[GEOS07335i]

Originally Posted by Tiago@VRSF

The plastic OEM lower chargepipe has metal rings inside the plastic pipe to support the pressure from the metal clamp that holds the coupler onto the pipe. That metal ring inside fatigues over time and has been known to crush when using t-bolt clamps (every aftermarket chargepipe uses t-bolt clamps).

This isn't a vendor vs vendor thing. We used to sell an OEM solution and discontinued the design due to negative performance and reliability. If you don't consider us a credible source, Wagner tuning, the company ARM copied to make this intercooler also used to sell an OEM coupler solution and they have also discontinued that design due to the negative performance and reliability.

This isn't fake news and we're not spreading mis-information. These are facts.

You can you be more specific? Are you speaking to the 5" or 7"? I just looked at Wagner Tuning's website. I dont see a single 7" FMIC that looks like the Wagner brand. So witch one did they copy? They all seem to be stepped version. The ARM 7" is not stepped. Also every single IC on their website shows the "like stock" connectors. You would think if they discontinued this approach they would at least replace the images.

I just never liked the idea of one vendor bashing another vendor. It just makes you look bad. You wont be earning my business.

[Meatos]

Originally Posted by DM_e92

I think he may be telling the truth ... I have a Arm 5" Intercooler... on MHD stage 1+ and I have a hard time getting over 14 psi and have had new OEM turbos since December. I was just under my car this weekend and noticed how much oil was leaking from the intercooler to the oem outlet connection. I do like my intercooler because it does keep temps down pretty well... but I think I may want to go 7" with bigger outlet connection soon. Just my $.2

That is BS, had no problem making boost over 18psi with the intercooler. That with turbos 8000 miles old

[feuer]

Originally Posted by DM_e92

I think he may be telling the truth ... I have a Arm 5" Intercooler... on MHD stage 1+ and I have a hard time getting over 14 psi and have had new OEM turbos since December. I was just under my car this weekend and noticed how much oil was leaking from the intercooler to the oem outlet connection. I do like my intercooler because it does keep temps down pretty well... but I think I may want to go 7" with bigger outlet connection soon. Just my $.2

If you are pushing oil through the turbos how is this IC related? It will do that with all IC regardless of size. Find the issue.

[DM_e92]

Originally Posted by feuer

If you are pushing oil through the turbos how is this IC related? It will do that with all IC regardless of size. Find the issue.

you will always have oil going through the outlet from my research... my issue is it leaks out the connections. Not the fact I have oil in the outlet. I'm not losing or low on oil... Just drops of oil leaking out the Stock connection. That's the issue I'm speaking of.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by DM_e92

you will always have oil going through the outlet from my research... my issue is it leaks out the connections. Not the fact I have oil in the outlet. I'm not losing or low on oil... Just drops of oil leaking out the Stock connection. That's the issue I'm speaking of.

If you leak oil that means you are pushing considerable amount. I can post photos from intercooler I recently removed and it was what I would consider dry. If you swipe with clean white paper yes, you will see that there is oily film on it but definitely not leaks, drips or similar. Anyhow, did you replaced the orings? They are are diferent, green and black.

[DM_e92]

Originally Posted by feuer

If you leak oil that means you are pushing considerable amount. I can post photos from intercooler I recently removed and it was what I would consider dry. If you swipe with clean white paper yes, you will see that there is oily film on it but definitely not leaks, drips or similar. Anyhow, did you replaced the orings? They are are diferent, green and black.

O rings in the OEM Outlet pipe? No I haven't. Recently had OEM turbos replaced about 4 months ago. So your saying I have a problem with the turbos if I have to much oil in the outlet pipe? I also don't have a OCC so I figured that's why I have that much oil in my outlet.

[DM_e92]

Originally Posted by feuer

If you are pushing oil through the turbos how is this IC related? It will do that with all IC regardless of size. Find the issue.

Also when i mean a drop of oil... I literally mean about the size a drop. So not really losing or burning oil. But in my 2 and half years of owning and working on this car I have always seen oil ( thin film) in my Intercooler & Charge pipe, and the connections going to them have always had a the same thin film of oil. So I assume I can have a slight boost leak at that connection because that tiny bit of oil film is also on the outside of the connections.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by DM_e92

O rings in the OEM Outlet pipe? No I haven't. Recently had OEM turbos replaced about 4 months ago. So your saying I have a problem with the turbos if I have to much oil in the outlet pipe? I also don't have a OCC so I figured that's why I have that much oil in my outlet.

