Best N54 FMIC

[hawkm3]

Originally Posted by houtan

Ralph1M: I did the review of the ATM stepped intercooler. The only required trimming is at the outdoor temp sensor bracket and tbh is really minimal. About a cm which you can see in my thread. The trimming of the front crossmember is absolutely not necessary. Just something I did as a personal preference.

Oh okay, I thought it was needed, just curious, thanks!

[hawkm3]

Originally Posted by TurboBullett@Ambient Thermal Management

The only area that has to be trimmed is a small area near the ambient temp sensor. The reviewer chose to clearance the lower area but in my experience of installing these on both 135/335 this is generally not necessary.

Thank you, i was just curious as to why there was extra trimming, now I know lol

[mike@x-ph.com]

What drives the price is
Country where the FMIC was made
Finish Quality
Size
Brand Name

VRSF, AA and ER are very popular options ( it really depends on your budget and power goals)

[924er]

I have the old vrsf 5in non stepped and it works pretty damn good. AITs doing go higher than 11 degrees on a 3rd gear pull. Sometimes it goes up 4. There are some times where it just gets really hot here in Cali and my FMIC doesn't make a difference lol.

I didn't wanna trim so that's why I got the 5in but sometimes I think I should have got the 7in

[FHRITP]

So I just want the one that has the most power!

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by FHRITP

So I just want the one that has the most power!

FMIC does not provide power, the job of the FMIC is to keep IAT low so your car can provide power.
Lots of options available. Again same questions that i asked above, how often do you plan on tracking your car?

[Newguy123]

i dont know if ATM makes n54 stuff but for sure the best n55 FMIC out there

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Newguy123

i dont know if ATM makes n54 stuff but for sure the best n55 FMIC out there

For sure based on what exactly? Finish quality, IAT logs?

[optigrab]

If you want to do some reading there is some really good info here.
I stumbled upon it when i was researching pressure drop across the intercooler.
It has some good charts that explains the relationship of boost level to heat.


http://www.enginebasics.com/Advanced...20Test%20.html

http://mosselmanturbo.com/uploads/me..._Mosselman.pdf

[Newguy123]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

For sure based on what exactly? Finish quality, IAT logs?

logs....the fmic was just released recently so not many people have them.the ones that do will back me up. houtan posted many logs and a great review of the product. hes running a maxed out stock turbo and his multigear pulls were almost staying steady. ambient was in the 70s and his iats stayed in the 80s. bad ass fmic i had the competition ER and it doesnt even come close to the performance of the ATM

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Newguy123

logs....the fmic was just released recently so not many people have them.the ones that do will back me up. houtan posted many logs and a great review of the product. hes running a maxed out stock turbo and his multigear pulls were almost staying steady. ambient was in the 70s and his iats stayed in the 80s. bad ass fmic i had the competition ER and it doesnt even come close to the performance of the ATM

ATM is a really good intercooler. Very decent numbers and high quality. But if you compared logs and think the ER does not come close, you probably have no idea how to read a log.


I will repeat again, ATM is a quality intercooler im not saying anything bad about it. You make it sound like it is on a different level than every other intercooler which is not accurate. ER has better finish and better IAT control.

[Newguy123]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

ATM is a really good intercooler. Very decent numbers and high quality. But if you compared logs and think the ER does not come close, you probably have no idea how to read a log.


I will repeat again, ATM is a quality intercooler im not saying anything bad about it. You make it sound like it is on a different level than every other intercooler which is not accurate. ER has better finish and better IAT control.

i dont know how to read a log? yet ive ran fbo stock turbo/ fbo stag1 turbo and now im fbo stage 2 turbo....ok bud sorry if im cutting into your sales for informing my fellow n55 peeps of what the best FMIC choice is.

youre WAY off if you think the ER unit has better IAT control. i owned it and sold it after i saw houtans logs with the ATM. IMO theres nothing on the market that comes even remotely close to the job of the ATM and thats based off of logs. i have logs with the ER unit on my car where iat starts at 98* and ends at 124* on a 3-4-5 in 70* ambient temps. houtans car isnt even hitting triple digits in same weather 3-4-5 pull. so sorry to bust your bubble but youre wrong bud. proof is in the pudding wait till more people start checkking logs after the ATM install.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Newguy123

i dont know how to read a log? yet ive ran fbo stock turbo/ fbo stag1 turbo and now im fbo stage 2 turbo....ok bud sorry if im cutting into your sales for informing my fellow n55 peeps of what the best FMIC choice is.

youre WAY off if you think the ER unit has better IAT control. i owned it and sold it after i saw houtans logs with the ATM. IMO theres nothing on the market that comes even remotely close to the job of the ATM and thats based off of logs. i have logs with the ER unit on my car where iat starts at 98* and ends at 124* on a 3-4-5 in 70* ambient temps. houtans car isnt even hitting triple digits in same weather 3-4-5 pull. so sorry to bust your bubble but youre wrong bud. proof is in the pudding wait till more people start checkking logs after the ATM install.

