Cheap FMIC

[leedavenport]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FMIC-SKODA-OCTAVIA-VRS-1-8T-TURBO-INTERCOOLER-KIT-/400154478306?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5d2b10c6e2

Guys

Anyone seen these or heard anything about them - a FMIC for £207 - i am ready for the you get what you pay for advice but has anyone on here actually fitted one of these? I am just curious to know how well (or otherwise) they work.

even cheaper and possibly more risky http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FMIC-SKODA-OCTAVIA-VRS-1-8T-TURBO-INTERCOOLER-KIT-/400154478306?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5d2b10c6e2

anyone been brave enough to try to fit one of these?

Edited 9 January, 2012 by leedavenport

[steven carson]

Yes rob has if u look on his site it shows u the hassle he had to fit it

[leedavenport]

sorry not familiar with Robs' site - do you have a link to get me there?

by the sounds of it though it is a non starter unless you want loads of heart ache trying to get it fitted ot you are an engineer to trade and that sort of thing comes easy to you.

[RobClubley]

It looks similar to the one I fitted but a bit better

I had a lot of hassle because I think the one I bought was a Chinese copy of a cheap FMIC for a Mk4 Golf

Also my Xenon headlights caused big problems because they're so much deeper than the standard halogens.

http://www.pimpmyskoda.co.uk/V2Images/ModsEngine/FMIC.htm

[gav c]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FMIC-SKODA-OCTAVIA-VRS-1-8T-TURBO-INTERCOOLER-KIT-/400154478306?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5d2b10c6e2

Guys

Anyone seen these or heard anything about them - a FMIC for £207 - i am ready for the you get what you pay for advice but has anyone on here actually fitted one of these? I am just curious to know how well (or otherwise) they work.

Ive got that one fitted to mine. It doesnt come with any instructions but was actually fairly easy to fit and only took about 4 hours start to finish and at the side of the road :-)

[RickVRS]

I believe that's the one fitted to my car too. Previous owner said it was an easy fit but one of the hoses was too short to het a good seal and kept popping off. He updated that one price and now works perfect

[Nutter244]

In the advert it says they will fit it!! Get a price from them let the have the trouble of messing around if you have any doubt with regards to the price. They have lots of good feedback, I don`t really understand what it does but it looks nice and shiny lol sold!! They have already sold 20 of them, just out of interest how much do they normally cost to fit?

[LexVRS]

hhmmm i wouldnt mind a FMIC and this is cheap but ill sort the blue flame first

[Liverpool-Lad]

Does cheap FMIC = good? Is there a chance these very cheap ones could not actually be of much benefit?

[chicken_eyebrow]

It would be good if someone who's fitting one could do a few before and after logs on VAG Com, specifically intake air temperature after a few brisk runs.

At the moment the only argument against these cheap FMICs is that they don't always come with the right pipework to fit and the pipes end up poking out of the bumper vents. And some of them you have to cut the crash bar yourself which insurers would have a field day if they knew.

[RickVRS]

hhmmm i wouldnt mind a FMIC and this is cheap but ill sort the blue flame first

Stop copying!! haha you best get another style tail pipe!

And yes these FMIC are good but id put them in the realm of they are alright. Never going to give you the best cooling but better than standard. If your racing, dragging, running big power then id source a better one. for a quick b road blast i think these are good. Mine fits well but he did say the lower drivers side pipe work was a bit out and needed fettling!

[chicken_eyebrow]

With a stage 1 map, the standard SMIC lets the temps go up to about 40 degrees and you lose up to 20bhp after a few heavy blasts in a row, negating the benefits of the map. So ideally these intercoolers need to keep the temps down in the 20's to be effective.

[RickVRS]

This particular one doesnt have much more surface area than standard....rather small in comparison to the Forge one for example....its more about the placement. more frontal the more air directly on it

[Volvomeg]

Im in the middle of fitting a front mount to my vrs but its alot bigger than that one, got all brackets made up just waiting to get my front panel back from been sand blasted and painted then its time to start piping it all up

[LexVRS]

Stop copying!! haha you best get another style tail pipe!

And yes these FMIC are good but id put them in the realm of they are alright. Never going to give you the best cooling but better than standard. If your racing, dragging, running big power then id source a better one. for a quick b road blast i think these are good. Mine fits well but he did say the lower drivers side pipe work was a bit out and needed fettling!

lol im not copying im merely taking ideas haha it will be a stainless maybe not blueflame as i want a resonated system to keep noise down a bit, i may end up spending the extra money for a forge FMIC

[RickVRS]

My blue flame is silent. Even when you floornit which is what I like. Has a bit of a rumble but inside the car its silent so good to drive

[LexVRS]

has it got the sports cat and downpipe as well?

[RickVRS]

Got a better turbo manifold on it and down pipe but retained the cat.

[SNH]

Didn't someone test one of these cheapo jobbies in one of the other 6 million threads on these and find it was worse than the standard one? Or was that one of those supposedly uprated smic ones?

[Liam-6]

Didn't someone test one of these cheapo jobbies in one of the other 6 million threads on these and find it was worse than the standard one? Or was that one of those supposedly uprated smic ones?

IIRC it was a SMIC i think?

[Bowders1]

IIRC it was a SMIC i think?

It was a SMIC indeed on a members car no longer using the site.

Also some of the cheap FMIC's can suffer/cause poor heat soak even if they do sit on the front rather than the side.

[Dom_500]

I am tempted by one. there was a post about them been worse than standard but no one had figures to back the claim up. If money was not such an issue at them moment i would buy one and do some back to back testing.

[VRS Mike]

I am tempted by one. there was a post about them been worse than standard but no one had figures to back the claim up. If money was not such an issue at them moment i would buy one and do some back to back testing.

There was someone who had a cheap ebay FMIC and took it to be remapped at R-tech, they found out quickly it was ****e and worse than the stock SMIC, give R-tech a call or any descent tuner in fact, I'm sure they would tell you where to stick them

[Babs]

And then quickly show you a Forge kit for $1,000,000?

[Jonneh]

And then quickly show you a Forge kit for $1,000,000?

I am inclined to agree with this. "Here, buy this very expensive one, that one's crap!"

They surely can't be that **** that people can sell them as intercoolers if they don't work?! Are there any proper figures to show if they're rubbish or not?

Edited 11 January, 2012 by Jonneh