[jwebb335xi]

I've been modding my car just a bit and the FMIC is the next item on my list. I thought some of you may appreciate the charts below. This is taken on a 5.5 second pull through second and third gears on a 30 degree (F) day after the car had been sufficiently warmed and run through 2 or 3 hard pulls.

As you can see, air charge temp climbs with RPMs, which is not shocking. What was, however, to me is that air charge temps even in the winter are 40-50 degrees above ambient when the car is modestly tuned and asked to work hard for a few minutes...

[musc]

It is a sad FMIC indeed. Thanks for sharing.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

No surprise, the stock FMIC is inefficient even on stock boost haha.

[jwebb335xi]

Originally Posted by musc

It is a sad FMIC indeed. Thanks for sharing.

which FMIC do you have. How do your temps compare to ambient and is there pressure loss, if you know?

[musc]

Originally Posted by jwebb335xi

which FMIC do you have. How do your temps compare to ambient and is there pressure loss, if you know?

Personally I run an ETS 5". My temps usually run 5-10 degrees over ambient when cruising. They climb up a little more at rest as any FMIC will. Suppression is good across multiple gear pulls as well. This is with aggressive tuning as well.

I believe the pressure loss is usually 0.5 psi or less on most aftermarket FMICs. The larger 7" ones can be a little higher but it is so negligible you aren't going to notice. If you ask people, most people will recommend the brand they have. The good news any aftermarket choice is better than stock.

Just to further emphasize how bad the stock unit is, during a dyno last year my car started the pull about 5 degrees over ambient and barely went up 5-6 degrees over the pull. A friend of mine with Meth and stock FMIC started about 30 degrees over ambient and even with the 8-10 degree drop on meth, still finished with higher IATs. The stock unit is just terrible!

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Originally Posted by jwebb335xi

I've been modding my car just a bit and the FMIC is the next item on my list. I thought some of you may appreciate the charts below. This is taken on a 5.5 second pull through second and third gears on a 30 degree (F) day after the car had been sufficiently warmed and run through 2 or 3 hard pulls.

As you can see, air charge temp climbs with RPMs, which is not shocking. What was, however, to me is that air charge temps even in the winter are 40-50 degrees above ambient when the car is modestly tuned and asked to work hard for a few minutes...

Thanks for posting. You may want to attach the images as JPG to make it easier for people to see.

The stock FMIC is pretty bad even on a stock car but the second you add boost it really falls flat on its face under even the most favourable conditions.

Mike

[chepy24]

Originally Posted by musc

Personally I run an ETS 5". My temps usually run 5-10 degrees over ambient when cruising. They climb up a little more at rest as any FMIC will. Suppression is good across multiple gear pulls as well. This is with aggressive tuning as well.

I believe the pressure loss is usually 0.5 psi or less on most aftermarket FMICs. The larger 7" ones can be a little higher but it is so negligible you aren't going to notice. If you ask people, most people will recommend the brand they have. The good news any aftermarket choice is better than stock.

Just to further emphasize how bad the stock unit is, during a dyno last year my car started the pull about 5 degrees over ambient and barely went up 5-6 degrees over the pull. A friend of mine with Meth and stock FMIC started about 30 degrees over ambient and even with the 8-10 degree drop on meth, still finished with higher IATs. The stock unit is just terrible!

hmmm i have a 7 inch and im around 15-20 above

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by chepy24

hmmm i have a 7 inch and im around 15-20 above

Not all 7" are created equal. "That's what she said".

IAT depend largely on how much heat soak you've had prior. Ambient condition, humidity, heat soak from WOT, heat soak from traffic and a bunch of other things contribute to IAT readings. Don't get too caught up on the numbers between one car to the next in an entirely different area of the country with different mods and boost.

You're also at higher elevation then most so that is likely a contributor as well.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Thank you for sharing the result.
the stock one is a crappy intercooler that's for sure

[musc]

The ETS 5" is a pretty good performer and routinely out performs my friends 7" of a different brand running similar tunes. Not to say it is the best by any stretch but those are the results I have seen.

Jeff is right about all those factors coming into play. I run E65 fuel. 21-17 psi. I have the 335is which does have an auxiliary cooler which can help with overall cooler engine temps. I am at sea level and never usually more than about 40-50' above it here on the east coast. It's cool now but we do get humid summers with 95+ temps and near 100% humidity. Even then the ETS was miles better than stock. As I mentioned before, any aftermarket FMIC is going to be a big improvement over stock.

[chepy24]

good tuesday laugh at the office! yea i thought of elevation after i posted lol still a massive improvement from stock

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

Not all 7" are created equal. "That's what she said".

IAT depend largely on how much heat soak you've had prior. Ambient condition, humidity, heat soak from WOT, heat soak from traffic and a bunch of other things contribute to IAT readings. Don't get too caught up on the numbers between one car to the next in an entirely different area of the country with different mods and boost.

You're also at higher elevation then most so that is likely a contributor as well.

[jwebb335xi]

Originally Posted by Mike@N54Tuning.com

Thanks for posting. You may want to attach the images as JPG to make it easier for people to see.

The stock FMIC is pretty bad even on a stock car but the second you add boost it really falls flat on its face under even the most favourable conditions.

Mike

This might work... i didn't know PDF was a problem. Also note that the data log registers about 16 times per second.. Hence, this was only 5-6 seconds.