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Review: Rpi Intercooler & Install Pics
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View Poll Results: Which FMIC for 335i is best? | |||
RPI | 6 | 11.11% | |
Hellix | 31 | 57.41% | |
Active Autowerke | 12 | 22.22% | |
Spearco | 11 | 20.37% | |
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 54. You may not vote on this poll |
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06-16-2009, 04:43 PM | #1 |
only in it for the torque - awuleth'umshini wami
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Review: Rpi Intercooler & Install Pics
Who do I have to thank?
**********s - for allowing me to jump the queue and for delivering the RPI intercooler in record breaking time as I was preparing for a special car event. This was an item I ordered and wanted immediately. The RPI intercooler looks stunning on its own and in the car but I had to get rid of the RPI logo, not because I have anything against the company logo, I wanted the IC to appear stock once installed. With aluminium spray with a high temp tolerance, I erased the logo. Frankly, once the RPI intercooler is installed and the bumper back on, the Intercooler is still VERY noticeable behind the mesh compared to stock. It took us, exactly 1 hour and 30 odd minutes to install the RPI intercooler. The install process was really easy for me as a novice. The only difficult part was lifting the car using the jacks and bricks that were lying around – if you are not the DIY type - do not try this at home – safety first!! Removing the covers and bumper was a breeze – I read on the forum some people installed the RPI Intercooler without removing the front bumper. I think it can be done; but it is so much easier if you can see what you are doing by removing the bumper (and take pictures) Basic tools are needed which you can pick up at your local hardware store such as basic metric sockets, screwdrivers, torx bit, ratchet handle and maybe an extension. Removing the stock IC after unclipping it from its connectors will literally slide out. This you can do on your own without any help. The attach pictures show how small it is compared to its replacement and certainly MUCH lighter. I don’t think the plastic sides of the stock IC is bad or impacting on performance or badly designed – it just looks cheap. Pushing the RPI intercooler into the gap is not easy because it is much larger than the stock unit (But it tightly secures the IC). One person cannot do this alone. I had to use my feet as well to push the new unit into place. But once in and the clips on the connecting pipes clicked in (make sure you hear those clips “click” in place); two screws fastened –the job is done. All that remained was the bumper and bottom covers refitted. And whalla!!! When you start up the car a little bit of smoke and funny smells will come from the exhaust, probably the IC cleaning itself? But after a quick drive it will be back to normal. Well not actually! But before I describe the new driving experience let me share some of my concerns: 1. The stock intercooler had dirty “blow back” oil on both sides of the connecting pipes that will certainly find their way into the turbos and filter intakes. It is disconcerting for a car with only 4 000km on the clock. Without an “oil catch can” this will happen with the new intercooler as well. BMW engineers better fix this! 2. The RPI intercooler does not have any hooks or holes at the bottom to attach the bottom car covers – at high speeds the wind lifted/pushing into or down the bottom covers – there is no other way to attach the covers. With the stock IC the covers screwed into the stock intercooler holding everything nicely in place. [/SIZE](I have since resolved this by using three small ties to support the plastic covers - which is now steady and strong) 3. The RPI intercooler does not require any cutting or modifications to the bumper/covers or the plastic housing of the radiator. But due to its size the RPI intercooler does bend some of the existing plastics below the radiator. This will not cause permanent damage but it is not an “exact” fit either. 4. My first install attempt flopped . I did not properly connect the intercooler pipes with the stock pipes. The left hand side pipes were connected properly but the damn pipes on the right slipped out because the clip was not correctly inserted. So when I took the car for a test drive I had quite a few limp modes with reduced power. From the advice of some of the forum members such as oddjob2021 and Mariopalza, I was able to trace and fix the problem – thanks guys. The drive The sound is the first thing that changed. The exhaust tone is louder, deeper and throatier outside and inside the cabin (but a nice racy sound). The “ssssh” of the BMS dual cone filters appears less pronounced. But the car feels less enthusiastic almost lethargic at lower revs in “D” and “DS” modes (see update). But the moment you push it above 3000rpm, the devil is let loose. The “butt dyno” pull is even and strong. Drive feels much smoother compared to stock. The car runs cooler and the engine oil temp remains shy of the 120 degree Celsius. Another good investment for the 335i. Enjoy the pics!!! [/SIZE][/SIZE][/FONT]
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Last edited by 645Nm; 06-20-2009 at 01:15 AM.. |
06-16-2009, 05:51 PM | #3 |
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I'm surprised to see that they don't replace the IC charge pipes as well. The install looks nice and it certainly looks menacing behind the bumper.
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06-17-2009, 11:06 AM | #6 |
only in it for the torque - awuleth'umshini wami
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thanks
Thanks guys for the comments.
Zeph you are right, the stock right chargepipe bends quite sharply and must be a major restriction for the free flow of air. Ontopofm and Callsign_Jester - Agree: the space that the aftermarket ICs have to fit in is rather tight unless modifications are done to the bumper and the radiator plastic housing/shroud. Simmilar to the install for the AA. I initially wanted the AA IC but was worried about the cutting. Then again the cutting that will be done for a larger IC will not be noticeable from the outside. It might only be an issue when you want to sell the car and the new buyer crawls under the car and "see" the cutting. The cutting is actually a non issue since the benefits outway the trimming sacrifice.
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06-17-2009, 12:40 PM | #8 |
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ETS Intercooler on the way! Same size as the RPI but replaces charge pipe.
Should arrive on Tuesday next week but I will be in Vegas for a week so a install write-up is at least a week away.
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06-17-2009, 01:11 PM | #9 |
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nice review, im glad everything worked out. dont worry what people say about the connecting hose the the charge pipe, its not the bottle neck of our cars. the true bottle neck is the plastic intake pipes that go around our hot engine block to the turbos. find a way to fix those first and I'll jump on the bandwagon of better i/c pipes.
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06-17-2009, 01:22 PM | #10 | |
only in it for the torque - awuleth'umshini wami
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thanks
Quote:
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06-17-2009, 01:27 PM | #11 |
only in it for the torque - awuleth'umshini wami
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Oh ya!
Oh so good. Did you order the black version?
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06-17-2009, 03:43 PM | #12 |
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hah, funny story actually, my logo was sprayed on backwards =\ it was one of the original RPi i/c produced. I called RPi and complained about the upside down issue, he looked into it and found out this guy knew he was getting laid off and screwed it up on purpose. anyway long story short, i rubbed it off just like you
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06-17-2009, 07:38 PM | #14 |
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06-18-2009, 03:24 AM | #15 |
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06-18-2009, 07:58 AM | #16 |
only in it for the torque - awuleth'umshini wami
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Pictures say a thousand words
I see your point. Looking at my picture comparing the stock & RPI ICs the stock IC core is wider (in length). But the RPI core makes up in height AND depth AND wih bigger end tanks for improved internal flow. I cannot compare the RPI with the Helix. Would like to see a side by side picture comparison of the Helix and RPI. I guess an intercooler with a wider core (in length) has to sacrifice smaller end tanks!? There is only so much space within the stock plastic shroud for the intercooler to fit. Before the install I took many pictures of the RPI intercooler vs stock. Here are two that show off the dimensions even better.
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06-18-2009, 08:02 AM | #17 | |
only in it for the torque - awuleth'umshini wami
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Quote:
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06-18-2009, 04:07 PM | #19 |
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any flow rate comparrisons between the stock unit and the RPI?
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06-18-2009, 10:33 PM | #21 |
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06-18-2009, 10:40 PM | #22 |
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Yup, the exhaust note on mine became much lower ......... sounds like the car has an extra couple of cylinders now.
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