

 

My thoughts is the OEM log shaped IC( thick,square cross section and long) is a bad design and the aftermarket is taking up the challenge of a better design. Here in Iowa I see my stocker heating up in stop and go stuff and not returning to a good temp very fast( I have a Garmin that reads that and more).That makes the car go into a kind of limp mode "I'm too hot and don't want to hurt myself mode" So I hope the Helix IC I ordered will help and then I can take advantage of my stage two Accessport tune

A better IC will make your car run like its 60* outside when its 80*+

 

Hmm, although I don't doubt he may have said the factory IC is sufficient, he definitely recommends owners of tuned R56's get a larger IC (Helix in particular) as far as I know. I live in a pretty mild climate location too, and the larger IC helps during stop and go situations where heat soak is a concern.

A tuned JCW with a catless dp is going to be a fun ride. My suggestion is to invest in the larger FMIC and check out some water/meth injection, but that's my opinion. Either way, I'm sure you'll have a blast!

 

I thank both of you for your feedback, I think it is enough to push me over the edge with no regrets. Now, if only making the decision which is the best was that easy.

 

jan told me to get a bigger one when i got my tune. If you wern't getting a tune i wouldn't bother but since you are, I would get it just so you don't have to worry as much about it doing any damage to the car.

 

An upgraded FMIC has proven to be one of the best power adder excluding a tune.

Click HERE to read lots of testing and development info on the FMIC.

 

If you're tuned a bigger FMIC should be one of your first priorities.

 

I have a 2011 JCW with an Alta FMIC and an AcessPort tune. My intake air temp., according to my Ecoroute, is always only 4 degrees hotter than the outside air temp. Its that way here in Seattle and two weeks ago in Laughlin Nv. the outside temp was 113 and my intake temp was 117 at 80+ mph with the ac on, and the same at a stoplight.

 

WOW thats great, I'm running about 8-10* more but thats stop and go stuff and/or 60mph. Whats the hottest intake have you seen ?

 

you guys must have sold me a faulty FMIC! I noticed no gain at all over stock with mine.
i got a catted DP and felt that stright away though.

 

 

This should get interesting...

turtle, did you dyno the car before and after or are you just going by a butt dyno?

 

but dyno. if it is making as much power as they claim i would surely feel it.
i no i sound like a **** but i think there is too much of 'buy this amazing part and gain so much power' on here that is all BS. i changed everything on my car except for a new turbo and everything except for the tune and DP was a let down.
i just don't want other people to be suckers like me and waste their cash by believing these claims.
alta's products that i have used, FMIC and air filter, were all great and fitted perfect and were great products , great price, but i didn't notice any gains from them.When i was expecting the FMIC to blow me away after all the hype, i was sadly let down.

 

IC's and air filters aren't going to do a lot in the way of HP and this is well known and established on the forum. What it will do for you is help you manage what will kill you and that is heat. The ability for the car to have cooler air means that you get better compression and more power. So while you may not "feel"the power, your car will have more during hotter days. Also, if you have not done a tune on the car you are not going to really benefit from all the strap on parts. You probably are getting some gains out of it but nothing that you will likely feel via your butt, so coming on here and making blanket statements without empirical evidence really isn't the way to go.

 

was that ment for me daflake?
if so read above quote as thats what im talking about. im making the same point as you. its not adding any power just keeping out heat soak for all the people that track the car or spend 20min or so doing WOT runs on a hot day.

 

Manufacturers always make bold claims, that is how they sell products. As I said above, this is well known. I'm betting that you are gaining some HP that would be lost to heat, but unless you dyno'd it you can't really come on here making claims that it didn't work. That is my point.

 

Hi , Anyone have any feedback on the bar and plate intercoolers on ebey that look much like the M7 IC for a R53 . One merchant shows 5 sold. Just wondering if they are any good. The price is definately right.

 

I would avoid ebay for things like this. They tend to be crap parts that don't work well on the car.

 

did you make gains when you installed yours??
if i said i dyno'd it and gained 4whp more than stock after the 5th run, would that make you want to buy one?
you need to gain more than 10 at the wheels to feel anything and i didn't so i wouldn't say that is worth $750 if you arn't getting a tune in the future.
if i dyno'd it and got the 15-30whp that are claimed, then yeah i would like it and reccomend it to anyone.
im comming on here trying to give people advice since i have a decently modded JCW. isn't that the whole point of a forum? or do you think im mad because someone over in the USA might mod a mini and make it as fast or faster than mine, so i better give them fake advice so they don't?
i'm saying don't spend your money on it on a stock car but your saying do?

 

Either stock or modified, the stock IC is too small... IATs with it can reach 80oC or even higher. At that IATs the engine is subtracting advance to such extend that the power falls.
Aftermarket ICs are capable of reducing IATs to ambient +10oC. This will help the engine maintain its power and avoid preignition as the engine will run cooler...
Just my point of view after 5years of data logging and stock or tuned configurations with various turbos and tunes...

 

I don't have your version of car, but I have been doing this long enough to know what I am talking about and you coming on here making claims with nothing to back it doesn't help your case. If you had some type of empirical data then perhaps, but just saying my *** didn't feel the gain is crap. You are entitled to your opinion and that is only what you have provided.

^^Basically what he said!

 

Agree, but bigger intercoolers can cause the water temp to run higher than optimal as well. This is not a problem on the street, but I have seen it on my JCW under extreme track conditions. This is due to a combination of factors. There is a reduced airflow through the radiator due to the larger size of the IC. Also the air flowing through the radiator is warmer (as it has just passed through the IC). Also, due to the lower IAT's the engine is making more power, ie burning more fuel, so there is more heat to be cooled by the radiator. Most people are blissfully ignorant of this as they don't monitor / data log water temps.

This is particularily an issue in racing where you slipstream cars and get reduced front airflow

Robbo

 

It's a balance and you have top ensure that your tuning endeavors are heading towards the goal of how you are going to use the car. Simply strapping parts on thinking that you are going to get the gains is a mistake and in some cases can take you the opposite direction.

 

I have been data logging all useful data, WTs included. Now, for those who don't know, the WTs are governed by the ECU. In your case, when under extreme track conditions or even worse in my case, hill climbs with mountains at high altitude=less dense air=harder for the engine to breath, the ECU hits a target of WTs of 87oC! I never had any problem with WTs even at the most extreme situations (27psi with 1000m altitude) and my FMIC is the Evolve version 2=same shape with the Forge one, but with better core.
I would guess that the higher WTs you are experiencing are triggering the WTs target of 105oC by the ECU, and maybe reaching 112oC till the fan kicks in in full speed to drop it to 98oC. This is most likely to happen when you are not really pushing too hard... I know it seems weird, but that's dictated from the ECU!
The warmer air reaching the water radiator is only +10-15oC from ambient, so it wouldn't make such a difference to cool it from 112oC or even 87oC considering that the ambient is even very high say 40oC. So, it's all in the ECU to decide, considering how hard you drive, to run the engine cooler, and not the bigger surface of the FMIC in front of the water radiator...

That's my opinion guys about WTs, and I think everyone should be looking at EGTs of the engine as they are more vital than WTs. EGTs are the best indication for cylinder temps and as long as they are in safe margins, the engine runs smoother. Stock tune induces higher EGTs than a proper aftermarket tune with higher boost as well! A happy engine is always running at lower EGTs. If something goes wrong, EGTs rise to a point where the metals deteriorate and brake...

I have EGT probes mounted directly in the heart of the exhaust manifold, which means it reads the exact-ish firing temps of the cylinders...

 

EGT's, firing temperatures and combustion cylinder temperatures are NOT one and the same!