I didn't say is the turbos. It could be something else. I'm talking about the o-rings that go on the OEM IC connections.

Originally Posted by DM_e92

Also when i mean a drop of oil... I literally mean about the size a drop. So not really losing or burning oil. But in my 2 and half years of owning and working on this car I have always seen oil ( thin film) in my Intercooler & Charge pipe, and the connections going to them have always had a the same thin film of oil. So I assume I can have a slight boost leak at that connection because that tiny bit of oil film is also on the outside of the connections.

I work on these and other turbo engines too. Oily film on the inside is ok. Dropping oil or wet connections is not. Not that my n54 is perfect but for example I don't have any oil spots on the connections. Turbos are 3y 30k old. I can post photos if you want to see.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by DM_e92

I think he may be telling the truth ... I have a Arm 5" Intercooler... on MHD stage 1+ and I have a hard time getting over 14 psi and have had new OEM turbos since December. I was just under my car this weekend and noticed how much oil was leaking from the intercooler to the oem outlet connection. I do like my intercooler because it does keep temps down pretty well... but I think I may want to go 7" with bigger outlet connection soon. Just my $.2

If you are oil in your charge pipe or intercooler you need an Oil Catch Can to reduce that.

You should be able to go past 14 PSI even on your current FMIC.

Also you should look into walnut blasting your intake valves if you haven't already as it's good maintenance.

The OE connections are a restriction, it's not just VRSF picking on competing brands. However the restriction doesn't really cause a boost limit like you may be experiencing, it just makes the turbos work harder to achieve the same boost. This in turn creates more heat and reduces efficiency.

The ARM is a decent budget FMIC but it certainly cannot be compared to the High Density and other high end options available. It's better then stock which is why people say it's "good". Which is no lie, it is better then stock. Now if those folks would compare to other high end options, they would see why people say it's not the greatest option.

[drubular]

Seems like Wagner still sells the EVO1 with OEM style connectors as well as do a number of other vendors. Search for 200001023 on the wagner-tuning dot com website. I don’t think I can post the vendor links. http://www.wagner-tuning.com/product...700001006.html

[DM_e92]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

If you are oil in your charge pipe or intercooler you need an Oil Catch Can to reduce that.

You should be able to go past 14 PSI even on your current FMIC.

Also you should look into walnut blasting your intake valves if you haven't already as it's good maintenance.

The OE connections are a restriction, it's not just VRSF picking on competing brands. However the restriction doesn't really cause a boost limit like you may be experiencing, it just makes the turbos work harder to achieve the same boost. This in turn creates more heat and reduces efficiency.

The ARM is a decent budget FMIC but it certainly cannot be compared to the High Density and other high end options available. It's better then stock which is why people say it's "good". Which is no lie, it is better then stock. Now if those folks would compare to other high end options, they would see why people say it's not the greatest option.

I do expect to get a catch can this summer and I have walnut blasted my valves a year ago. Might be time for it again soon but my whole point was that if I have that Oily residue on my connection from the fmic to outlet.. maybe Tiago@VRSF isn't really lying about the stock connection being a weak point and that could be my limiting factor for not reaching higher boost. But could be a O ring like feuer said. Not necessarily saying the ARM Motorsport Fmic is bad. It does keep temps down way better than stock and I push the car hard all the time. It does the job with temps. Either way I'm going with a 7" intercooler soon as I'm going to custom tune soon.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by DM_e92

I do expect to get a catch can this summer and I have walnut blasted my valves a year ago. Might be time for it again soon but my whole point was that if I have that Oily residue on my connection from the fmic to outlet.. maybe Tiago@VRSF isn't really lying about the stock connection being a weak point and that could be my limiting factor for not reaching higher boost. But could be a O ring like feuer said. Not necessarily saying the ARM Motorsport Fmic is bad. It does keep temps down way better than stock and I push the car hard all the time. It does the job with temps. Either way I'm going with a 7" intercooler soon as I'm going to custom tune soon.

The stock connection is just a flow restriction but you do have a different boost issue if you can't go above 14 PSI. The connection isn't that restrictive to the issue of flow.

If you go 7" go with the HD series if it's with VRSF.

