Custom Huge FMIC Install Pics.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

Well guys as promised i got some pics of the install so far. It only took me just over 3 hours to get as far as i am now. Im pulling the tranny out on Monday so I didnt finish putting all the piping in yet being i would just have to take it back off. I also need two small bends and two couplers which im getting from a friend, but heres the pics so far. Let me know what you guys think. I just have to some fine finishing on the bumper cuts.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSCN0199.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSCN0198.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSCN0200.jpg

You can see where the piping is going to run. The intake is just going straight over next to the fender well. but the bumper didnt come out as good as i had hoped. I had to chop alot more than i thought to get the bumper back on straight. but it still looks awsome to me. Not bad for three hours worth the work. later.

[Alejo_NIN]

PROPS MAN, IT LOOKS VERY NICE
i still think the ic is overkill...but fuck it...it looks gorgeous!!!!!

i wish i had it!!

laterz

[mryellermp5]

holy moly, u chopped the heck out of your bumper. which IC is that for talon? j/w. nice job

[_MSprotegy]

damn thats a huge FMIC

[msp35]

WOW you demolished a beautiful front bumper....atleast you kept the front bumper support ;)

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

the intercooler itself is 31x12x3. It was a hard fit but it still went really smooth. the do it yourself pipe kit with tbolt clamps work great. ive only had to make 2 cuts so far. i need two small bends to finish and a 2.5"-2" coupler for the turbo outlet. i forgot it was small. haha. Then thats basically it. I will see how the clutch looks when i have the tranny out. I got to look at the warranty work done to the car before i owned it and the tranny was replaced at 10k miles and the 3rd gear was done at 32k miles and i bought the car at 37k miles. so its possible the previous owner replaced the clutch. It hasnt given me any problems, never slipped once. so it might be in good shape. we'll see

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

oh and btw the stock sidemount is for sale with all piping and bypass valve. let me know if anyone is interested. 100.00 plus shipping.

[01bluemp3]

i think thats a lil large, heheh, but i like it. any plans for a lager turbo to fill that ic with air?

[Kansei]

so is this a track only car or somethin? do you have stock turbo and everything still?

I thought pressure drop would be like crazy across an IC that large.

[Alejo_NIN]

what intercooler piping you bought and from where??

any more detailed pictures??
how much was the ic?

[dominoy2k1]

damn you tore that bumper up. i think it would have looked better if you cut it along where the fins end. so the endtanks would not be showing.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

i just got a piping kit off ebay, with three ply silicoln fiber reinforced couplers with t bolt clamps for 110. shipped. The intercooler was 100 shipped. I did the whole thing for less than 300. Yes i have later plans to upgrade motor. Forged internals i will be building myself, tubular manifold and gt28 ball bearing turbo upgrade. but it should still spool up fast with that intercooler. I know people running t 25's with the same size piping and intercooler and still spool up fast. but alot more power. Piping is 2.5" I was going to go with 2" but i figured what the heck. but yeah i didnt get the greatest measurments on the bumper cut so thats why theres a little gap. I would have cut it in more so there wasnt but it was too late. haha. thanks for the remarks. i think its a sweet setup. i will be putting some black 5 zigen typhoon rims on there. next thing is to drop that bad boy. Should look sick, more pics to come when the car is done and cleaned up.

[yashooa]

It kind of looks like a little, silver whale trying to strain plankton through its open mouth.

(omg)

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

ebay. im guessing not many people buy those big huge intercoolers so that probably why their cheap

[msp35]

or because they're mostly pieces of shit....oh well I hope works out well for you anyway.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

i dont think its that. it pressure tested good.

