77 replies to this topic

[BigWillieStyles]

I always thought that FMIC would be bad as it would block the radiator which would make the engine run hotter. I had a fdrx7 before the my Legacy and its generally excepted in the rx7 community that a FMIC is bad and blocks the cooling to the radiator, which causes the engine to heat up and over heat. A radiator plays an important role, especially with a twin turbo which is already a hot system. I would be fearful of running a car in the middle of summer with a FMIC blocking the radiator. Some of these cars already have issues with summer heat with pinging, blocking the radiator would just increase these problems. Track cars that cant run a top mount often run a V mount setup that allows a FMIC to sit at the front while also allowing the radiator to get sufficient cooling. I think we are really lucky to have the option for a TMIC.

[B4Cruiser]

Dunno mate. I've had my FM over last summer and it has significantly reduced my issues with pinging and heatsoak. In saying that, its still a dog to drive in hot weather....

Mine is a fairly small FM (i think it was 280w x 180h) as ICs go. Haven't had any issues with overheating and i've also got a DIY CAI (from HIRISK ages ago...) which helps reduce intake temps. Again, this is just what i've experienced with mine as the TMIC wasn't working for me.

[Richo]

I always thought that FMIC would be bad as it would block the radiator which would make the engine run hotter. I had a fdrx7 before the my Legacy and its generally excepted in the rx7 community that a FMIC is bad and blocks the cooling to the radiator, which causes the engine to heat up and over heat.

If my RS is anything to go by, there is a FMIC(300x600x75) sitting at the front. Then the A/C heat exchanger (coveres far more radiator area than the fmic). The radiator seems to keep everything at the correct temps, and thats a shitty old reconned RS radiator. After a lenghty drive, ~30 deg night, fair bit of 17psi from a 16g you could feel the heat difference on the fmic.. first half was ~10 deg hotter than ambient and from ~2/3rds it was fairly much ambient.

Might be different with the rx7 ? Few guys I know with an FC and a bit of power and do drift have a vmount setup. maybe there isn't enough of an opening at the front of the rx7s' to let enough air though ?

summer with a FMIC blocking the radiator.

I've seen 2 summers in this car now, not had any issues yet ** but if its really hot (35+), I don't drive the car like I stole it




** will the new 2.5 be any different ? lets find out!

[BigWillieStyles]

What I reckon would be great on the cars with a TMIC or FMIC, would be a Intercooler Spray kit. A member with his b4 on the ozlib Melbourne cruise had a really good setup on his TM that was controlled from the drivers seat.

Dunno mate. I've had my FM over last summer and it has significantly reduced my issues with pinging and heatsoak. In saying that, its still a dog to drive in hot weather....

Mine is a fairly small FM (i think it was 280w x 180h) as ICs go. Haven't had any issues with overheating and i've also got a DIY CAI (from HIRISK ages ago...) which helps reduce intake temps. Again, this is just what i've experienced with mine as the TMIC wasn't working for me.

Im just curious, did you get any boost issues after the FMIC install?

[Soop]

I always thought that FMIC would be bad as it would block the radiator which would make the engine run hotter. I had a fdrx7 before the my Legacy and its generally excepted in the rx7 community that a FMIC is bad and blocks the cooling to the radiator, which causes the engine to heat up and over heat. A radiator plays an important role, especially with a twin turbo which is already a hot system. I would be fearful of running a car in the middle of summer with a FMIC blocking the radiator. Some of these cars already have issues with summer heat with pinging, blocking the radiator would just increase these problems. Track cars that cant run a top mount often run a V mount setup that allows a FMIC to sit at the front while also allowing the radiator to get sufficient cooling. I think we are really lucky to have the option for a TMIC.

You don't need a massive FMIC. The twits you see getting around in VL-t's with coolers that take up the front end of the car do so for pure ****.
In reality, you could probably get away with a smaller FMIC then what you have for a TMIC. Purely because its in better air flow area. Not that you would really.

[B4Cruiser]

What I reckon would be great on the cars with a TMIC or FMIC, would be a Intercooler Spray kit. A member with his b4 on the ozlib Melbourne cruise had a really good setup on his TM that was controlled from the drivers seat.

Im just curious, did you get any boost issues after the FMIC install?

spray would be helpful when the car is moving but i doubt would reduce heatsoak at the lights. As for boost concerns, no issues thus far after a retune. Mines still running on std boost.

You don't need a massive FMIC. The twits you see getting around in VL-t's with coolers that take up the front end of the car do so for pure ****.
In reality, you could probably get away with a smaller FMIC then what you have for a TMIC. Purely because its in better air flow area. Not that you would really.

which is why mine is relatively small. Unfortunately the pre-fab piping kit i had was designed for a 600x300x75 IC which required cutting the front bar. i'm getting the in/out pipes redone so the IC can sit below the bar and the bottom of the IC shouldn't hang below the bumper either.

[aekOne]

all my temps ran the same after the fmic was installed as they did before it. the radiator remained efficient even with a intercooler core in front of it

[BigWillieStyles]

all my temps ran the same after the fmic was installed as they did before it. the radiator remained efficient even with a intercooler core in front of it

Do you have an aftermarket temperature gauge?

