[musc]

Hey guys. I've been running an ETS 5" FMIC for awhile and have always been impressed with its performance. I have seen it on par with and even out perform friends cars with competitor 6" and 7" units running less aggressive tunes than I. I have always been a big fan of the Helix FMIC and when I went to purchase my first FMIC I was disappointed because at that time they had stopped making them. I even hunted for a few months for a used one with no luck. Helix was considered the best for IAT suppression and was the first with the stepped design for our cars. The ETS has done well even in these 100+F Carolina summer days with no meth but I couldn't pass up the chance to get the FMIC I really wanted. We see a lot of comparisons with aftermarket FMICs to stock. The results of those are going to be obvious. But how about a test vs two quality FMICs?

ATM has continued to improve on the initial Helix design. Fit and finish was definitely impressive with excellent welds and a high quality core. Fit was excellent with no cutting required. The J pipe design did place the silicone elbow going to the FMIC closer to the oil heat exchanger than I'd like. I used an extra piece of silicone and wedged it in between the heat exchanger and the elbow. Not sure if any other others have experienced that.

The biggest proof is in the logs. I did a 3rd-5th log on back to back nights. Weather was very similar. For the ETS pull it was 78 degrees with about 80% humidity. For the ATM pull it was 80F with about 80% humidity. Same road, same tune, fuel, etc. The ETS pull was 1st of the night. ATM pull was 3rd of the night with with no cool down other than turning around at the end of the road and driving about 1/2 mile. I did this to see how quickly temps would recover. They did nicely.

ETS started about 93F or 15F over ambient. In day to day driving I saw (8-15F over ambient when cruising). The end of the pull was 124F for a 31F increase. Respectable IAT suppression. As the logs go on the temps do climb and don't recover as fast.

ATM started at 87F or 7 degrees over ambient. The pulls both started within 50 RPM over each other as noted by throttle position/RPM. The end of the pull was 113F for 26F increase. The pull was about 200rpm longer. Checking the IAT at the same ending RPM as the ETS and it was 110F at the same point for a 23F increase.

So overall the results were pretty close. The ATM/Helix still has the edge though the ETS 5" is a solid performer. I have noticed that the ATM seems to recover quicker and seems to hold closer to ambient for longer. I didn't log my first two pulls with the ATM/Helix so this was a third pull with little cool down. Lots of back to back roll races in Mexico and the ETS can show some heat retention quicker than I'd like. I have yet to test the ATM/Helix in this situation.

For guys looking for their first FMIC, ATM/Helix gets the nod from me. It's cheaper than the ETS as well!
You can purchase the ATM FMIC here:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1077906

[Give_Em_The_DD]

Wow- that looks great....seems to be outperforming my AMS FMIC by a landslide.....

[Redbmwm33]

I wonder how it compares to VRSF 7"

[musc]

Originally Posted by artsoasis

I wonder how it compares to VRSF 7"

To be a fair comparison you'd want to test it in the same car, same tune, same weather, etc. That is what I tried to replicate here the best I could with the ETS vs ATM.

I have friends that run the VRSF 7" and in the same weather at least my ETS 5" would start with a lower IAT and finish with with a lower IAT increase of about 10-20F less in a roll race. Again, different cars, trans, etc so it's not Apples to Apples other than ambient being the same and speeds covered over the pull being the same.

[musc]

Originally Posted by artsoasis

I wonder how it compares to VRSF 7"

Just to add to what I said above. A friend of mine with a 335is and VRSF 7" FMIC with same type car/trans (DCT), same fueling, virtually the same tune with same boost throughout logged his car today in 95F ambient. Started at 105F in 3rd and ended at 140F stopping at 5650rpm in 5th. 35F increase. So the following:

ETS 5" - 31F increase
ATM/Helix - 23F increase
VRSF 7" - 35F increase

This is pretty similar to what I see locally where even my ETS out performed a VRSF 7". Again it wasn't the same car but about as similar as it gets. All the options are better than stock at least so any aftermarket FMIC is better than leaving the stock one in place.

[Brule]

Wonder what the comparison between the ets 7 inch or the er intercooler and atm would be.

I have atm intercooler and never found any log comparisons that beat the atm helix at iat suppression.

[musc]

Originally Posted by Brule

Wonder what the comparison between the ets 7 inch or the er intercooler and atm would be.

I have atm intercooler and never found any log comparisons that beat the atm helix at iat suppression.

I really haven't seen anyone running the ETS 7" though given how the 5" performs, it should do really well.

I have a friend with the ER cooler but he runs meth so it's really hard to to gauge things from that. The ATM/Helix is definitely tough to beat. I've been very impressed with it so far.