[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by e.n335

^ Thank you for your feedback. I will perform the install on Sept. 5th.

- Eugen

Have you compare the modified version against your old Turbonetics/Spearco unit?

Harold

[HP Autosport]

Bump this great independent test results for the Code3/Spearco FMIC!

[midlife]

subscribed

[midlife]

Originally Posted by e.n335

Will post the dyno chart in about 2 hours. The car feels pretty fast, the Noelle software has not been updated, so the gains are directly related to the FMIC only. However, it does not fit on steptronic cars currently, so I had to find an interim solution to get it fit on the car ( cutted the discharge pipe ). Code3 is working on a solution for autos. I have the original Spearco unit. Once there is a solution I might buy a Code3, depending on how the issue is solved.

what altitude was the dyno done at eugene ?
and congrats on almost 30 crank hp more with just a IC

[e.n335]

Originally Posted by midlife

what altitude was the dyno done at eugene ?
and congrats on almost 30 crank hp more with just a IC

The dyno has been done around 1500 feet with 95.5 octane AKI ( always used ) gas. Thanks, the car runs great and the Code3 / Spearco has absolutely no fitting issues.

[2008_Dinan335i]

Originally Posted by HP Autowerks

Well, the original Turbonetics/Spearco design is actually Code3/Spearco now.

Dinan offers a similar product should we say, but not the original Turbonetics/Spearco one. On top of that, they want an arm and a leg for it!

I am wondering if you can clarify the differences between this unit and the Dinan one (other that the price of course). I currently have the Dinan Stage 2 flash and I have been looking to upgrade my intercooler for more power...I want to keep the warranty by going with theirs even though I know the price is higher, but if this unit has significant benefits over theirs then maybe I will reconsider. I know that the power gains they speak of are no where near the 30hp you guys are claiming so I am hoping that you can shed some light on why this is?

Also, I have an e92 with the Mtech kit so I am wondering if you know if there might be any fitment issues with this intercooler and the bumper or undertray that is part of the Mtech kit. Also I'd like to know if there is any cutting or modifications in general that are necessary with this unit? Thanks for the help...it looks like you guys have a great product, so more information would be very much welcomed!

[e.n335]

Originally Posted by venemous

I am wondering if you can clarify the differences between this unit and the Dinan one (other that the price of course). I currently have the Dinan Stage 2 flash and I have been looking to upgrade my intercooler for more power...I want to keep the warranty by going with theirs even though I know the price is higher, but if this unit has significant benefits over theirs then maybe I will reconsider. I know that the power gains they speak of are no where near the 30hp you guys are claiming so I am hoping that you can shed some light on why this is?

Also, I have an e92 with the Mtech kit so I am wondering if you know if there might be any fitment issues with this intercooler and the bumper or undertray that is part of the Mtech kit. Also I'd like to know if there is any cutting or modifications in general that are necessary with this unit? Thanks for the help...it looks like you guys have a great product, so more information would be very much welcomed!

The Spearco design is not PnP, minor ( IMO ) cutting is involved. IC charge- and discharge pipes are optimized. It's one of the best designs currently available. You can find a lot of related information on the forum.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by venemous

I am wondering if you can clarify the differences between this unit and the Dinan one (other that the price of course). I currently have the Dinan Stage 2 flash and I have been looking to upgrade my intercooler for more power...I want to keep the warranty by going with theirs even though I know the price is higher, but if this unit has significant benefits over theirs then maybe I will reconsider. I know that the power gains they speak of are no where near the 30hp you guys are claiming so I am hoping that you can shed some light on why this is?

Also, I have an e92 with the Mtech kit so I am wondering if you know if there might be any fitment issues with this intercooler and the bumper or undertray that is part of the Mtech kit. Also I'd like to know if there is any cutting or modifications in general that are necessary with this unit? Thanks for the help...it looks like you guys have a great product, so more information would be very much welcomed!

Here you go, here is our product release thread:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156745

Front bumper removal not required for the installation.

Harold

[RMA]

Are you happy with the SE panel filter? I was under the impression that mostly everyone on here with a "tune" are all running CAI's.

[e.n335]

Originally Posted by RMA

Are you happy with the SE panel filter? I was under the impression that mostly everyone on here with a "tune" are all running CAI's.

I currently put down ~ 360 whp / 365 wtq with the full stock exhaust. The filter might be a good compromise at my power levels. The intake I'd like isn't out yet .

[RMA]

Which intake is that?

[M_M]

awesome. but it's pretty tough to deal with those code3 guys..

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by M_M

awesome. but it's pretty tough to deal with those code3 guys..

Who at Code3 have you dealt with? Why was it tough?

[M_M]

Originally Posted by HP Autowerks

Who at Code3 have you dealt with? Why was it tough?

brandon and aaron. i don't wanna disclose the details, but to be honest, their products are great.

