SMIC, TMIC, or FMIC?

[TristansCB7]

Just putting the finishing touches on my f20a turbo build and I couldn't help wondering...which would be better? I've relocated the battery to the trunk...so would it hurt to use that spare space to put in a 1g SMIC? or should I cut out the bumper and squeeze in a FMIC...any ideas? concerns?

[customchord]

Keep it sleeper and hidden. I wouldn't put it in the engine bay though. There is a lot of heat in there.

[c mak]

Definately go with a front mount. Very easy to hide still and can easily fir with some minor cutting!!

[quickangel93]

matters all about the turbo. i would think a fmic for a 14b is kinda bad. cus the 14b doesnt spool enough air through. yea sure lots of people saw good gains from it. but it you put a civic rad in, and only use a cupple tubes, than i think you'll put out more power.

as for a 16g or t3 or higher, than fmic is the best and safest on the motor. since its cooling down the hot air.

[evil_demon_01]

You can get fairly small volume FMIC's now which are well suited to the 14B.
I think FMIC is the way to go, They are constantly getting fresh air on the face of them, which generally makes them run cooler, and when the radiator fan is on, that also Draws fresh air through - If you want stealth, Just paint it black.

[Rusty]

You can get fairly small volume FMIC's now which are well suited to the 14B.
I think FMIC is the way to go, They are constantly getting fresh air on the face of them, which generally makes them run cooler, and when the radiator fan is on, that also Draws fresh air through - If you want stealth, Just paint it black.

X2.... FMIC just makes more sense. But if you have a stock bumper it does take a good amount of customizing to get it to fit nice.

[NAiL05]

First thing I would hope is you know what each one of those mean. I dont even know why you would want to think of a TMIC unless you like cutting hoods and next you dont drive a subaru. An SMIC is ok if you can somehow find a way to feed air to it. FMIC as already mentioned is the best way to go. They come in multiple sizes and will be fine.

matters all about the turbo. i would think a fmic for a 14b is kinda bad. cus the 14b doesnt spool enough air through. yea sure lots of people saw good gains from it. but it you put a civic rad in, and only use a cupple tubes, than i think you'll put out more power.

as for a 16g or t3 or higher, than fmic is the best and safest on the motor. since its cooling down the hot air.

I dont know where you heard this but....that just sounds absurd to me. The IC's primary purpose is to cool air. 14b doesnt spool enough this is what I dont get...Its a small turbo but its still forcing a larger quantity of air than what you normally get. And as I mentioned earlier FMIC come in different sizes and IMO are the best for cooling unless you go Water to air or whatever but thats money and pointless unless you have some sort of drag car or you are making good power.

[bruno8747]

matters all about the turbo. i would think a fmic for a 14b is kinda bad. cus the 14b doesnt spool enough air through. yea sure lots of people saw good gains from it. but it you put a civic rad in, and only use a cupple tubes, than i think you'll put out more power.

as for a 16g or t3 or higher, than fmic is the best and safest on the motor. since its cooling down the hot air.

What are you talking about? All the intercoolers are suppose to cool down the hot air not just the front mount.

The next thing is, The 14b can be used with a front mount you dont have to get a side mount to make it work. Different intercoolers have different pressure drops and thats what really affects performance, aswell as construction and design of the IC.

And what does civic radiator and couple of tubes have to do with putting out more power? The civic radiator is just used for space purposes. And the reduction of intercooler piping is used to create less turbulence.

[evil_demon_01]

First thing I would hope is you know what each one of those mean. I dont even know why you would want to think of a TMIC unless you like cutting hoods and next you dont drive a subaru. An SMIC is ok if you can somehow find a way to feed air to it. FMIC as already mentioned is the best way to go. They come in multiple sizes and will be fine.



I dont know where you heard this but....that just sounds absurd to me. The IC's primary purpose is to cool air. 14b doesnt spool enough this is what I dont get...Its a small turbo but its still forcing a larger quantity of air than what you normally get. And as I mentioned earlier FMIC come in different sizes and IMO are the best for cooling unless you go Water to air or whatever but thats money and pointless unless you have some sort of drag car or you are making good power.

I think hes thinking on the extreme side - If you had an intercooler that was as high as say, from the ground to the bonnet and the widith of the bumper signal lights (Yes I realise It wouldn't fit - Just hypothetical) Then the internal volume would be so large that the 14B would take alot longer to spool up to fill that amount of volume.

[NAiL05]

I think hes thinking on the extreme side - If you had an intercooler that was as high as say, from the ground to the bonnet and the widith of the bumper signal lights (Yes I realise It wouldn't fit - Just hypothetical) Then the internal volume would be so large that the 14B would take alot longer to spool up to fill that amount of volume.

Yea I can understand that but who would use that big of an intercooler in the first place with such a small turbo? I dunno thats just me. I am pretty sure the 14b can take up the volume but as you said it would take longer but it wouldnt be impossible to which is what it sounds like when he made his statement.

[quickangel93]

First thing I would hope is you know what each one of those mean. I dont even know why you would want to think of a TMIC unless you like cutting hoods and next you dont drive a subaru. An SMIC is ok if you can somehow find a way to feed air to it. FMIC as already mentioned is the best way to go. They come in multiple sizes and will be fine.

