Fmic questions?!?!
 

ok so i want to upgrade my fmic (front mount intercooler) and im curious wat u guys ran? Have u ever used a universal kit? Wat size etc etc? and how hard was running the piping and did it actually fit??

and cre i searched all the way through page 19 too...lol

Well, from doing a quick search (lol, keep trying. ;) ) I found that one recommended size posted here is about 22" x 12" x 3". I've seen even larger shoe-horned in there and smaller. I think mine was a bit shorter. Really though there's no easy answer for this... You're the one who's going to have to figure out how you want to hang it, how to run the piping, how you want to relocate/mount the oil and power steering coolers. You are probably getting a rough idea why many people opt for a
"Spearco" replica IC at this point... ;)

Universal piping kits aren't bad as they're cheap, but usually the couplers are crap and they often only come with conventional worm-gear type hose clamps. I've found that anything about 2.5" is a bit of a pain in the ass to install due to the kit only having so many angles available. Ordering a couple 'hump' couplers and a couple long couplers will help you get those subtle angles.

yea i heard ebay fmic's are ok...but they dont get rid of the heat like they are supposed to and like u said the couplers blow off. And i would really like to not relocate stuff because i want to just drop it in and be done lol but nothing is ever that easy. So i mean....spend like $200 on ebay fmic..or im considering buying this guy http://store.driftmotion.com/static/...rcoolerkit.php Pipes are already bent and ive heard alot of good things about it

FYI.
I have that IC in my car. The kit is not a "plug-n-play" kit and numerous modifications will be required to install it.
Oil cooler and horns will require re location.
The stock coolant over flow tank will not fit in the origional position. I replaced it with an aluminum tank, custom made for my application.
The top IC bracket (supplied in the kit) required modification to fit in the car.
The pipe from the left side of the IC (charge air out) that runs under the IC to the fender well pipe (right side) will interfere with the plastic engine under cover. I modified my undercover to work with the pipe.
All of the IC pipes fit well without modification. Stainless "T" bolt clamps are supplied and the couplers are decent.
NO instructions are provided. It is assumed the installer has the required tooling and skill to install this kit.
All in all, it is a nice kit and worth the effort.

yea i dont want to relocate a whole bunch of stuff....lol uggh. How hard do u think it would be to bend ur own piping?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/31-x-11-75-x-2-75-FMIC-FRONT-MOUNT-INTERCOOLER-SAME-SIDE-3-INLET-OUTLET-/120851506080?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories &fits=Year%3A1990|Model%3ASupra&vxp=mtr&hash=item1 c234fa3a0 What about this guy?





ACTUALLY...probably gonna buy this http://www.ebay.com/itm/22-75x11x2-5...item19c56b9e86 Spearco replica as u said Cre?

Bending your own pipe is possible providing you own, or have access to a mandrel bender for 2.5" pipe.
If not, perhaps a local machine shop is tooled to do it to your specifications.
I suspect that the two intercoolers you linked will not just slide in to your car.

Bending pipe even with a mandrel is not easy. Unless you know what you are doing it is best left to others.

well.....do any of u kno of a cheaper not a $300 ridiculous 7mgte pipe kit thats pre bent? lol

Unless you know what you are doing it is easy to ruin the pipe. The harder the material the easier it is to crack or crinkle the pipe. I bent my share of hydraulic, fuel and oil lines for USAF aircraft. We had the best mandels possible and every so often you would screw up one.

My questions is what is your experience? It would be easy for you to crack it and then have it fail while in use. 300 dollars may seem like a lot to you but it will be done right, also you get what you pay for and I bought a freezer from Sears cheap. Well it did not last 3 months and lost over 300 dollars in chicken and steak.

So your "cheap" part can end up costing you dearly!

zip, none lol my friend though knows how to tig weld and such so we would probably just cut and weld.

My guy has some of the worst welding I ever saw on the exhaust. You are going to lose performance on a rigged job. You would probably be better off with stock. Remember if you race or drift you are putting incredible stress on all of the cars components. You need the best possible parts. Remember for the lack of a nail the shoe was lost, the lack of a shoe the horse was lost and the lack of a horse the battle was lost.