[Soop]

Why would he need one? There's nothing wrong with the factory gauges.

The reason there's no issue with cooling is because the thermo fans come on to cool the coolant temperature at a certain temp. So if the airflow is restricted the fans will just come on more often.
That said, I've never noticed mine coming on any more then usual.

[Grant]

Why would he need one? There's nothing wrong with the factory gauges.

The reason there's no issue with cooling is because the thermo fans come on to cool the coolant temperature at a certain temp. So if the airflow is restricted the fans will just come on more often.
That said, I've never noticed mine coming on any more then usual.

QFT, since installing mine I haven't noticed them coming on more often either, although I had a big heat exchanger sitting in front of the radiator before from my WAIC...so if Subaru thinks it ok to put stuff in front of the radiator then it's fine with me

[aekOne]

Do you have an aftermarket temperature gauge?

I do actually. I've got an extra water temp and oil temp amongst others.

Why would he need one? There's nothing wrong with the factory gauges.

The reason there's no issue with cooling is because the thermo fans come on to cool the coolant temperature at a certain temp. So if the airflow is restricted the fans will just come on more often.
That said, I've never noticed mine coming on any more then usual.

+1

Sure i got the additional water temp gauge for extra monitoring but as i've found the temps are normal and consistent anyway

[BigWillieStyles]

Why would he need one? There's nothing wrong with the factory gauges.

The reason there's no issue with cooling is because the thermo fans come on to cool the coolant temperature at a certain temp. So if the airflow is restricted the fans will just come on more often.
That said, I've never noticed mine coming on any more then usual.

Using a factory gauge is fine, but it wont tell you exactly what changes have on the cooling of the car. The factory gauage makes it hard to identify if the car is reacting to something is particular and usually only provides three basic measurements; cold, warm, hot. Engine pinging for example, is brought on by excessive heat, with a factory gauge you cant identify the exact temperature that causes the pinging but with an aftermarket item, you can identify the temperature that the engine is pinging under.

[alexGT]

So my B4 with 194kwatw with a topmount and didn't have any problems with heatsoak is internet garbage?

No-one said they were better than FM's anyway, just that they're capable.

nothing wrong with top mount. i have a process west top mount and it has been proven to 250kw atw no dramas whatsoever.

i get jack all heatsoak, but mine is a 2.5 so it has plenty of grunt down low. i have also have STi waterspray setup which i hardly even use due to it just not being needed!

B4's have pissy little scoops and that doesn't help. WRX opening is huge and splitter design also plays a big part.

all comes down to personal choice. for me there was PROVEN results with the top mount for the setup that i wanted and having sat in these cars and felt the way they drove was able to make my decision...

[buzzda]

Using a factory gauge is fine, but it wont tell you exactly what changes have on the cooling of the car. The factory gauage makes it hard to identify if the car is reacting to something is particular and usually only provides three basic measurements; cold, warm, hot. Engine pinging for example, is brought on by excessive heat, with a factory gauge you cant identify the exact temperature that causes the pinging but with an aftermarket item, you can identify the temperature that the engine is pinging under.

The factory guages don't just have 3 settings, if you pay attention you can see it sits a tad higher on a hot day. Well, every car I've driven reg. I could.

[Richo]

"If there is no issue with cooling, and the fan cools the engine sufficiently enough, why do these engines ping under hot weather conditions. Surely this suggests that the factory cooling system is not up to scratch."

because the intake temp is higher in hot weather ?? and too many people tune for hectik HP and lean the sucker out too far.

[Alex]

nothing wrong with top mount. i have a process west top mount and it has been proven to 250kw atw no dramas whatsoever.

i get jack all heatsoak, but mine is a 2.5 so it has plenty of grunt down low. i have also have STi waterspray setup which i hardly even use due to it just not being needed!

B4's have pissy little scoops and that doesn't help. WRX opening is huge and splitter design also plays a big part.

all comes down to personal choice. for me there was PROVEN results with the top mount for the setup that i wanted and having sat in these cars and felt the way they drove was able to make my decision...

Here we go again.

Alexxx as always, instigating things he knows little about, that he's procured from rexnet.

Beating a dead horse isn't cool, you know.

TMIC are only good to a certain degree. But when compared back to back, you'll find that the FMIC will deliver a greater cooling charge to the intake air, thus allowing greater timing to be added to the motor, thus creating greater power. TMIC will suffer greater heatsoak.

I'll be happy to prove this with Dylan's impending TMIC to FMIC conversion. I have data logging cables and software to graph results.

In your instance, your car is hardly within an efficient power range for a 2.5L to worry about generating heat anyway, so it would be easy to assume that it'd make little difference for you. However, if you're looking at a 2.5L making loosely around 300kw, then a TMIC would be considered a clear bottleneck in performance.

[Soop]

Jeebuz, Alexxx the argument is spastic. Just be cause it works, doesn't mean it works well...

[Sanch]

So this might be off topic, but what about CAI kit's etc.

I don't know what type of intake the factory fitted, but there's no mention in the original post. Wouldn't that be a more efficient mod than changing an IC?