It's been a couple years since I owed my 335i which was FBO and made 400+whp. I recently got a 135i and within a month Im FBO again
Things have changed since 2007/2008, mainly prices of parts have come down
.
I recently purchased a VRSF 7" intercooler for my 135i. The purchase was quick and smooth, I had the intercooler shipped to my buddies house since thats where I planned to do the install. I opted for the free shipping and received it in 6 days (West coast). The intercooler was packaged really well, it was wrapped in bubble wrap, it had hard foam all around and then popcorn. The supplied hardware included quality t-bolt clamps, mounting brackets and thick hoses.
I've had experience with Helix intercooler back in 2008, I had Long tran aka LTBMW do the install but failed because the intercooler was not a good fit. Eventually after a few phone calls to Helix, they refunded me some money and I had to do a lot of trimming/modifications to make their intercooler fit. The Helix intercooler did work great once it was installed and helped me break 400whp.
The install on the VRSF intercooler is pretty straight forward. You need to trim off a few plastic pieces and the intercooler slips right in. I did not remove the bumper off my 135i, nor did I have to adjust/move the radiator fan.
After the install of the VRSF IC, I can say the engine has a deeper sound, the car pulls better than it did with stock IC but best and most important part of all, is that after numerous runs from a stop the car continues to pulls hard. I will get logs this week once the weather warms again. I took logs of the stock IC when the temp was in the 80s.
Comparing the VRSF IC to the Helix IC I had previously, going off memory, I can say both feel about the same throughout the power band and dealing with heat soak. I can say for a fact that the Helix IC did weigh more than the VRSF IC.
At the end of the day, I'm really happy with my purchase, I did PM VRSF to ask a few questions prior to purchase and received replies within a couple hours
. I do not think you can find a better fitting and functional IC for a cheaper price than the VRSF IC. I without a doubt will make future purchases from them on their exhaust/charge pipe.
One thing I did not like is that the fins on the VRSF IC seem to bend easily.
Below are some pictures from the install.
Stock IC on top and VRSF IC on bottom
Fins and lower plastic bar removed
VRSF IC mounted
Fitment is nice and snug
Passenger side IC Hose
Driver side IC Hose
