Hello guys and girls, I am wondering were the best/cheapest place to buy a front mount intercooler for my impreza

Any information greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

what year is your car Matt?

There is a Groupbuy for FMIC-they seem to be very cheap.

see the GB section

 

it's a 1997

thanks for the advice i'll have a look there now.

 

well the hybrids are quite cheap as well (not as cheap as the ones being advertsied in the GB section). Harvey Smith would be able to point you in that direction..............

Not sure how far you want to take your car but my UK97 hit over 330 bhp with the standard injectors and TMIC in place. Rich Wilds (formerley of Jap Innovations) exceeded 385 bhp with an uprated MRT TMIC.

Do you really need the fmic or is it more for looks than function?

 

to be honest I have heard good reports of using a FMIC for functionality but I must admit they look the part sat behind the bumper for asthetics.

What are your opinions?

 

Guess it depends on your plans and finances. I don't mean to cause you any confusion but I spent a shed load of cash on my classic to get it to where it was. In the end the bigger injectors and FMIC would have been the next additions but they would have provided me with very little gain to the cash outlay. Fortunately Andy Forrest told me not to bother......I'd taken the car as far as it could go without going in to silly money.

I'm now in a similar position with my Newage and the FMIC IS the next step for me. But I think the 360 - 380 that I have is probably sufficient. Plus the TMIC on the sti's is rated to 400 bhp with many mappers.

This could be a cost effective alternative for you? The sti8 intercooler sells for around £250.00 and will make a big difference on your intake temps.

Do whats best for you mate. The likes of Andy Forrest and Bob Rawle are repected for their work and their openess to help fellow enthusiasts in the "community". Either will be willing to help you with any questions.

What are you plans/ current mods?

 

Hello mate,

I bought an FMIC from Altezza Sports for £285 all in - this might be the show price though. Look at Altezza Sports & Prestige. The kit is, in my opinion, good quality. It's mounted on the car but not yet piped in as I need to cut the chassis away to pass the pipework (Besides the fact that the engine is in loads of bits at the mo!! ).

I have attached a link to the fitting guide which I found very useful.

classic fmic Fitting Guide

The FMIC will give power gains because the air drawn in is cooler. I am told that it can be as much as 25hp but it remains to be proven!.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

 

How effective is the bonnet scoop??? I've heard that at speeds in excess of 100mph the design of the front of the car causes the oncoming air to bounce over the scoop and miss it altogether therefore causing an increase in inlet temperatures that can lead to many of the engine failures that we hear about. After my bottom end failure i changed to a FMIC and my inlet temps are much lower than before, i decided it was much cheaper in the long run to have a FMIC than pay for another possible engine failure. Many other performance cars have FMIC as standard, Evo's, skylines etc why don't Subaru's?

 

not skylines matey they have stupidly small side mount

 

Don't GTR's have a FMIC as standard? Nearly all modified Skylines seem to run FMIC's!

 

Came across a Cusco FMIC on this web site mate

Jap Performance Parts

Used them for a few bits in the past and they are very good with delivery etc.

 

If you are unsurewhether you need a FMIC, fit a charge temperature guage just before the throttle body. If you discover you have high charge temperatures, then at the least you may have saved yourself an engine. If you do not have high induction temps then you have saved the cost of a FMIC you do not need.

 

what should the correct induction temps be then with TMIC?

 

There is no "correct" temperature. As low as possible, the lower the better.
Charge temps are usually referred to as "x" degrees over ambient. A capable FMIC will typically be 2 degrees over ambient in the cruise and even when I welly my 95 WRX Wagon 420 bhp with Hybrid FMIC it rarely gets to more than 12 degrees over ambient. However on my STi 3 Wagon 335 bhp and TMIC with similar welly the temperature gets to 70 degrees C. ie 50 degrees over ambient.
High charge temperatures can result in det and this is a BAD thing.