[Alejo_NIN]

i just got a piping kit off ebay, with three ply silicoln fiber reinforced couplers with t bolt clamps for 110. shipped. The intercooler was 100 shipped. I did the whole thing for less than 300. Yes i have later plans to upgrade motor. Forged internals i will be building myself, tubular manifold and gt28 ball bearing turbo upgrade. but it should still spool up fast with that intercooler. I know people running t 25's with the same size piping and intercooler and still spool up fast. but alot more power. Piping is 2.5" I was going to go with 2" but i figured what the heck. but yeah i didnt get the greatest measurments on the bumper cut so thats why theres a little gap. I would have cut it in more so there wasnt but it was too late. haha. thanks for the remarks. i think its a sweet setup. i will be putting some black 5 zigen typhoon rims on there. next thing is to drop that bad boy. Should look sick, more pics to come when the car is done and cleaned up.
measure twice and cut once...carpenters law

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

yeah thats a good rule. i failed at it. not too bad though.

[MSP608]

youll love the power gains from it but now your car will run like crap. thats what happens when you go from very small to frickin huge intercooler. i would know because thats what happened when i installed my perrin fmic. youre letting your car breath alot better but it doesnt know how to react. yea anyways it looks awesome. most bling on a protege ive ever seen.(bling)

[FlyinMSP]

uber overkill??

[sandspeed]

haha nice man...that intercooler makes mine look like a lunch box. I like how the endtanks appear on the sides, it reminds me of a turboed nissan 240.

[FORZWIN]

haha nice man...that intercooler makes mine look like a lunch box. I like how the endtanks appear on the sides, it reminds me of a turboed nissan 240.

I was just thinking that it looks like Nissan Pulsar GTi-R. Those guys are known for crazy huge front mounts, come to think of it so are the DSM guys.

[Mutmatt]

totaly agree... even the perrin is getting big for our cars... EVEN FORGED ENGINES w/ like 20 psi


uber overkill??

[djarkitek]

nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mandafay51]

looks like photoshop to me

[ChopstickHero]

sorry, that looks like ass.

but props for going with that huge fmic... how's the pressure loss? ;)

[nvmsp]

You only notice the pressure loss when you turn on the A/C.


Speaking for myself at least. Car only felt like it had of a lot more torqe after a FMIC . But when you turn on the A/C while driving it feels like a slowtege.

So i can imagine it must be pretty bad with the A/C on.

[Black_Protege_5]

I hope you get that bumper professionally redone. I agree with chopstickhero in that it looks like ass. You destroyed that front bumper. What a shame.

[UnNaturalinc]

Not really diggin the hacked up front bumper...Looks kinda bad, man. There would have been much more clean ways to allow more air in to it. :-/

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

havent driven it yet with the new front mount. again i dont think its going to be too bad. I know plenty of guys running 2.5" piping or bigger and huge front mounts with their 2.0L engines and a t25-t28 size turbo and running 10psi which is what ill be running and thiers still spools up quick and still hits full boost under 3k rpms. if thats the case i will be totally happy with the setup. because im going from a stock intake and intercooler to a short ram cai that will sit next to the fender well and a lot less restrictive intercooler and not at all prone to heat soak but will cool the air nicely. unlike our tiny intercooler that doesnt cool worth the crap even when not heat soaked. So yes you guys are right when you say it could take a little longer for spool up but not killer and really not even enough probably to notice.

And thanks for the replies guys, alot of good and some negative comments but its all good. everyone has their tastes. Most all my friends like it and i defenetly like it. I just like the look of the big intercooler showing, it kinda takes your eyes totally away from the slightly crocked cut bumper. haha. but yes the bumper had a crack in it anyways but im also going to get that fixed and just clean up the cuts a bit to make it look smoother. Keep em coming guys. I will defenetly let you know how performance is when i get to drive it again, im taking out the tranny tommorrow to tear down so i can get parts ordered. All new gears, syncros, bearings, and forks and possibly others depending if there is anything else damaged.

[gone_fishin]

I have to agree with ben on this one. The whole chopped bumper concept looks a little hokie. For the ammount of boost you'll be running on stock internals and tranny, a smaller FMIC would have done ya just fine. A give you credit for having the stones to cut the bumper that much though, especially where it's so visible. Your paint might start chipping around the cuts, I'd keep an eye on it.

[ChopstickHero]

hmmm... what about your radiator getting sufficient airflow? you think you will have overheating issues?

