Pick a FMIC for me.

[jerrad]

Gents,
I'm looking for a new FM to replace my dutt neck stocker. So far I've looked at the cotton, RJC, precision, and the uper extreme from TR Custom parts.

I'm looking to run a 10.80 at best so the huge 4"+ thick IC's are not wanted. I want something that will give me less restriction and hopefully a couple tenths. I also would like one that doesn't totally stop air flow to the radiator because I don't want that being my next project.

That being said, which way should I go?

 

[U ONT 2]

Just Take Your Rad And Have It Rodded. Easy Job To Do/have Done. I Paid $60 To Have Mine Done. Just Buying Insurance For Your Tr.

 

[jerrad]

What's rodded? Haven't heard that term.

 

[xcessiv6]

Extreme Automatics is the nicest one out there alot of TSM guys run it.

 

[V6RACER]

Cottons, RJC, or Lonnie's FMICs will work fine. I had all three, tested them, and ended up with Cotton's by the end of the year on my TSM car.

 

[Sweet6]

for running 10.80s all of those FMs you mentioned will be fine. All of those are good for 9s from what I have read.

Or you could go with a Precision stock location. That will be plenty for 10.80s as well.

 

[Blazer406]

IMHO.... you don't need a FMIC to go 10.80's with a BB66 turbo and alky.... if the complementing parts and good traction are there.... 10.80's ought to be obtainable w/o a front mount.....especially since you have Champion irons.....

 

[jerrad]

Blazer406: I agree but I wan't to make the combo as efficient as possible you know. Plus My tuning capabilities are limited at best as far as fine tuning.

Sweet6: I thought about a SLIC but I don't really like the style on the stocker.

V6Racer: thanks for the info, did you notice any signifiacant gains between the 3?

To everyone thats voted, thanks a ton.

 

[Blazer406]

Jason (V6Racer) is right.... all three are good intercoolers.

I personally have the RJC FM IC. IMHO... the workmanship and overall visual eye candy is second to none with the RJC. It is also not near as thick as the Precision FMIC..... and the tanks are far enough out of the airflow stream... that they don't hinder airflow as much to the radiator.

FWIW... I had a CAS V2 FMIC that was tons lighter than the RJC.... albeit not as good performance wise IMHO.... but still tons better than any SLIC (IMHO).... and was available with 3" piping. IMHO is was the perfect street FMIC.... especially if alky was installed.

I actually am "on-the-fence" if I made the right move (in my situation) to step up to the RJC...... don't get me wrong... the RJC IC325 is among the best of the best for a FMIC on a street driven buick.... and holds it's own on a race only buick....but the CAS V2 was at least 1/2 the weight....fairly close to as big (surface area)....and had a thinner core to block less air to the radiator.... and had less volume to "fill-up" for potentially a faster turbo spoolup.

I hope I haven't muddied the water too much....

HTH

 

[jerrad]

Thanks for the info. It seems like all are good choices but when it's your own money you want the perfect IC.

How much better does the RJC perform over the CAS v2?

 

[SloGN]

RJC for the win

 

[Nick McCardle]

You know my vote, TR Custom Parts. Can't beat it for the price, or come close.

 

[Blazer406]

Thanks for the info. It seems like all are good choices but when it's your own money you want the perfect IC.

How much better does the RJC perform over the CAS v2?

IMHO... the difference at 24 psi on a 10.80 car.... and since alky is involved.... isn't any to speak of. On a 10.0 car....at 28-32 psi.... the gap widens in favor of the RJC considerably......

Here is some info for you to chew on a little.... this article is old.... but does have a Cotton's FMIC, a Cas V2, and a Precision FMIC....

Bob Dick's I/C Comparison

HTH

 

[TurboDave]

Jason (V6Racer) is right.... all three are good intercoolers.

I personally have the RJC FM IC. IMHO... the workmanship and overall visual eye candy is second to none with the RJC. It is also not near as thick as the Precision FMIC..... and the tanks are far enough out of the airflow stream... that they don't hinder airflow as much to the radiator.

FWIW... I had a CAS V2 FMIC that was tons lighter than the RJC.... albeit not as good performance wise IMHO.... but still tons better than any SLIC (IMHO).... and was available with 3" piping. IMHO is was the perfect street FMIC.... especially if alky was installed.

