Big SMIC?....

This is Hpnotiq86's friend, I have '99 GSX, 65k miles, no mods, just picked it up for $10,300. here's my question, you guys think a big sidemount IC can flow just as good as a pretty good sized FMIC? I know it sounds dumb, but I dont want to have an FMIC showing if its not that much of a gain of a big SMIC...you see I am a victim to the "sleeper" syndrome. I was also thinking I can make a little scoop type device to mount under the front bumper that would direct a more powerful flow of air directly to the SMIC, instead of the SMIC just sucking in what it can. I know if I were going for a substantial amount of horsepower, a FMIC would be a must, but my goal is around, lets say....350-375whp? I don't know if you guys would consider that ALOT of horsepower if you compare that to all of these 500+whp DSMs...Still, im weary that even a big SMIC wouldn't be sufficient for that amount of HP.

Thanks, let me know what you guys think.

There arent THAT many 500+whp DSMs. And if you want sleeper...paint the FMIC a black of some sort. Although i have pondered the use of 2, yes 2, SMICs. Although I dont think it would work. And I think youll need a FMIC for the HP your looking for.

When I switched from stock to Supra IC, I saw a 3mph gain on pump gas, zero gain on race gas. So I was trapping ~104 and 110, repsectively, on a 14b. I wasnt terribly impressed with it. But its not all the ICs fault. In front of the tire you have a high pressure area, reducing the amount of flow you get through the ambient side of the IC. The "inside" of the SMIC can flow just fine, but it doesnt do any good it its flowing 1000 cfms of hot air :) SOme ducting behind the IC to get to a lower pressure area would be key, and this was something I really wanted to try and quantify, but never got the chance. I thinkfor your performance goals you can certainly make it work, but it will heat soak sooner, and good SMICs can cost nearly as much as the cheaper FMICs. I understand the sleeper thing though, and it's a tough call to make. Good luck :)