FMIC questions

[Dylindmark]

I just recently went Cobb stage 1 with a CAI and a DSG tune and want to add an exhaust but Cobb is suggesting I add a FMIC before doing so as I will get heat soak. Their intercooler however is around $900 and was wondering if any of you have gone through Cobb, and if so is there a cheaper alternative to their FMIC?

 

[jimlloyd40]

There's lots of other brands of intercoolers. And I agree an IC should be one of the first mods. After you get the IC then get an EQT ECU and DSG tune for your Access Port and you'll be amazed how much better it is than the Cobb tunes. And there's better options than Cobb's IC. At that price I would get the AMS IC for a stock location fit and Baun Performance for a true FMIC.

 

[El_bigote_AJ]

There's lots of other brands of intercoolers. And I agree an IC should be one of the first mods. After you get the IC then get an EQT ECU and DSG tune for your Access Port and you'll be amazed how much better it is than the Cobb tunes. And there's better options than Cobb's IC. At that price I would get the AMS IC for a stock location fit and Baun Performance for a true FMIC.

Lol, Cobb only sells the AMS... they are just labeling it wrong.
https://www.cobbtuning.com/products...-intercooler-for-vw-gti-golf-r-gli-audi-s3-a3

 

[jimlloyd40]

Lol, Cobb only sells the AMS... they are just labeling it wrong.
https://www.cobbtuning.com/products...-intercooler-for-vw-gti-golf-r-gli-audi-s3-a3

I didn't know that glad that you find that to be funny.

 

[Chogokin]

I just recently went Cobb stage 1 with a CAI and a DSG tune and want to add an exhaust but Cobb is suggesting I add a FMIC before doing so as I will get heat soak. Their intercooler however is around $900 and was wondering if any of you have gone through Cobb, and if so is there a cheaper alternative to their FMIC?

If you don't plan on going beyond the stock turbo...you can always go with a "Twintercooler" from either eBay or Amazon. For the cost...it seems to work pretty well...at a fairly low price.

These work inline with the stock intercooler.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZCLK9L...8SRRHQBHPYQ&psc=1&refRID=HNHY1SYER8SRRHQBHPYQ

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgrade-FMIC-Twin-Intercooler-Black-Hose-Kit-For-Volkswagen-Golf-R-GTI-MK7-2-0T/273408377121?_trkparms=aid=1110006&algo=HOMESPLICE.SIM&ao=1&asc=20200520130048&meid=6c3e0a71f6a64b188fc5896ee2da279c&pid=100005&rk=5&rkt=12&mehot=pf&sd=264786804207&itm=273408377121&pmt=1&noa=0&pg=2047675&algv=SimplAMLv5PairwiseWebWithBBEV2bDemotion&brand=Unbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

[Hollywood0220]

I just recently went Cobb stage 1 with a CAI and a DSG tune and want to add an exhaust but Cobb is suggesting I add a FMIC before doing so as I will get heat soak. Their intercooler however is around $900 and was wondering if any of you have gone through Cobb, and if so is there a cheaper alternative to their FMIC?

There are less costly alternatives.
Have an understanding of your vehicle's Cooling System - there is an A/C Condensor, I/C, and Radiator in the stack. Air flows in that direction.
When opting for a FMIC, know that the air flow through the Cooling System is greatly reduced. FMIC type set-ups that piggy-back on the stock system are effective, but at the cost of affecting the rest of the system.
Just about every Stock location I/C will be more costly.
At a minimum, I would recommend a stock location I/C set-up over a FMIC - regardless of brand or type.

 

[swcrow]

There's lots of other brands of intercoolers. And I agree an IC should be one of the first mods. After you get the IC then get an EQT ECU and DSG tune for your Access Port and you'll be amazed how much better it is than the Cobb tunes. And there's better options than Cobb's IC. At that price I would get the AMS IC for a stock location fit and Baun Performance for a true FMIC.

This. I'm running it and it's far cheaper than that price. You definitely won't be disappointed. Beautiful fabrication.

 

[IanCH]

Does the AC performance really suffer from the FMIC? I find it ridiculous that the AC condenser is just hanging out there with no protection, on my golf R the AC condenser was hit by a rock and died in the first 2k miles.

 

[Jovian]

I have the AMS intercooler which is the one Cobb sells. Did a review on it as well as talk about intercoolers in general for these cars here: https://www.carworklog.com/2020/07/17/mk7-intercoolers-ams-intercooler-upgrade/

 

[git_fan]

Does the AC performance really suffer from the FMIC? I find it ridiculous that the AC condenser is just hanging out there with no protection, on my golf R the AC condenser was hit by a rock and died in the first 2k miles.

Probably not.

 

[Hollywood0220]

@Jovian Well worth the $ wasn't it? Would you mind sharing your experience in power delivery from your mountainous joy rides with your M8s - be it on your Stg1 or E30 tune?
This route seems to be the "Road Less Travelled" and so many cannot comprehend what 22fins an Inch will do for a Tube and Fin while fitting in the stock location.

 

[bentin]

Does the AC performance really suffer from the FMIC? I find it ridiculous that the AC condenser is just hanging out there with no protection, on my golf R the AC condenser was hit by a rock and died in the first 2k miles.

I actually think it's the opposite. Removing the meat from the heat sandwich should actually give the radiator and a/c condenser a break, even if you're reducing air flow. I still think Baun's idea of a larger radiator that replaces the stock location intercooler is ideal, especially with the ability to add oil cooling.

 

[mk6'12gti]

Arms just came out with a true fmic as well which is basically the same as Bauns they both use the same vibrant 12810 core.

 

[IanCH]

I actually think it's the opposite. Removing the meat from the heat sandwich should actually give the radiator and a/c condenser a break, even if you're reducing air flow. I still think Baun's idea of a larger radiator that replaces the stock location intercooler is ideal, especially with the ability to add oil cooling.

In air to water closed loop cooling, thickness increase has pretty severe diminishing returns compared to x-section area increase... I'd be interested to see if the increased weight and amount of coolant volume was worth it. Only one way to really know though...

 

[Jovian]

@Jovian Well worth the $ wasn't it? Would you mind sharing your experience in power delivery from your mountainous joy rides with your M8s - be it on your Stg1 or E30 tune?
This route seems to be the "Road Less Travelled" and so many cannot comprehend what 22fins an Inch will do for a Tube and Fin while fitting in the stock location.

Absolutely well worth the money. I ran the OEM intercooler on the GTI with that 91oct EQT tune for over a year before getting the AMS and had no clue what I was leaving on the table. Heatsoak is real on this engine and it pulls back accordingly to keep things safe. If you have ever had a good pull and then the rest dont seem as exhilarating thats probably the intercooler not keeping up. The graphs I put in my article give some insight into this compounding issue of heat soak with every pull I did.

Like most car mods I thought an upgraded IC would help a bit of performance but would be hard to notice with the butt dyno but thats not the case here. It was very noticeable and the car pulls much more consistently now as the ECU has to hold it back less.

I like the direct replacement intercoolers over FMIC for various reason. Most of the time you need to leave the stock intercoler in when doing a FMIC due to it holding other thing in place. So you keep all that weight and now its just a block of metal getting no flow internally to dissipate heat (unless you are running a twintercooler setup). I think I read GTI Jake working on a setup that removes the stock intercooler and adds a bigger oil cooler or rad to work with his FMIC, that would be better option for FMIC setups.

I think the flow of the tube and fin intercoolers work better with the MK7 sandwich of coolers that they have going on. Putting a super dense intercooler in between all that is only going to restrict flow more. I dont have data on this and its just a theory but I think it makes sense.