TMIC or FMIC - suggest me

[MSP507]

My MS3 has the following mods, SU Test Pipe 3 ", Magnaflow Exhauts 3 ", Turbosmart Dual Blow Off, Injen CAI and rear SU engine mount. The next mods will be to change the intercooler, which TMIC or FMIC suggest me and which it brand.

Greetings

[SPEED3TYPE2]

Ets tmic is what I recommend. you gain 2 pounds of boost and lower bat by 30 degrees on avg.

[mazdasp33d]

protegegarages' new fmic.. great deal.

[coyfish]

Do a search but im in a good mood so ill break it down for you.

TMIC
pros - ease of install, price, throttle response
cons - heat soak if you sit in same spot for like 30+ seconds

FMIC
pros - no heat soak
cons - price, install is "long" (warranty), more turbo lag

You have to weight the pro's and con's but mainly I think it comes down to if you plan on tracking the car or if you have no worry about warranty. I thought about a FMIC for a long time but decided against it because with all my mods its already going to take most of a day to revert to stock. I don't have that kind of time if heaven forbid something were to go wrong and warrant a dealer visit. If warranty is not a big deal for you than hit up the FMIC. No reason not to.

TMIC and FMIC will perform almost the same at max efficiency. The only difference really is the heat soak. The turbo is so small the lag is very minimal with the FMIC.

[Cataphract_40]

protegegarages' new fmic.. Great deal.

+1000

[Bonafide_Spd3]

cataphract 40, how long did it take for the install of the fmic? I'll be doing it next month and want to know how smooth it's gonna be.

Msp507 I've been going back and forth between the tmic and fmic. And the m3m fmic is a great deal and I think it will look so much better than the tmic. I don't think install will take that long and every other mod I have is pretty easy to un install. It's all about what you want. i sit in traffic alot in florida so I'll alway have heat soak. It's all about you want. Out of the ets and su tmic. I'd go with ets just because it's a thicker core

[HOBDisease]

Get the FMIC and paint it black...sleeper status.

[coyfish]

FMIC installs done by someone who has done it a bunch can be done in 1 hour. Most first timers take at least a good 5-6 hours to do it. Obviously depends on the model of IC and whether or not it requires messing with the crash bar.

[mr_mazda329]

ETS 3.25 TMIC. Awesome deal. Throttle response goes up (virtually no lag) and easy to swap for dealer visits.

[Cataphract_40]

You could get the PG FMIC kit installed in under one hour if you have done it before and have people helping you. If you're working alone and have never done if before, expect more like 3-4.

[Sp33dFr33k]

It used to be a money issue choosing between them cause fmic's would be almost twice the price. Now with the PG deal its about the same price. An FMIC for the same price as a TMIC is basically a no brainer to me unless you would prefer easier swap out for dealer visits. You should see slightly better gains with the FMIC and won't have to worry about heat soak. From what I hear there really isn't a difference in lag with the PG kit.

[Circle9]

I'm staying with TMIC due to sleeper reasons :D

[jay32m]

I'm staying with TMIC due to sleeper reasons :D

lol I want people to know (drive2) (nana)

[Circle9]

I prefer the astonished look on their faces when some wagon walks their Mustang or Camaro :D

I was just in Orlando on vacation, I've never seen so many Speed3's! To my knowledge, I'm the only one around in my area, it sucks.

[Bravnik]

TMIC = Heat Soak. It is sitting on top of the engine which is the hottest place in the car.

FMIC = No Heat Soak. Turbo lag is unnoticable and if you ask me our turbo spools too fast as it is. I don't mind slowing the spool time by 200RMPs or so.

FMIC > TMIC is almost any application. Unless you want a quick swap to stock. Even then it only takes a few minutes to pull off a FMIC. Putting it on take a little more time, but I can rip my FMIC out in about 10m I assure you.

[Speedkid]

I'm staying with TMIC due to sleeper reasons :D

You can always black out a fmic.

[Bonafide_Spd3]

Hellz yeah, I agree with the black out fmic. Can't wait to get mine

[drzcrazychulo4u]

i have a fmic which paint can do you use to color it???

[AllLostThings]

I thought about going FMIC but the big thing for me was cost. My TMIC was wayyy less expensive for very similar performance.

[coyfish]

For the speed 3's its a no brainer now. PG sells the tubing for pretty cheap. Buy a core and your set for the same price as a TMIC.

[Speedkid]

Yeah PG has a good deal I should have waited could have saved some money for something else.

[BrianFiebig]

Im personally saving my pennies for the Corksport FMIC/Ram air combo kit. I think it looks sharp, especially because when you have that in, the stock IC ducting and what not is an eyesore with the hood up with any other FMIC.

[derspi]

I went with the TMIC mostly for cost and ease of install/uninstall. The lightly used one I picked up only set me back $350 as opposed to a Cobb or CPE FMIC which would have cost around $900+ At the time, those were the main options as far as FMIC went so it was a no brainer for me considering the substantial savings. There should be more headroom with any FMIC so if max performance is what you want then there's no question what you should go with but it just wasn't worth the hassle and extra cost for me.

Oh and many have mentioned going "sleeper" look with the FMIC and yes, you can can paint the core black to get that but it'll look nasty in no time because of all the bugs and rock chips you'll get on the contrasting black. A painted FMIC will only look good for about a couple of months.

[jlocurto]

A painted FMIC will only look good for about a couple of months.

then repaint :)

[Speedkid]

Yeah you can just repaint it and you can just spray bugs off.

[RC08MS3]

Im personally saving my pennies for the Corksport FMIC/Ram air combo kit. I think it looks sharp, especially because when you have that in, the stock IC ducting and what not is an eyesore with the hood up with any other FMIC.

+1 i spent the extra monies for it and its worth it.

and a painted FMIC can be re-painted...... dnt see why it will only look good for a couple months.

[derspi]

^^

Coz it's kind of a pain in the ass to keep having to do that. If I'm getting an FMIC over a TMIC because it performs better, the last thing I'd be worried about is what colour my FMIC core is.

[Sp33dFr33k]

Im personally saving my pennies for the Corksport FMIC/Ram air combo kit. I think it looks sharp, especially because when you have that in, the stock IC ducting and what not is an eyesore with the hood up with any other FMIC.

Thats why u remove the ducting in about a minute and don't need it anymore. The ducting will rub a bit on the pg setup anyways.

[justanothermp5]

PG Intercooler piping plus http://www.mishimoto.com/mishimoto-universal-intercooler-medium-black.html equals sleeper