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

yeah again if i would have measured the intercooler and bumper again before cutting i could have made it look alot better. especially at the top part of the endtanks it starts to have some empty space because the endtanks get smaller towards the top. i just didnt catch myself. oh well, live and learn but not too bad though being i did it with a sawzall. It was very difficult to cut straight even with two people holding the bumper.

[gone_fishin]

I bet, with the kick on the sawzall I'm surprised you didn't crack the bumper. props.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

nah i doubt it. my car never came close to overheating plus i will still have both fans in there. there is still plenty of air flow through there especially since the bumper is cut to almost the intercooler size. maybe if i didnt cut the bumper upwards it could have possibly at highway speeds but probably not. im also going to blow all the crap out from the a/c condenser. while im doing the tranny. im just going to take the radiator out and blow that crap out. there is a whole lot of dirt and bugs and crap about halfway up the condenser. to the point you cant even see through it. even that didnt have an effect on engine temp.

[gone_fishin]

it makes you feel powerful-- you can cut through just about anything... it's a good feeling.

[MSP_4_CODY]

so lets see some finished pics!!!

[vxfilmer1000]

WTF have you done to your car ???!!!!!!??!!!!!!

[Tommy1005]

I myself think that you have absolutely ruined your car....for the same money you could have gotten an IC that was about 9" tall instead of one that is 2 ft. tall and cut the crap out of your bumper....it's sad, I'd rather see another MSP wrecked than to see that bumper chopped up like that

[MSP_4_CODY]

damn!!^ i personally think it looks bad as hell!!!! but as long as youl ike it thats all that matters, oh and that it works right

[Mutmatt]

i think if you have a built motor and running a good amount of boost you may start to run into heating issues witht the radiator... maybe its time to look into a AWR performance one that spans the length like a p5 one AWR High Performance Radiator (http://mazda3online.web.aplus.net/product_info.php?cPath=21_31_135&products_id=449)

[Focus]

That's just wrong, to do that to the bumper :(

[JDM Sam]

are you in the dfw area?

[altspace]

Must becoming a trend. It's the 3rd cut bumper with large IC I've seen in 2 days.

[dirtysouth_msp]

Dude, you're brave (and a little off your rocker) to cut up the bumper like that. But that is overkill for sure. How much boost do you plan on running and on what turbo? With stock turbo and stock boost you will most likely see a performance decrease. But I'm curious to see how it works out for you. Also, if I were you, I'd try to find some kind of bumper that will fit, but I doubt you'll be able to find one.

[Titanium-99]

Funny I have the same core and I didnt hack up my front bumper but I did have to cut out the front bumper support.

[Titanium-99]

here is a pic of mine back along time ago when it was installed. I could find any pictures of it with the bumper on.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

are you in the dfw area?

nah i used to live in houston last year. i did meet up with like 7 other guys with msp's, i dont know maybe your one of them. I was going to uti there. now i live in yuma, az again. Back then it was pretty much stock other than open downpipe. oh and titanium-99. what size turbo were you running with that intercooler setup. looks like the same size as mine or close. also looks like your running the stock turbo. if so how was the performance on yours, more info would be cool.

neways my tranny parts come in tommorrow so the car should be done tommorrow evening. i will defenetly get pics and performance status of the setup. Its wierd, alot of people like how it looks with the cut bumper and alot of people dont. i guess its just a taste thing. oh well. i think it looks good and it will do what i want it to do. thanks guys for the replies. this thread is long. i guess you dont see alot of people doing something like this. oh well its different and i like that.

[speedcicle]

I would have to say that the size of that intercooler is overkill.......imo i think it would hinder peformance rather than enhance it. Plus the hacked up bumper really takes away from the front end of the car.....

[miss_steele_msp]

It would have looked a lot better if you would have measured twice and cut once. But is still looks good.

[ZenProtege]

The look isn't my taste, but it's not my car. I don't think you fucked up your car or bumper. Had I done something similar to that, I probably would have tried to make a fiberglass trim or done something of that nature to smooth up the outer lines of that cut. Performance wise you did the logical thing. By exposing all of that core your getting the most airflow possible to it. I never liked the perrin for that reason...It never made any sense that their core outsized the opening that exposed it by nearly two times.