I actually am "on-the-fence" if I made the right move (in my situation) to step up to the RJC...... don't get me wrong... the RJC IC325 is among the best of the best for a FMIC on a street driven buick.... and holds it's own on a race only buick....but the CAS V2 was at least 1/2 the weight....fairly close to as big (surface area)....and had a thinner core to block less air to the radiator.... and had less volume to "fill-up" for potentially a faster turbo spoolup.

I hope I haven't muddied the water too much....

HTH

Not muddying the waters at all. I totally disagree with others that keep saying that you only need a FMIC on fast 10.80 or quicker cars.

Maybe the key word is "need".

There absolutely is NO disputing the fact that there are gains to be made when moving to a FMIC (assuming it's a high quality unit) compared to a SLIC of equal quality. And there's at least 2-3 tenths and 2-3 mph to be gained when switching out the stock IC in favor of a good front mount..

No matter how fast or slow you're running. And those that don't see such a gain need to start a re-tuning process. The laws of physics can't be deny'd.

If someone is running a mid 12 car and wants to see such gains, it's up to them to decide if the expense of a good FMIC is worth it. Telling someone that they're wasting their money because they don't run in the 10's is BS. Let them decide how many $$ a couple tenths and mph is worth.

 

[Blazer406]

I don't think he "needs" one to go 10.80's with his basic combo..... however... I will not argue that a FMIC won't yield some measureable improvement......just that with the current goals... it isn't a must have IMHO.

IMHO... a BB66 and champion irons ought to be capable of running bottom 10's with a good SLIC... and pump gas.

 

[graza002]

RJC in my car....paired up with a F-body rad and a car that runs 168 in the summer here in SoCal....

 

[Clark6]

10.63 & 10.75 second 2 out of 3 first time 1/4 mile passes with the new combo stock throttle body 15row mease SLIC 24psi of boost with a shade more to go-- nuff said.

ps the precision slic would be even better.
had a buddy here locally ran his first 10.74 at a different track with a 17 row Thunder fab intercooler.

 

[V6RACER]

You can run 10.80s with a SLIC... at the disadvantage of the air inlet temps but with alky you can compensate for that.

It mostly depends on the combo. If you run a smaller turbo and have to have higher boost #s then you might benifit from a good front mount. If you have a larger turbo running lower boost #s you can make the same power with less inlet temps..

Combo.
Combo..
Combo...

Not going into the details of what we found on my old car, but in TSM you have to test and test and test until you find the combo that works the best..

Most people aren't willing to spend the money or do the testing they just want to bolt it on and go..

 

[SloGN]

well i can tell ya i don't have a 10.80 car at all. but i went from running 7.80's @ 22psi to running 7.30's with my RJC. the kicker is the car when it was running the 7.80's i had a tony dequik v4r on the car.

I now can run 7.80's @ 15 psi on street tires.


but everybody has their own opinions about this subject. but as turbodave has mentioned the laws of pysics don't lie.


one other thing to think about is the diffrence of air temp each I/C is subjected to. The FMIC see outside air temps the SLIC sees anywhere from 160 degrees and higher because it sits inside the engine bay. with a FMIC you have a higher potentail difference between the inlet air temp and outside air temp.

 

[scot w.]

There absolutely is NO disputing the fact that there are gains to be made when moving to a FMIC (assuming it's a high quality unit) compared to a SLIC of equal quality. And there's at least 2-3 tenths and 2-3 mph to be gained when switching out the stock IC in favor of a good front mount..

No matter how fast or slow you're running. And those that don't see such a gain need to start a re-tuning process. The laws of physics can't be deny'd.

If someone is running a mid 12 car and wants to see such gains, it's up to them to decide if the expense of a good FMIC is worth it. Telling someone that they're wasting their money because they don't run in the 10's is BS. Let them decide how many $$ a couple tenths and mph is worth.

I agree 100%. The part in bold can't be stressed enough! To me a good quality product is more important than just a cheap one. As long as you get yourself a I/C that is known for it's good quality, fit & craftsman ship you will be better off in the long run if you ever plan to up grade past your 66 turbo you will have a nice quality I/C that is efficient and well made.

FWIW, I still have all my data on the PTE slic that I done years ago. I will be doing the same tests on my new FMIC to compare the differance. Everything from air-flow, Air temps, heatsoak.

You know what they say, "You get what you pay for"

My FMIC should be here tomarow :biggrin: