FMIC vs SMIC

[ghostboy]

so i have decided to go KA-T in spring. due to my power Goals:Money Ratio, i have decided to uses a smic instead of a fmic. all my friends seem to say that "ZOMGWTFBBQ FMIC RULE THEY LOOK SO BAD a** AND ILL DISOWN YOU IF YOU DONT GET ONE". mind you none of my friends have or are currently working on turbo'd vehicles. thats all they think about is how it looks when all im thinking is how it performs and is it needed. i feel that a front mount is too much for my goal of 220 hp (at The max). i feel that a sidemount would be just fine. do i have this right? flame if needed.

with that said, retrofitting one one from a 300zx or other vehicles common for an s14?
again flame if needed

[Razi]

I think an SMIC will be fine.

I have an FMIC for my T28 KA-T setup so I have no first hand experience, but I heard from other SMIC users I heard the heatsoak can cause the car to feel a bit sluggish on hot days but honestly my car feels sluggish on super hot days as well.

If you can find a stock sidemount setup off of a JDM S14, see if you can nag the intercooler shroud for the SMIC, it helps redirect air to the intercooler.
I think CXracing sells a large SMIC "upgrade intercooler" so if you want a larger intercooler down the road, that's also an option.

[speedeast]

Well, FMIC would make your goal easier to reach, but a SMIC would be fine.

[Lobo240sx]

Heat soak will hurt performance on a hot day. Sure you might make 220hp, but it won't be as efficient as having some kind of bigger core in the front of the car(surface area). I had a SMIC setup on my first sr and there is a huge difference. Being stuck behind a pignose bumper with no air is no bueno. A s14 Might be better airflow I don't know. 1 FMIC = 4 stock intercoolers.

Not sure how a 740 volvo intercooler would fit an s14 but I got one if you are looking for one. Dirt cheap. It will keep your car a sleeper though since it looks like a radiator. Boosted it @ 18psi spiked to 20psi(good lord that speedometer went to 90 quick!!) with no problems. You will have to make your own piping. Something like this would work and be different.

[breaker77]

i ran a smic on my sr for a year with out a single problem. its not like you plan on making a ton of power so you really dont need a fmic.

that being said, i recently switched to a fmic and it kills your response by a lot before you hit boost.

[zenki-S13]

have you thought about getting a smaller fmic? their in all different sizes.
with that you would still have direct flow to the intercooler without overkilling the size

[breaker77]

have you thought about getting a smaller fmic? their in all different sizes.
with that you would still have direct flow to the intercooler without overkilling the size

im on a limited budget or else i would have gone with a custom setup midmount with a smaller core.

if that was directed at me.. lol

[ghostboy]

well i have a fmic but i just think its unnecessary, it is a smaller one height wise but i would think it would be easier with a side mount. if i did use a smaller fmic think it would make a huge difference?

[Lobo240sx]

well i have a fmic but i just think its unnecessary, it is a smaller one height wise but i would think it would be easier with a side mount. if i did use a smaller fmic think it would make a huge difference?

How much you boosting? 10psi is the "safe max" on a SMIC. . I'm sure people have gone more.

[angelscrx]

If its good enough for an OEM set up its good enough for a budget build with a mild HP expectation. I have both and there is a difference between the two but the SMIC works fine.

[S13xCrazy]

so i have decided to go KA-T in spring. due to my power Goals:Money Ratio, i have decided to uses a smic instead of a fmic. all my friends seem to say that "ZOMGWTFBBQ FMIC RULE THEY LOOK SO BAD a** AND ILL DISOWN YOU IF YOU DONT GET ONE". mind you none of my friends have or are currently working on turbo'd vehicles. thats all they think about is how it looks when all im thinking is how it performs and is it needed. i feel that a front mount is too much for my goal of 220 hp (at The max). i feel that a sidemount would be just fine. do i have this right? flame if needed.

with that said, retrofitting one one from a 300zx or other vehicles common for an s14?
again flame if needed

Most people do FMICs on 240s because of the extremely affordable piping/intercooler kits you can get. You can get a smaller intercooler core if you are not going to be running a lot of boost. I just feel like it's going to be a waste of your time/money to do sidemount because of this.

With a sidemount, you need to have piping made up... which is going to be a hassel, and generally speaking (if you get it mandrel bent somewhere) not cheap.

Just personal opinion.

[vlad_rally]

The idea is simple, the bigger your intercooler is, the better it can cool air, and the lag increases, with a smaller intercooler, the lag is minimized, but the cooling of the intake air is not so god, i had a stand alone ecu on one of my ex cars, and made a test, wich resulted for me, that -1degree is +1hp (i cooled the intake air 6 degrees and the car poped up another 6 hp) And the most important, the colder is the intake air, the smaller risk of detonation, that means that you can lean more the mixture, poping more hp at the same boost.

[vlad_rally]

so i have decided to go KA-T in spring. due to my power Goals:Money Ratio, i have decided to uses a smic instead of a fmic. all my friends seem to say that "ZOMGWTFBBQ FMIC RULE THEY LOOK SO BAD a** AND ILL DISOWN YOU IF YOU DONT GET ONE". mind you none of my friends have or are currently working on turbo'd vehicles. thats all they think about is how it looks when all im thinking is how it performs and is it needed. i feel that a front mount is too much for my goal of 220 hp (at The max). i feel that a sidemount would be just fine. do i have this right? flame if needed.

with that said, retrofitting one one from a 300zx or other vehicles common for an s14?
again flame if needed

Most people do FMICs on 240s because of the extremely affordable piping/intercooler kits you can get. You can get a smaller intercooler core if you are not going to be running a lot of boost. I just feel like it's going to be a waste of your time/money to do sidemount because of this.

With a sidemount, you need to have piping made up... which is going to be a hassel, and generally speaking (if you get it mandrel bent somewhere) not cheap.

Just personal opinion.

The piping is not so hard to do, he needs to get straight AL pipes, and silicone hoses (straight and angled, 45, 90)and with these he can do it in one afternoon

[ghostboy]

i only plan on going to 6psi for now with basic modifictaion, no ecu tune or anything atleast not yet. idk if i should get sr injectors because i was told i would have to mess with the timing.

[Brent.S13]

i only plan on going to 6psi for now with basic modifictaion, no ecu tune or anything atleast not yet. idk if i should get sr injectors because i was told i would have to mess with the timing.

Hmmm, I had SR injectors on mine, and I didn't have to mess with my timing. Anyone else wanna chime in on that statement?

[Razi]

Larger injectors + no tune = a fiasco

[S13xCrazy]

The piping is not so hard to do, he needs to get straight AL pipes, and silicone hoses (straight and angled, 45, 90)and with these he can do it in one afternoon

I've always thought all the couplers/hoses looked like grandmas a**. Personal opinion. Maybe you are into gilfs??? LLO

[ghostboy]

now i know that this has probably been asked alot but is 6 psi safe for stock injectors? i remember there being a build on here where the person was going to boost but with only the bare essentials, it was like :
stock injectors
8:1 fmu
walbro
bosst controller ect.
but i havent been able to find that post again and i was wondering if its possible or if the person even completed it because i figured it was a good starting point but idk lol

[Razi]

Look at the KA-T section.

A lot of us have done FMU setups on stock injectors, just don't boost higher than 8psi and remember to retard your timing 2-3 degrees.

[StryfeS13]

You want a 6:1 FMU, 8:1 is too rich.

And yeah get the walbro, stock fuel pump sucks. You also don't need a boost controller with an fmu set up...if you plan on upping the boost, you need to get tuned.

[ghostboy]

thanks a bunch guys, youve all been a great help!i just hope i dont blow my engine up, pretty much if i dont become a boost whore and take my time, ill be alright.

[ghostboy]

i should probably use a timing light to retard it correct?

[StryfeS13]

Yeah..I mean you could do it by ear if you've done it enough times, but timing light is the safest way.

Warm car up ---> turn car off ----> unplug tps ----> turn car on ----> set timing to 15-17 BTDC ----> turn car off ----> plug in tps ----> start car ----> done