fmic hp gains

[milton666]

anyone know what hp gains i should expect form a fmic? not a race one, i was thinkin about saving for one but there so damn expensive i was just wonderin how much hp i could gain from one.

[joemathews]

On a T25, basically nothing. If you're on the stock turbo, I wouldn't make a fmic my first mod, but Vince might argue with me . On a bigger turbo, maybe 10%+ hp gain, depending on the size of the turbo and the type of intercooler you buy. I don't think it's uncommon for people making 275 hp on the stock sidemount and a 16g to bump up to 300 on pump gas with a good frountmount, for example.

Remember what the point of a fmic is--to cool the intake charge air, thus reducing pre-detonation and increasing overall vehicle performance. This means you can run more boost on the same octane gas, with a reduced chance of knock. As Kevin always says, "a good FMIC is the key to pump gas power"

Search DSMtuners.com for "DIY fmic" or "custom fmic" and you will see that for $300-400 you can build your own fmic setup that will handle 400+ horsepower efficiently.

[kjewer1]

Yes, it comes down to how much more boost/timing can you run. Each pound of boost typically ends up around 1 lbs/min on a typical setup. So you get the initial gains of reduced charge temps/increased charge density, and ultimately the gains from more airflow. So its a combination of the two. There are also some gains from a reduction of pressure drop when you get into larger turbos and higher airflows. I wouldnt suggest trying to run 45 lbs/min through a sidemount, while thats common practice on pump gas with a FMIC. On race gas, most of the gains will be from the increase in charge density, since the high octane will mask any knokc problems (up to a certain point dependant on the fuel and the setup/settings).

Edit> Never realy answer the question I guess. Probably because there is no good answer. But I've seen ~30-40 hp in typical 20g type setups. On smaller turbos that create more heat, the gains can be significant as well though. Remember, the more efficient the turbo is, the less intercooling you need. But, the majority of heat in the charge air still comes from simple adiabatic compression. To turn that statement around, if the FMIC was 100% efficient, turbo efficiency would be irrelevant as far as power is concerned. So if you are maxing out a small turbo before seeing knock, a FMIC wont help much. If you still have more turbo left, but can't use it because of knock, more intercooling will definitely help.

[milton666]

allright thanks for the insight, im getting ready to duimp some money in my car and i was just wondering if some of that money should go towards a fmic, i figured there so expensive they must do something good. but thanks for the lesson in fmic, im still learning about my car, i went from a 68 mustang to this so its a big difference, but thanks again.