Otherwise ER an ETS are already High Density so to speak.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by DM_e92

I do expect to get a catch can this summer and I have walnut blasted my valves a year ago. Might be time for it again soon but my whole point was that if I have that Oily residue on my connection from the fmic to outlet.. maybe Tiago@VRSF isn't really lying about the stock connection being a weak point and that could be my limiting factor for not reaching higher boost. But could be a O ring like feuer said. Not necessarily saying the ARM Motorsport Fmic is bad. It does keep temps down way better than stock and I push the car hard all the time. It does the job with temps. Either way I'm going with a 7" intercooler soon as I'm going to custom tune soon.

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

The stock connection is just a flow restriction but you do have a different boost issue if you can't go above 14 PSI. The connection isn't that restrictive to the issue of flow.

If you go 7" go with the HD series if it's with VRSF.

Otherwise ER an ETS are already High Density so to speak.

Exactly! Different issue. Restrictive or not, on OEM IC the n54 OEM turbos boost 20psi+. Probably there is a boost leak, wrong install or defective new turbo. Why someone would go to the trouble replacing the IC and skipping on the o-rings is beyond me as they are less than $20, part 11617791469 and 11617791470. They are 10y old exposed to temperature changes. I would look there first as they leak oil so is rather obvious.

[DM_e92]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

The stock connection is just a flow restriction but you do have a different boost issue if you can't go above 14 PSI. The connection isn't that restrictive to the issue of flow.

If you go 7" go with the HD series if it's with VRSF.

Otherwise ER an ETS are already High Density so to speak.

Originally Posted by feuer

Exactly! Different issue. Restrictive or not, on OEM IC the n54 OEM turbos boost 20psi+. Probably there is a boost leak, wrong install or defective new turbo. Why someone would go to the trouble replacing the IC and skipping on the o-rings is beyond me as they are less than $20, part 11617791469 and 11617791470. They are 10y old exposed to temperature changes. I would look there first as they leak oil so is rather obvious.

Except someone might not know about O rings in the Outlet. I'm replacing my radiator and belts and pulleys this weekend. I'm going to try and order these O rings and see if I can get them in this weekend also. Hopefully it is the boost leak I'm looking for...

[feuer]

Originally Posted by DM_e92

Except someone might not know about O rings in the Outlet. I'm replacing my radiator and belts and pulleys this weekend. I'm going to try and order these O rings and see if I can get them in this weekend also. Hopefully it is the boost leak I'm looking for...

I'm not looking to insult you but is common sense. Did you install the IC yourself? You didn't see the o-rings? How would two metal pieces joint together and create a seal without this o-ring? Clean the area from oil and reinstall with new o-rings.

[DM_e92]

Originally Posted by feuer

I'm not looking to insult you but is common sense. Did you install the IC yourself? You didn't see the o-rings? How would two metal pieces joint together and create a seal without this o-ring? Clean the area from oil and reinstall with new o-rings.

So the first time you installed an FMIC on your n54 car, you knew to replace the o rings in the outlet??? That is common sense? OK if you say so.

[dacunha17]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

There wouldn't be any need ot hate on vendors if they marketed products accurately instead of flat out bs'ing people.

I've have the ARM 5" for a while. It performs better than the VRSF 5" based on all logs I've seen and that is its most direct competitor. 7" VRSF is obviously a nice improvement over the ARM 5" for sure though!

Hi Ik this is the e90 forums but I thought you might be able to help I have an n54 135i and want to get a good intercooler to go along w my dps I have 3 in mind 7 inch vrsf hd Wagner tuning and arm 7 inch can’t choose between the three can some one give me some advice

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by dacunha17

Hi Ik this is the e90 forums but I thought you might be able to help I have an n54 135i and want to get a good intercooler to go along w my dps I have 3 in mind 7 inch vrsf hd Wagner tuning and arm 7 inch can’t choose between the three can some one give me some advice

Go with the VRSF unit. They have been improved over the basic cores they used to have. The ARM 7" or Pheonix intercoolers are cheaper and work well. can't go wrong with any of the three for a stock turbo N54.

[dacunha17]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

Go with the VRSF unit. They have been improved over the basic cores they used to have. The ARM 7" or Pheonix intercoolers are cheaper and work well. can't go wrong with any of the three for a stock turbo N54.

Thank you

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Tiago@VRSF

ARM doesn't make an intercooler that can match let alone outperform a VRSF intercooler. This is what you can expect with ARM:

So annoying....

[9krpmrx8]

Yes because VSRF quality is always top notch.

[9krpmrx8]

Right, well my buddy just bought a CP from you recently for his F30 and the quality was questionable at best. My CP was fine but don't act like you don't ship out questionable shit every now and then. And I mean at the price point it's not surprising but you still ride pretty high on that horse.