As it stands, any intercooler information ive been able to find is massively out of date at the moment, broken links, companys not around, the only thing to remain consistent is Forge charging so much for their kits, so kinda hoping for my own benefit, and the benefit of the community that anyone with recent revelations in intercooler set ups on the mk1 octy vrs can post them here

 

Wheres best to buy? 

Is fmic still the way to go? Or is there any new advancements in a smic?

 

Post your findings lads n ladies!!

My understanding is that FMIC is still the way forward.. there are uprated (thicker, fully aluminium) SMIC but they aren't as good as an FMIC..

 

What I haven't worked out/found out (yet) is ideal size for bhp (or whether it's simply a case of go as big as you can) or best place to buy..

33 minutes ago, Evil said:

My understanding is that FMIC is still the way forward.. there are uprated (thicker, fully aluminium) SMIC but they aren't as good as an FMIC..

 

What I haven't worked out/found out (yet) is ideal size for bhp (or whether it's simply a case of go as big as you can) or best place to buy..

Where can i get the best bang for buck these days without spending forge money? A coolers a cooler and the reality is the forge one only costs so much because of the crash bar it comes with

18 minutes ago, Endoof said:

Where can i get the best bang for buck these days without spending forge money? A coolers a cooler and the reality is the forge one only costs so much because of the crash bar it comes with

Probably 2nd hand... they do come up from time to time (usually when I'm potless) with the added advantage that the pipework should be a straight fit.

New, wellycooler seems to get mentioned a lot (no idea where to buy).

Don't know what the quality is like on the ebay or Aliexpress kits. 

When fitting a FMIC it's not necessarily bigger is better because you can go too big. It's more about building a system that'll provide a good flow. Here's what I have on mine:

 

 

As you can see, it's certainly not massive but it does flow really well and when I last put it on the rollers it ran 225bhp consistantly without dropping off during the back to back runs which can happen on poor setups that can't cope with the rising temperatures. I'm also running a 3 inch downpipe and decat to further aid flow and I have a phenolic inlet manifold gasket to help with reducing heat transfer from the head to the inlet manifold.

 

I'm afraid I can't help on sourcing the FMIC parts unfortunately as I bought my setup from a friend when he broke his car, all I do know about it is that the pipework is custom made stuff.

You have second hand kits on the other groups on FB, I’m sure. People are always breaking their cars. So I’d join a few groups and see if anything comes up.

 

I run a FMIC but it’s a twin pass, so all the connections are in the drivers side, so it keeps it all OEM. If you’re going to run the normal FMIC, I think upgrading to the 225 Bam inlet looks better and gives a better flow. 
 

I’d still expect to spend between £300-£400 for a full kit, even second hand.

4 hours ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

You have second hand kits on the other groups on FB, I’m sure. People are always breaking their cars. So I’d join a few groups and see if anything comes up.

 

I run a FMIC but it’s a twin pass, so all the connections are in the drivers side, so it keeps it all OEM. If you’re going to run the normal FMIC, I think upgrading to the 225 Bam inlet looks better and gives a better flow. 
 

I’d still expect to spend between £300-£400 for a full kit, even second hand.

 

I would 100% like a twin pass, which one are you running?

 

Really dont want to fit a bam inlet if i dont have to, feel like id be exiled to the skoda hell for doing so lol and plus id like to keep the bay looking as oem as possible 

56 minutes ago, Endoof said:

I would 100% like a twin pass, which one are you running?

 

Only pic I've got at the moment. It's a full THS setup. Slight modification to the slam panel (inside) so the pipes site in place. It can't be seen at all once the bumper is on. I have a bracket that supports the weight of the FMIC neatly, and it bolts to the slam panel. Unlike a lot of other people who attach it to their front panel.