that's what i did first. Vibrant 3" > mounts > intake > unichip > fmic.
i didn't really notice much with the addition of the vibrant to my otherwise stock car, but i know that each mod after that will yield more than if it weren't such a good exhaust. with an intercooler, you definitely see an immediately apparent difference in driveability and power!
Yep, thats what i've heard.... it's noticeable once other mods are made.
My exhaust is rusting and the stock muffler has a defect and of course, Mazda says it's not their fault! Anyways, i'm getting the Vibrant and at least that should give me a few years of trouble free operation!
the IC upgrade i have also heard a lot about, but the thing is what to buy?
One thing to look for is also system pressure restriction and pressure build up. Like fluids going through pipes, you get restriction as pressure and volume of air (CFM) increases thus getting pressure drop along the piping that creates friction and thus heat. With the intercooler and piping you want a good balance between turbo spool, pressure build up and the least pressure restriction at max psi. The tricky part is to get it all right. I do not have the solution, but i think we all get the picture and some time should be spent calculating what you want.
Some intercoolers will show the rated CFM flow with psi drop at IC exit. This let's you know if you are to aggressive in IC size vs turbo max CFM at required boost setting or to conservative. If to big, you will feel lag as the turbo needs to spool more to fill system with air and then start to compress it. If you go to small, you wil get very fast boost but turbo will need to work harder to overcome restriction etc...
So unless going to race on a professional level, stick with a SMIC or smaller size FMIC and matched size piping.
My opinion on this...anyone wanna share any experience on this?