You will save money, why not work a few extra hours and do it right?

yea the guy who will be welding makes exhaust and lots of custom stuff. He owns Defined Autoworks here in ohio lol so its going to be perfect welding, so not worried. He does roll cages etc etc so not worried.

And im not a drifter lol my supra is too clean to have the % chance to hit a wall, ditch etc lol

Ranma,
Mandrel bending hudraulic tubing can not be compared with bending aluminum pipe.
Heavy walled steel hydraulic tubing, is a far diffrent anminal, to work with, than 2.5" alumunum pipe.
Bending pipe, with the proper tooling and training, is a piece of cake. I have done it for 27 years.
I attempted to lead Awyman away from bending his own pipe, without affending.
Awyman, discuss you requirements with the people at Defined Autoworks. I suspect they will be able to build what you need.

Do not consider my words offensive, how can you do a hard job with no training or experience? Some things are good for the new mechanic but a lot is not good. Doing a great job with pipe is not a one time thing but a passion.

It is different but my other experience would help. I use to bend steel tubing as well. My point is if I would have trouble with training and experience, what are his chances?

I think the nice way to put it is like with all tasks, without experience there will be a learning curve involved resulting in many mistakes before perfection is achieved.

You are so right, if you want to learn something get tougher with an expert. Looked at a post, I use to bend much more than some O type aluminum tubing *grins* There is different hardness in this plus add steel and titanium tubing. Some of the lines feed the thirsty F110 GE engines. We are talking about fuel flow in the thousands of pounds. Having said that I have not done in in 26 years. My current job is at a desk :( It pays the bills and for fun.

I am not saying not to do it but to do it well. Also you do not have to drift to put a lot of stress on a car. Outstanding parts will get you through the worse of time making them good. A cheap part will not only fail but make good components fail.

Try to think about how great it will be instead of just getting by :)

Here is a place I know a good many people to buy ic piping from. Its pretty nice stuff.

http://www.treadstoneperformance.com...rcooler+Piping

i would have no idea which pieces to order from that tho...lol considering ive never done a fmic i have no idea how much/little or wat i need for the piping.

I bought a kit off eBay once for the MKIII. The make was CXRacing; I can't remember who the vendor was. The setup it was going on wasn't entirely stock so a couple pieces had to be cut and a couple others had to be purchased individually. It's pretty thick walled pipe and has bead rolled ends to help ensure a solid seal.

yea ive heard great things about cxracing's intercoolers and piping. My friend has a red top sr20 in his s13 and thats wat he used. Dont think it was too expensive either

I hadn't heard much about the company at all and I have had no experience with their ICs. The MKIII kit wasn't a perfect fit and even on a stock setup I think it'd be foolish to expect any low cost 'kit' like that to fit perfectly and without some modification. That said I was impressed that it came with real 4-ply, silicone couplers and T-bolt clamps.

yea i mean no matter wat theres some sort of modification that will be done. i ordered my fmic today tho, now just have to order the piping. 2.5" piping to be exact

I would recommend buying a pre bent kit over trying to figure it out yourself. It saves time and you don't end up with a million couplers under the hood plus the kits have bead rolled ends (something you will appreciate when you start to raise the boost!).
I have had the CX Racing intercooler kit on my car for around 2 years with no problems. The cost was great ($300 shipped) but it is certainly not a "bolt on" kit. Oil cooler AND lines, steering cooler, horns and coolant reservoir needed to be relocated slightly. I also had to enlarge the hole where the i/c piping enters the engine bay on the passenger side. The quality of the i/c was what you would expect for the price. It is huge and looks great behind the grill but is heavier than stock. The piping and couplers were decent but the t-clamps aren't the strongest. If your car is lowered, the i/c piping that passes under the front of the core support can easily be damaged by bottoming out or careless towing (heck even if its not lowered).
Good luck with the install.

yea im contemplating that...and that stupid hole in the passenger fender is so small.....