Anyone done an FMIC Yet?

[Sgt.Gator]

Has anyone done an FMIC yet? I'm very interested in the results. I know in an S it might be awfully laggy, and probably not possible to run the IC tubes to the front, so I'm especially interested in how it performs on the track in an R.
Thanks.

[axelthrasher]

I highly doubt anyone is going to due to the turbo lag it would see. Also, could you imagine diagnosing a boost leak with all that piping/couplers?

[Sgt.Gator]

I highly doubt anyone is going to due to the turbo lag it would see. Also, could you imagine diagnosing a boost leak with all that piping/couplers?

I was looking for a response from someone who had done it and their results. FFR was experimenting with it last year in an R. At the time they didn't think the lag would be an issue, but there have been no updates to their thread. And the leak testing is no big deal with a smoke tester.

The FFR R with FMIC:

76457

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I believe the silver and orange 818R that Wayne built and tracked for FFR has the front mounted intercooler.
76458 76459


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlZ-4MyjABY

[Mitch Wright]

Bob is correct it does, I would suggest reaching out to Wayne for details.
I did talk to Jim at FFR when they were working on the FMIC for the car, the tube size for the plumbing was 2-2.5" to combat some of the lag.

[Sgt.Gator]

Thanks Bob. Jim Schenk contacted me, he said they were pleased with the IC temps and the lag was not bad. They shipped the car to Wayne with the FMIC but he had problems with the radiator temps so switched it back to AWIC for the UTCC.
I think it's worth a shot and FF would like to see if it can be developed into a viable solution, so it looks like Tom and I may be pioneering this.

[Mitch Wright]

Gator, keep in mind that Wayne was running 400+hp as a FYI I have not had intake temp issues with my TMIC but I am just under 300HP.

[Sgt.Gator]

Gator, keep in mind that Wayne was running 400+hp as a FYI I have not had intake temp issues with my TMIC but I am just under 300HP.

Thanks, got it.

[DanielsDM]

I'm also doing a FMIC setup on my build. Still have a ways to go before I get the car on the track so I don't have any data yet. For a track car that never sees <4000 RPM I don't think the lag will be too bad. May require a little smoother application of the throttle in some corners.

[DodgyTim]

I'm also in progress with retrofitting a FMIC to an R, but mine won't be back running until at least April.
Mine is low power, approx. 300 rwhp

[Sgt.Gator]

I'm also doing a FMIC setup on my build. Still have a ways to go before I get the car on the track so I don't have any data yet. For a track car that never sees <4000 RPM I don't think the lag will be too bad. May require a little smoother application of the throttle in some corners.


I'm also in progress with retrofitting a FMIC to an R, but mine won't be back running until at least April.
Mine is low power, approx. 300 rwhp

Ya'll have your core sizes and piping sizes figured out yet?

I'm looking at 2.25" hot side and 2.50" or 2.75" cold side.

And a core of around 600 to 650 CU inches. Something about the size of a Mishimoto G-Line (Core 11.75" x 17" x 3") or Vibrant (Core 9.25 x 22 x 3.25) Either should be able to get 400+ HP. Vibrant claims 550 HP but I take that with a grain of salt.

I'm guessing the long hot pipe will lose some heat just by itself if I can get some airflow on it and use a finned pipe in one or two places.

By way of comparison, a large aftermarket TMIC core like a Grimmspeed is 17.5" x 8.7" x 3.5" = 532 cu in.

[taco20]

Hey just wanted to add in that after talking to Wayne at UTCC heating issues are a big problem once you start pushing the car hard. Adding anything in front of the radiator is going to make matters worse. I installed a bigger radiator then Wayne had in the R with my AWIC setup to fix the heating issues. So just a heads up to plan the radiator upgrade into your plans or will be going back and fixing the problem later. My power level is 375/425 with e85 and could not run more then 4 laps without the car getting hot. Even on 93 at 368/363 the car still ran hot. I can now stay under 205 after a 30 minute session running full on.

[DodgyTim]

This info is cut from the "New 818 Configurations Windtunnel Tested" thread.

Excuse the format as I often clip info to a word document because I lose it and can't find it with the search tool :(

#14 - Jim Schenck - That front intercooler on the R is air to air. We used most of the summer testing different intercooler configurations in this car, two different air to water and 3 different air to air, and this is the latest from our test at Palmer a few weeks ago

#19 - Jim Schenck - The front mount in the race car is really just going to come down to testing turbo lag. This setup will only be a real possibility for R models as the tubes run through the top of the doors, but the plumbing was actually pretty straightforward and the amount of tube relative to a WRX with a front mount is not that different (maybe 50% more but not 2 or 3 times as much). We stayed with a fairly small inlet tube to try and keep the overall volume down but we still have testing to do to see if this really is the best solution for big power track only cars.

Also on the R, the windscreen makes a big difference, improves drag, downforce, and cooling and running without it does not improve flow into the rear decklid area.

#60 - Jim Schenck - There is still a place for water to air units on the street, and the front mount air to air in our R looks to be very promising for a road course only car, not to mention the rear relocated solutions that others have tried as well.

#67 - Jim Schenck - 76482

This is how we plumbed the intercooler up to the front, but it was still fairly tight with 2-1/2 inch tubing.

I had thought I had more info on tube sizes, but I can't find it now. As to IC sizing - I'm approaching it based on "the smallest proven effective FMIC" for my horsepower level because bigger = more lag???

[Sgt.Gator]

Thanks Taco and Dodgy.
We are already replacing the OEM donor radiator. The plastic end tanks are a known failure point on wrx and legacy's. Going in is a Mishimoto x-line 3 pass radiator.