Had I wanted (or better said needed)a big IC like yours, I would have done something similar.
On a side note....How much did those cuts weaken your bumper? You might need to consider reinforcing it somehow.... now that it's cut in some potentially important structural areas and the inner molding that it contours around is gone, it seems like the corners of the cuts may split

[vxfilmer1000]

It would have looked a lot better if you would have measured twice and cut once.


hah I use that moto (sp?) everyday at work.

[boostdprotegelx]

i like it man. looks good.sucks about the front bumper though...maybe just go buy another one and try again.

[MSP608]

hah I use that moto (sp?) everyday at work.

but i bet half the people in this thread are thinkin he shoulda measured twice, cut none.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

thats funny, your probably right. car should be done today. hopefully pics by tommorrow. later

[Maxx Mazda]

Good job actually fitting it in there, BAD job on hacking up the bumper... Sorry, I was honest...

[Alejo_NIN]

if the hole was only as big as the intercooler core, it'll be bad ass....but showing more than the end tanks...makes it look too big...like it is going to eat the car infront

[yashooa]

here is a pic of mine back along time ago when it was installed. I could find any pictures of it with the bumper on.
SO ghey!
hahahahah

J/K damn Adamn chill bra. Looks good :)
RUN AWAY! The baby whale is gonna eat me!

[arthur1137]

oh and btw the stock sidemount is for sale with all piping and bypass valve. let me know if anyone is interested. 100.00 plus shipping.


I need the flex-pipe from the turbo to the intercooler. Thanks ! arthur1137@mchsi.com

[snowblazin]

...maybe just go buy another one and try again.
x2. and stay away from the damn sawzall.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

awsome guys, well i ended up just rebuilding the tranny myself being the guy that was going to do it was busy with a motor in a camry that had to get done, but mine needed to get done because of the rental car situation. so i stepped into it myself. needless to say it was acutually really easy, i just made sure to take stuff apart and set it down in the order i took it off so i knew exactly how it went on. Neways the car is now on the road again. tranny feels good and now for the performance stats.

The boost went from 8-8.5psi to 9-9.5psi. Performance is awsome. soooooo much more power. bov that i can acually hear over my exhaust, haha. i hit full boost acually at about the same rpm as i did before the intake and intercooler. full boost comes on at 2700rpms Throttle response is a definite increase. A lot different than before. Car seems to run alright at that boost level. Reading good on the air/fuel ratio. Im just going to keep the boost where its at. No need to increase. The new 5 zigen typhoons look awsome on the car. Gives it a whole new look. Everyone loved them. They are a little wider with a bigger offset so they just barely stick out from the sides of the fenders but to me and everyone else they say it goes right along with the body lines of the car and makes it look sweet unlike the stock racing harts that tuck into the fender. I will get pics up around noon tommorrow or so. Im definetely happy with the results.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

ok guys here are the finished product pics.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00001-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00005-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00006-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00007-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00008-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00009.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00011-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00012.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00014.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/ashtonroche/DSC00015-1.jpg

let me know what you guys think

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

Oh and i also have the stock racing hart rims with two new tires and two almost bald tires up for sale also. if anyone is interested let me know

[boostdprotegelx]

looks good man.

[Omar MSP]

god that car is beggin for a drop... nice setup, look really good... u'll win something in a carshow for a fact...

[snowblazin]

god that car is beggin for a drop... nice setup, look really good... u'll win something in a carshow for a fact...
(eyeballs)

[Maxx Mazda]

U ned a rear lip... Badly...

[Doodsmack]

lol is an intercooler that big useful with a t25?

[Omar MSP]

lol is an intercooler that big useful with a t25?
i think he's gonna lag if he has a stock turbo...

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

no like i said it doesnt lag any. spool time is the same as it was but also hitting 1-1.5psi more. The car runs awsome.

