Hi guys,

A question for you all. I want to sort out a front mounted intercooler as one of my next mods but Im getting too views onhow this mod will affect the power output of the motor.

View 1: The intercooler will make the engine produce more power.

View 2: The intercooler wont produce more power from the engine.

I know the engine will be running more efficiently (which is a good reason for doing the modification in itself) but will it actually produce more power through more efficient cooling?

Finally; how will the turbo spool/lag be affected by the FMIC?

Cheers,

Lee

I've seen a Seat FMIC equiped Fabia on the rollers produce 11bhp more than before the FMIC was fitted.

The graphs were on different days but the Barometric pressure was automatic, not inputed data so it couldn't account for the error.

if mapped for it it can make a power difference as you can up the boost slightly but the biggest thing is you don't lose power i the hot weather

The hot weather losses are a major drawback imo so reducing/removing this is reason enough for me to do the FMIC upgrade! I understand that it could allow more power to be run without issue but I am interested to know what it will do without increasing the boost/making mapping changes.

BlackMagic/Benjie - thanks for the input

Any ideas how the turbo lag will be affected by the (guessing here...) longer pipework?

Lee

Lee

you shouldn't feel any difference with lag as pressure acts in all directions and the air going through the FMIC is already under pressure from the turbo,all the FMIC is doing is reducing the temp so increasing the density so getting a better fuel burn.

Power increases due to fitting it will be miniscule if anything at all, theoretically it makes no difference. As Bengie says it will just help you keep what youve got when the car gets hot.

If you are just looking for a power increase then get it remapped. My 4x4 (with std FMIC) went from 150 to 225 bhp with just a Jabba custom re map, add the FMIC & you have a constant 225

I think Stuart's post sums it up perfectly - you loose the heatsoak-killing-engine-power thing, most noticable with a remap.

But even 'standard' the temperatures remain lower so you get a more efficient use of fuel and I'm guessing less smoke too, potentially

Either way, I'm quietly convinced that even on a standard car when making progress through the gears you hit heatsoak already around 4th gear (from standstill, planting it). With the FMIC I'm hoping that will disappear as well

Great stuff - this pretty much backs up my thinking guys, cheers.

The car is already running 190bhp and 209lb/ft (although according to the previous owner it is actually "jabba'd to 230bhp!) :confused: so I reckon the FMIC is a good investment for me. The performance of the turbo in the midday heat is awful compared to the nice cooler evenings we get here.

My other point really related to change of turbo characteristics - as theres more pipework and a bigger intercooler core involved does it increase spool up time if anything?

Cheers again,

Lee

I'm guessing less smoke too' date=' potentially

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I would hope there would be no smoke from an petrol Octavia .

Stuart's reply pretty much says it all......pretty much no gain. Typically you would see power drop off towards top of rev range...boost drop off due to heat...but FMIC should stop this.

I'd agree the petrol one had better not smoke - there was mention of a Furby vRS as well though

I'd agree the petrol one had better not smoke - there was mention of a Furby vRS as well though

Ok....I'll give you that one.

Agreed with above observations. What I found with mine is that although peak power is not affected, if anything it had gone down slightly - as a consequence of drop in boost pressure due to larger capacity of charge system?, but on the dyno print out, peak power is maintained for longer now. I.e., as revs pass 5K, previously the power would drop off fairly rapidly. With an FMIC, cooling is more efficient so a lower charge temperature is maintained despite faster airspeed through the intercooler as revs rise. Does this make sense?

Lee

you would get alot more consistant power, we are going to get our hands on a Forge one as soon as they come out. We are thinking we should see around a gen. 190-195 bhp

Lee - it does answer my question and my thought on the peak power possibly even diminishing slightly due to the larger core. I will be getting this done for sure so many thanks for all the input in this thread. Once its done its just a matter of how long I leave it before pushing more boost through it... Well, it may as well earn its keep. :P

Cheers all,

Lee