Evo 8/9 FMIC & IC Piping

Since we are restricted to the stock turbo in SP and still want to make as much power as possible upgrading the FMIC (front mount intercooler) made sense. When we really push the stock turbo with higher boost its efficiency is reduced and starts blowing hotter air. This will make the engine more prone to knock, pulling timing and reducing power, no bueno.

Now this upgrade isn't without negatives. The FMIC is all the way out front, basically one of the worst places to add weight. They also have increased volume over stock, potentially creating lag and hurting spool as it takes longer to fill that volume. I'd like to keep spool as low as possible to pull the car out of lower speed corners, this is something the 8 motor is not good at.

With all of this in mind I started looking at FMIC's on the market to find one that was:
1) lighter than the rest
2) about 3.5" width
3) not a huge volume/size increase over stock
4) Fits in the OEM location without cutting/modifying anything.

Weights
OEM = 9.5 lbs
AMS = 20.0 lbs
Buschur = 23.5 lbs
CBRD = 30.0 lbs
ETS = ?? (Never got an answer on weight)
JM Fab = ??

As you can see the minimum increase in weight is the AMS FMIC at a 10.5 lb gain. Ok, thats not too bad. It can be offset by losing the IC sprayer tank (-5.0 lbs & my car is an '03) and swapping to a slim rad fan (-6.5 lbs).

Widths
OEM = <3.5"
AMS =" 3.5"
Buschur =" 3.5"
CBRD =" 3.8"
ETS =" 3.5"
JM fab =" 3.8"

Nothing crazy here in terms of width.

On to volume. I started looking at this but when you think about it comparing overall core volume just makes no sense. The only real volume that matters is the internal pressurized volume. Since most of the IC's listed above use different cores there is no apples to apples comparison, even if they are all bar & plate style. Another thing to look at is how much frontal area there is, as I am willing to bet more area is better in terms of cooling. Not going to break out the heat transfer book for this one though.

In terms of fitment these are all on the list because they are advertised as needing no modifications or slight mods (bending/trimming) to fit. Bumper beam removal is an absolute no-no so alot of the 4" cores were out the window there.

All that said I really like the cast end tanks and engineering that went into the AMS piece. It looks to be the best compromise for my intended usage (autox). Buschur & ETS would be next on the list when you take weight & price into consideration. Let's check out some pics of the AMS FMIC vs OEM.


Sweeeet!


AMS vs OEM


Apparently thicker is better.


OEM fin & tube core


AMS Bar & Plate core


Test Fit


Touching the A/C fan wiring. Probably space out the IC with a couple washers.


Plenty of clearance to the bumper beam.


:)
Me: Check it out Richie (my brother-in-law), looks pretty sweet.
Richie: That's your first front mount huh?
Me: Yeah.
Richie: It looks the same.
Me: No way dude, it looks sweet.

He was right. Fugger. :P

Ok, on to the IC piping. My requirements here were that it needs to fit whatever FMIC was chosen and be aluminum. Also wanted the UICP to be a "short route" type to minimize the volume and bends. This volume reduction also helps offset the gain in the FMIC. Not too many choices out there, so AMS was a pretty easy decision here(outside of the price).

Their piping looks well designed with support tabs welded on to both the LICP and UICP. Once it arrived the quality was evident. Great polish, nice welds, very pleased here. Also managed to lose 1.5lbs from the UICP!

Weights
OEM LICP = 2.5 lbs
AMS LICP = 2.5 lbs
OEM UICP = 5.5 lbs
AMS UICP = 4.0 lbs (-1.5 lbs bonus!)

Here's a bunch of comparison pics between the OEM and AMS stuff.


OEM LICP vs AMS LICP


AMS


OEM UICP vs AMS UICP. Huge difference here.


AMS

Wanted to thank MAPerformance for the hookup on these parts. Great guys to deal with. Thanks Chris & Adam! www.maperformance.com

J