[MSP608]

U ned a rear lip... Badly...

yea why isnt your lip on?

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

when i bought the car it didnt have it on. i really didnt even notice it. lol until you guys said something, then i looked at another one, thats funny

[jsgolfer]

that looks like poo. seems like you cut way more than you needed to. i can imagine if i did this mod this is about what it would look like, lol

[MSP_4_CODY]

thats lookin nice man, the pipes are clean! but wheres ur intake?

[gone_fishin]

dude, Alejo_NIN is planning a sawzall fiesta too. maybe you two should meet up. check it out...

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123645283

[II-Savy]

Wow you absolutely fucked up your car. Just wow. It's retarded big. It's beyond me how anyone on this Forum could look at that install job and give positive comments.

Its one thing giving your opinion on a modification to someone’s car...for example adding different tail lights. You may not like the way they look but if they are installed correctly, well, ok.

You just hacked the shit out of your front end and it looks very unprofessional.

I advise purchasing a new bumper and trying again to get the cuts straight.

[gone_fishin]

hey savy, let's be nice

[II-Savy]

hey savy, let's be nice

Your right, sorry, I love it!

Holy cow, I just can't believe it. Most of the time, I say, "Hey if it's what you like then cool, just not my cup of tea"....but Jesus dude!

[gone_fishin]

you don't have to love it, but in the same respect you don't have to be a hard ass about it. there's a difference between tactfully expressing your opinion while offering constructive criticism, and trashing someone's work. I'm sure his feelings weren't terribly hurt, but damn dude, lighten up...

[II-Savy]

you don't have to love it, but in the same respect you don't have to be a hard ass about it. there's a difference between tactfully expressing your opinion while offering constructive criticism, and trashing someone's work. I'm sure his feelings weren't terribly hurt, but damn dude, lighten up...

I didn't think I hammered him that badly and I did offer a suggestion at the end. It does look unprofessional.

I mean come on dude, for example you may not like my front grill, but I put it in straight! Ya know?

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

hey you guys are right, but honestly it doesnt look that bad, again some like it and some dont, I like it but yes i could definetely say i could have done alot better job especially if i would have measured again before cutting, i know for a fact i could have done alot better job but for what its worth and for what tools i had to do it with i think i did a decent job, the bumper was messed up a little before i did this anyways, There is a nice crack at the bottom passenger side lip. So i really had nothing to lose. Neways thanks for the comments guys. I personally love the car and love the performance of the modification more than anything. Plus being im going to put the car back up for sale and i live in a military town there are people looking for a nice flashy newer fast car and really before when i had it up for sale no one even knew what the car was and didnt even know it was turbocharged. Well now it has some flash to it and to me looks mean as hell and looks fast and it has the speed now to go with it. it defienly has mid 13 second power now. And hey how many cars out there run mid 13's Not very many. Plus it still looks clean.

[vxfilmer1000]

I mean to each his own, BUT I just dont see the need for such a big intercooler. I mean I wish I would have gotten a smaller one.

[Bakum]

I like where your head is at with that MONSTER Front Mount. I think if the MSP was faster stock with the stock turbo and boost, it would be more logical. The piping under the hood is very clean, but like everyone else said, the bumper is mangled. Good install though. Maybe you could find a aftermarket front bumper and get a whole new look, while having the opening large enough to fill that IC.

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

yeah i was thinking that but the car is up for sale now and im not going to put any more money into it. The car payment and insurance is way too much, especially here in yuma,az. I think i will be sticking to my older cars again. Back to the sentra se-r. Ive got some nice plans for a serious sleeper later in the future.

[djarkitek]

yeah i was thinking that but the car is up for sale now and im not going to put any more money into it. The car payment and insurance is way too much, especially here in yuma,az. I think i will be sticking to my older cars again. Back to the sentra se-r. Ive got some nice plans for a serious sleeper later in the future.

you are ALREADY selling after just doing this?...... that sucks

[mazdaspeed/se-r]

well im sure i will get to enjoy it for a little while at least. probably wont sell quick but im hoping. it feels good but im going for something different again.