I dont know where you heard this but....that just sounds absurd to me. The IC's primary purpose is to cool air. 14b doesnt spool enough this is what I dont get...Its a small turbo but its still forcing a larger quantity of air than what you normally get. And as I mentioned earlier FMIC come in different sizes and IMO are the best for cooling unless you go Water to air or whatever but thats money and pointless unless you have some sort of drag car or you are making good power.

What are you talking about? All the intercoolers are suppose to cool down the hot air not just the front mount.

The next thing is, The 14b can be used with a front mount you dont have to get a side mount to make it work. Different intercoolers have different pressure drops and thats what really affects performance, aswell as construction and design of the IC.

And what does civic radiator and couple of tubes have to do with putting out more power? The civic radiator is just used for space purposes. And the reduction of intercooler piping is used to create less turbulence.

I love how you people dont try to understand me.

A 14b turbo has a very small compressor wheel. it takes alot more rotations to force in air when its compared to a t3. so the less amount of tubing you run, the faster the air will get into the intake.

In sence, when i was talking about the civic radiator, i was also talking about a smaller intercooler. you see you put a civic rad in and you get all this space. so now you dont have to run tubing as far out.

but let me draw a picture for you to understand.



kinda got it? this setup i think in my opinion is better than 91accordexr33's first setup. because that 14b turbo has to pressurize enough air to get into the intake mani. i know that once the throttle plate opens up it will suck in air, but a 14b can simply force in air by using a small intercooler and like 3 intercooler pipes. im not saying Lee's setup is bad, just if he used this setup, with the 14b set at 12psi, he would of dropped alot more power to the wheels.

and run the intercooler piping like I did.




now you might be sitting there thinking why havent i dont this? because i dont really car how long it takes to get into my intake. im using this turbo just for a senior project, after summer ill be going alot bigger. and that what i wont have to buy another intercooler. but eventually i probably will.

[quickangel93]

like this setup is perfect for 14b's



this setup is perfect for 16gs, maybe a 1" more height would be better



and 91accordexr33 and lowdollars intercoolers are better for t3's or higher.

[NAiL05]

I love how you people dont try to understand me.

A 14b turbo has a very small compressor wheel. it takes alot more rotations to force in air when its compared to a t3. so the less amount of tubing you run, the faster the air will get into the intake.

In sence, when i was talking about the civic radiator, i was also talking about a smaller intercooler. you see you put a civic rad in and you get all this space. so now you dont have to run tubing as far out.

but let me draw a picture for you to understand.



kinda got it? this setup i think in my opinion is better than 91accordexr33's first setup. because that 14b turbo has to pressurize enough air to get into the intake mani. i know that once the throttle plate opens up it will suck in air, but a 14b can simply force in air by using a small intercooler and like 3 intercooler pipes. im not saying Lee's setup is bad, just if he used this setup, with the 14b set at 12psi, he would of dropped alot more power to the wheels.

and run the intercooler piping like I did.




now you might be sitting there thinking why havent i dont this? because i dont really car how long it takes to get into my intake. im using this turbo just for a senior project, after summer ill be going alot bigger. and that what i wont have to buy another intercooler. but eventually i probably will.

No....There are ways you can solve that... It doesnt matter about turbo size. Turbo piping can effect spool and help your turbo setup. Your fighting a battle that you cant win. 14b compressor small...Everyone knows that but its still FORCING AIR INTO AN INTAKE MANIFOLD. Which is a lot more than a normally aspirated motor would even though it is "small". Thats not an excuse. Shorter piping for what? Just change the piping diameter is almost the same thing. Its just like saying hey lets run 3in piping all around on a 14b...thats just rediculously pointless. You can find small FMIC's that work with 14b's. And as mentioned bu bruno you can calculate pressure drops to see how much it "robs you of your power" if you are so concerned. And you try running shorter piping with an IC setup....Factor in engine heat and heat soak with your "shorter" piping. Have fun with that.

[d112crzy]

If you're worried about pressure drop, then use smaller piping. Easy as that.

Not running a FMIC on an aftermarket setup is just dumb, no matter the turbo.

It's actually more retarded when you run a small turbo and decide to run anything BUT a fmic. Why? Well shit, it's a small turbo. It needs more cooling than a bigger turbo. Unless you don't care about egt's.

There's more power to be had from IAT's than pressure drop differences.

If you're worried about pressure drop, just up the boost. You'll be running more boost, which calls for hotter temps, but luckily you have that fmic to thank.

[bresk8r87]

i think this whole think is way too hyped up.

drive a 14b with a large FMIC, then drive one with a small SMIC and less tubing. then tell me there's a noticeable difference. i'll laugh at you, because there isnt a noticeable one when youre dealing with these small DSM turbos. i ran a failry large FMIC with lost of piping on my 14b and had no noticeable pressure drop problems.

IMO it's not worth the trouble of relocating the battery just to use a SMIC... with a 14b its just not as effective, and a decent FMIC takes maybe half of a day's worth of work and a dremel to fit, and you get much more peace of mind.

and the civic radiator thing is pointless, its just extra work. i didnt modify my radiator OR battery, and had no fitment issues.