[harrybauls]

Originally Posted by e.n335

...IMO this is a lot and shows clearly that the factory FMIC is a restriction.

Nice gains, but it doesn't necessarily show that the factory IC is a restriction. An IC cools the intake air 2 ways: it acts as a heatsink, and it radiates heat via the airflow over it.

On a dyno you have next to no airflow over the IC (those puny fans generate about as much airflow as driving 20mph) so you are primarily testing the heatsink capabilities of an IC on the dyno. Putting a larger IC will therefore almost always show a gain on the dyno (until the heatsink advantage is counteracted by the increase in pressure loss).

You can also install puller fans on your IC to get a nice dyno gain. That said on the street they generally hurt performance as the restrict airflow at speed more than they help (some people with stand alone ECUs shut them off at speed). Installing IC ducting will show little to no gain on the dyno but will translate to real world street gains as you have increased airflow across the IC.

I'm not saying you won't see a gain on the street (you were likely beyond the airflow capabilities of the existing IC) but I highly doubt it will be to the extent you measured on the dyno.

For those interested here is a good read on Intercoolers from the master himself, Corky Bell:

Corky Bell IC FAQ

[e.n335]

Originally Posted by harrybauls

Nice gains, but it doesn't necessarily show that the factory IC is a restriction. An IC cools the intake air 2 ways: it acts as a heatsink, and it radiates heat via the airflow over it.

On a dyno you have next to no airflow over the IC (those puny fans generate about as much airflow as driving 20mph) so you are primarily testing the heatsink capabilities of an IC on the dyno. Putting a larger IC will therefore almost always show a gain on the dyno (until the heatsink advantage is counteracted by the increase in pressure loss).

You can also install puller fans on your IC to get a nice dyno gain. That said on the street they generally hurt performance as the restrict airflow at speed more than they help (some people with stand alone ECUs shut them off at speed). Installing IC ducting will show little to no gain on the dyno but will translate to real world street gains as you have increased airflow across the IC.

I'm not saying you won't see a gain on the street (you were likely beyond the airflow capabilities of the existing IC) but I highly doubt it will be to the extent you measured on the dyno.

For those interested here is a good read on Intercoolers from the master himself, Corky Bell:

Corky Bell IC FAQ

The cooling of the car was not an issue at all ( high-tech dyno facility, hood closed, 3 identical runs, no cooling down time between the runs ). Others have already reported about the cooling capabilities and the backpressure of the stock FMIC. It's proven already, just confirmed by my results.

No offense, I think the power gains of exhaust components on the N54 are more and more questionable in case you have an upgraded FMIC already. You just can't add FMIC hp + DP hp + exhaust hp = target hp. Sorry for being halftopic .

- Eugen

[harrybauls]

Originally Posted by e.n335

The cooling of the car was not an issue at all ( high-tech dyno facility, hood closed, 3 identical runs, no cooling down time between the runs ). Others have already reported about the cooling capabilities and the backpressure of the stock IC. It's proven already, just confirmed by my results.

Not to get into to a flame war or sound like a dick... all I'm saying is intercooler dyno gains are not completely representative of what you see on the street unless you're testing in a wind tunnel.

As an FYI, I recently switched to a *smaller* IC on my race car so I could get better placement to increase airflow. The result was a decrease in HP on the dyno (even more so in back to back runs with no cool down as the heatsink factor is lower) but I got a 3-5 mph increase in my top end speed of the front straight of my local road racing track - i.e. the car made more power in the real world.

The real measure of an intercooler upgrade is the decrease in inlet temperature on the street - not the instantaneous peak difference but the average change in temperature.

If you know the VE (volumetric efficiency), and the BSFC (brake specific fuel consumption) of the engine you can pretty easily calculate the impact of lowering the charge air temperature on hp. For my specific engine a 10*C intake temperature drop is worth 11whp on the Mustang dyno I tune at. I have an excel calculator I built that I can share with anyone who wants it that I used for turbo sizing that lets you play with the temperature and sizing parameters. You can also have a read of the turbo primers on Garrett Turbo's website:

Turbo Tech Primer

The other thing that big intercoolers do is increase the intake charge volume which increases throttle lag (not turbo lag which is different). This decreases throttle responsiveness which does however make it feel like the power comes on smoother (which it does) but that really isn't a good thing.

Not be belabor the point, but for the optimal setup, you want the *smallest* intercooler volume that meets your airflow requirements (see the Bell Intercooler site for sizing ideas) in a spot where you can get the absolute highest airflow across the frontal area. I'm sure you are making more street power than you were before as increasing the boost has likely pushed the stock IC beyond its design range - I'm just very doubtful that you picked up the dyno measured 20whp on the street.

(seriously it sounds like I'm being a dick but I had some time to kill and thought some people might find the above useful as it took me a long time and a lot of money to learn this)