Intercooler Options

[MethuenS4]

I was reading another thread about a week ago and people were bashing FMIC's and i was just wondering why? i personally think they look good if done cleanly.

[omgwtfbbq!]

You have to destroy the bumper to fit one that performs significantly better than the SMICs and they look like ass.

[MikeyB3]

You have to destroy the bumper to fit one that performs significantly better than the SMICs and they look like ass.

Yup.
They can 'look' nice, but honestly, there's some great SMICs that keep everything really clean. Cleaner IMHO. Plus, it's like driving around with a "LOOK! I'm modified!" flag on the front of your car. 5-0 no bueno.

[ApeX-CrZn]

I think front mounts have been done alot because how pricing/development due to the a4

[PSU S4]

I have seen many FMIC's in person and i have only seen one set up that actually looked decent without too much hacking up of the bumper. AMC has the best fitment on his Front mount that i have ever seen. DUH makes a great fitting set up, but you need to spend lots of time and effort to make it not look like a honda.

[Avant Fetish]

You don't have to hack n slash your bumper if you run the Racetec one...

http://www.racetec-us.com/b5s4.html

[99ebpsi24]

I just got the Wagner Engineering SMIC's that 034 is having the group by on. For 1150 for brand new SMIC's that are a sligh bit larger than AWE's and CF shrouds it seems like a great deal, I cant wait to get them on my car!

As far as a FMIC goes I was totally sold on that idea for the longest time but after doing more and more research on it you run the risk of overheating at idle if you do not run the slim fan which IIRC is like $350 on top of the $595 for a new FMIC. and then you've got to cut your bumper support all to hell and fight with the piping to make it look right which is another pain in the ass. I decided for an extra $200 or so I'd have better performace and easier install. Which was well worth the extra 200 bones in my book.

I do agree though FMIC's on these cars can look very nice if done correctly, and if you take the time you can actually save your fog lights too if you want. Just for me I didnt want the extra headache when going to install.

[shorterthanrich]

As far as looks, it's all personal preference.
As far as performance, they can perform extremely well. As far as keeping cool temps during a single pull goes, only ERs seem to be better than a FMIC from the data I've seen.

If you're on a budget and you like the more aggressive look, go with a front mount.

[Dubluv11]

I have seen many FMIC's in person and i have only seen one set up that actually looked decent without too much hacking up of the bumper. AMC has the best fitment on his Front mount that i have ever seen. DUH makes a great fitting set up, but you need to spend lots of time and effort to make it not look like a honda.

how bout mine

[Avant Fetish]

As far as a FMIC goes I was totally sold on that idea for the longest time but after doing more and more research on it you run the risk of overheating at idle if you do not run the slim fan which IIRC is like $350 on top of the $595 for a new FMIC. and then you've got to cut your bumper support all to hell and fight with the piping to make it look right which is another pain in the ass. I decided for an extra $200 or so I'd have better performace and easier install. Which was well worth the extra 200 bones in my book.

Lol...I was wondering where the mini fan in front of the radiator goes. So the guys that run front mounts just "remove" it?

[99ebpsi24]

Lol...I was wondering where the mini fan in front of the radiator goes. So the guys that run front mounts just "remove" it?

a lot of people do yes. the stock fan is to thick for it to bolt back on after you put the intercooler in front of it. If I was going to run the FMIC I'd def. buy the slim fan for the extra insurance policy that it provides.

[Avant Fetish]

Man...theres always a catch...

[shorterthanrich]

But the electric fan that you add has a few benefits. Aside from flowing extremely well, it also removes something from your serpentine, so less power being sucked from you engine.

[titikaka]

yes , but you should buy EFK instead which is 190$ from Vast.>! try to do some research about EFK !

http://vastperformance.com/shop/prod...products_id=52

[peterp1072]

Here's a picture of my FMIC on an RS4. No mods to the front bumber and keeps the stock look


Picture without the bumper

[wdbdy2000s4]

I hate you. your car is wayy too clean. haha

[peterp1072]

I hate you. your car is wayy too clean. haha

It's far from clean at the moment, here are some pics from the last RR Day at MRC

[Avant Fetish]

Jeebus that thing is sick!!

I'm sure theres more room behind that RS bumper vs the S4.

[peterp1072]

MRC have also fitted it to s4's retaining the original look. There are 2 losses though. Headlight washer pumps are removed because of intercooler piping and the aircon fan is removed. The aircon fans can be replaced with electric ones.

[RolledMySTi]

With the heat these cars produce I wouldn't feel safe putting on a fmic. Our radiators need all the cool air they can get.

[NastyNogaro]

I think mine's pretty clean, no?



And that's without even painting the pipes black. Does anyone know a good paint to use for intercooler piping? Also, do you sand, prime, paint as you would anything else? I'm not very experienced with that kinda stuff, sorry for the noobness.

[MethuenS4]

me personally i like the aggressive look. and here why i live the cops are very lackidaisical.

[PSU S4]

how bout mine

Yours looks very clean Dubluv

[SilverS4kg]

all black front mount FTW. cant even tell its there.

[Dubluv11]

I think mine's pretty clean, no?



And that's without even painting the pipes black. Does anyone know a good paint to use for intercooler piping? Also, do you sand, prime, paint as you would anything else? I'm not very experienced with that kinda stuff, sorry for the noobness.

all i did to paint mine was scuffed it up with some rough sandpaper... like 100 grit, and sprayed the shit out of the pipes with rocker guard...i wouldnt paint the charge rows with that stuff though...as a matter of fact i wouldnt paint the charge rows with anything at all.. i imagine it would effect how the air would be cooled..

[Short4Law]

Here's a picture of my FMIC on an RS4. No mods to the front bumber and keeps the stock look



Picture without the bumper

Did you have that made or is it a kit?

[omgwtfbbq!]

I would never run a black FMIC because it would easily get to 150 degrees sitting out in the florida sun in the summer, then it becomes a front mount interheater, a couple of my friends have had that issue before. Heatsoak with a cold car sucks.

[peterp1072]

I would never run a black FMIC because it would easily get to 150 degrees sitting out in the florida sun in the summer, then it becomes a front mount interheater, a couple of my friends have had that issue before. Heatsoak with a cold car sucks.

This car is actually going to be based in Brisbane, Australia and therefore will encounter similar temps to Florida. I initially thought painting it black would absorb the heat and transfer it to the intake but I was mistaken.
Read the following link:
http://www.molalla.net/members/leeper/coatbar.htm