Cool story but the same logic you used can be used against ATM. I have logs showing IAT staying within 10 degrees of a pull ( ER and ETS intercoolers).
The fact is you cant claim one is better judging from 2 different logs done with 2 different cars in 2 different conditions.
I actually have a thread dedicated for FMIC. Feel free to post logs on there for any FMIC.
Since our discussion does not even apply to OP's thread ( ATM does not have an intercooler for E chassis cars), it might be a better idea to stop the discussion here, but i would be more than happy to continue this discussion on the thread below.
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1117984&highlight=fmic

[houtan]

I'm with newguy on the intercooler front. i did the best i could to demonstrate ATMs intercooler in my review: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1069879

ATM most definitely makes an intercooler for the E series N54/N55 as I have one installed on my car. link to the original groupbuy thread: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1077906

I agree other companies make good intercoolers, but IMO the ATM intercooler is the best when it comes to fit, finish, and most importantly performance, hands down. All of which i tried to capture in my review.

A lot of logs are posted with single gear pulls which is very misleading as it does not put an intercooler to the test. ideally ,a 3, 4, 5 gear pull would be a good indicator of an intercoolers performance.

I will add that Mike at X-ph is a reputable vendor and it's great to have him in the community for his products and service. butt, i have to disagree with you on the intercooler front

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by houtan

I'm with newguy on the intercooler front. i did the best i could to demonstrate ATMs intercooler in my review: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1069879

ATM most definitely makes an intercooler for the E series N54/N55 as I have one installed on my car.

I agree other companies make good intercoolers, but IMO the ATM intercooler is the best when it comes to fit, finish, and most importantly performance, hands down. All of which i tried to capture in my review.

A lot of logs are posted with single gear pulls which is very misleading as it does not put an intercooler to the test. ideally ,a 3, 4, 5 gear pull would be a good indicator of an intercoolers performance.

I will add that Mike at X-ph is a reputable vendor and it's great to have him in the community for his products and service. butt, i have to disagree with you on the intercooler front

I did not know that they make one for the E chassis as well.
We can agree to disagree houtan
I have said it couple times already, ATM is a really good intercooler. I am replying to the statement that was made about ER not being close.
Looking at your logs and comparing them with what the logs i have posted ( ETS and ER), they look very similar with a slight advantage to ER and ETS ( in terms of keeping the car IAT closer to ambient temp)

That being said, comparison is not fair unless both intercoolers are tested on the same car in a controlled environment.
Im sure we can agree that there are lots of top notch intercoolers available

[TurboBullett@Ambient Thermal Management]

FYI we do obviously have an E-series Intercooler and have since 2006 as it was previously sold through Helix... There are 9 years worth of logs showing which E series intercooler has the best AIT suppression and as for quality and finish a pic speaks a thousand words...

[ShocknAwe]

ATM is definitely one of the best. As I've said before, the fit and finish is enough to drool over alone. Wish it was a bit more affordable (heck of a lot less than the >$1000 options, but still).

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by TurboBullett@Ambient Thermal Management

FYI we do obviously have an E-series Intercooler and have since 2006 as it was previously sold through Helix... There are 9 years worth of logs showing which E series intercooler has the best AIT suppression and as for quality and finish a pic speaks a thousand words...

I did acknowledge that in my previous post.
It is a quality product

Here is a pic of Evolution Racewerks one

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

ATM is definitely one of the best. As I've said before, the fit and finish is enough to drool over alone. Wish it was a bit more affordable (heck of a lot less than the >$1000 options, but still).

With all the mods you have done so far, why are you still on stock FMIC?

[n54door]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

I did acknowledge that in my previous post.
It is a quality product

Here is a pic of Evolution Racewerks one
Attachment 1212138

Looks heavy! What is the weight difference between the ATM and comparable ER / ETS intercoolers?

[houtan]

ATM is 20 lbs per my bathroom scale. Pic on the scale in my review.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by n54door

Looks heavy! What is the weight difference between the ATM and comparable ER / ETS intercoolers?

ER FMIC is not a heavy intercooler. It is couple pounds lighter than the ETS one. Not sure about the ATM since i do not have exact weight but i suspect they are all in the same weight range.