[Hollywood Hogan]

I see a bunch of guys purchasing or pre-ordering the VK Front Mount Intercooler.


I don't see many reviews on the ETS or RPI and was wondering why everyone is going for the VK? Is it based on price (new VK is the lowest priced)


I've read some reviews on both the ETS and RPI and both have good results and are just about if not direct fitment.


I'm looking to upgrade my intercooler and have narrowed it down to these three because they all seem to be direct fit. If anyone can compare any of these to one another that would be great! Especially if you have owned any of these.

[enrita]

all intercoolers are more or less direct fit. a little trimming of plastic should not be considered a problem. As long as you can refit the stock you are fine with all of them .

you should look more into the performance of the actual intercooler than the fitting.

[Jonny550]

And their is nothing wrong with the ebay FMIC either i purchased 1 only because of the fact that iam buying a hunk of metal no matter where i buy it from Ets,rpi Etc it does not matter. Its a simple way to look at it..... Its a box filled with crimped metal and bars. Basicly air passes through it and it cools the air so otherwise RPi,AA,Ets your pretty much just paying for the name.


FLAME SUIT ON!!!

[Terrance28]

Any intercooler is an upgrade over the stock unit.

[335e92tx]

There MIGHT be something with noname ones. Only time will tell.

Cost and direct (no trimming) fitment was a priority for me.
I just wanted something a little better than stock but not 800-1200$ worth.

[Hollywood Hogan]

Originally Posted by 335e92tx

There MIGHT be something with noname ones. Only time will tell.

Cost and direct (no trimming) fitment was a priority for me.
I just wanted something a little better than stock but not 800-1200$ worth.

^^ which intercooler did you go with?

And I agree that some of us just don't want to trim anything at all or cut anything off our cars which is the reason I only mention the these three intercoolers

[vbmw335]

I went with VK FMIC , because of the quality fitment and decent gains. I think all IC produces the same power gains , VK stands out for me because of price and ease of install...I shouldnt have to cut or trim plastic parts in my 50k car...VK worked best for me. Now esp at the new price ...its a no brainer ...one of the fastest cars on the M5 board race has VK FMIC.

[Gen_E92]

can't wait to see jpsimon's FMIC comparo test of Vk vs. AMS

we'll see if the AMS unit is worth the price tag!

[vbmw335]

Yeah even if it makes more power ..maybe 5 hp...not sure the extra cash is worth 5hp. I noticed the main purpose of FMIC is to fight heat soak , hp gains are secondary.

[Vince@ V K Motorwerks]

JP is comparing the two! That is awesome. Cant wait.

[ETS Michael]

There is a lot more to an intercooler then saying any intercooler is an upgrade. One of the first things you look at when building an intercooler is surface area. You need to make sure the intercooler you choose has sufficient surface area (filling the whole bumper opening) You then need to look at the application. Did this intercooler have a front mount to start with? if not, you need to supply an intercooler with a wide enough external fin pack to allow air to flow to the radiator. If the car already comes with a front mount and has ducting to the radiator you can a few different types of fin packs. We use a staggered and louvered fin pack that allows for optimal heat dissipation. The next thing to look at is the internal fin pack. You don't want to use any core, you want to make sure the external fin pack is offset and staggered to allow maximum heat transfer. If you use a straight core, you will see less pressure drop, but you will see higher then normal AIT due to insufficient fin contact.

I'm not sure what the others are priced at but we sell our intercooler kit for $770.00, we include a replacement pipe that removes the stock restrictive pipe on the cold side as well as a long silicone to replace the bevels on the hot side, which causes turbulence. The cold side is also 2.75" to ensure maximum flow by matching the throttle body size.

You would be suprised what some people are passing on as good intercoolers. We received and intercooler from customer who purchased a $9000.00 upgrade kit for his E46 M3. He sent the intercooler to us to have it anodized black along with an oil cooler. The intercooler that we received was none other then a ebay core with silver paint and an epoxy coating to prevent leaks. Needless to say we couldn't anodize it because it had the epoxy coating it also had straight through internal fins, sanded top plate with the company logo added and not ported on the inside of the inlet and outlet.

We take pride in everything we build and back it up with a life time warranty. We hand port the inlet and outlet, weld the inside and outside of the end tank to prevent any type of cracks. The core is pressure checked at 35psi before shipment. The welds are amazing!

If anyone has questions, I will be more then happy to help!

Thanks,

Michael

[ETS Michael]

eBay Core (This is what most cheap intercoolers are made from)


ETS Core (See the internal density difference?)

Which one do you think will dissipate heat better? You will also see how the ebay core (which is a very reputable vendors core) has slag/drop through on the inside as well as a straight through fin design.

Here you can see how we port and weld the inside of each end tank. This tank was cut off one of my intercoolers on the shelf.








Thanks,

Michael

[roozie2001]

nice pics. hmmmm something to ponder

[uberschnell]

I like the RPI because it is a direct fit to the oem couplers.
Makes for a 20 min install.

[rollyn2night]

Originally Posted by vbmw335

I went with VK FMIC , because of the quality fitment and decent gains. I think all IC produces the same power gains , VK stands out for me because of price and ease of install...I shouldnt have to cut or trim plastic parts in my 50k car...VK worked best for me. Now esp at the new price ...its a no brainer ...one of the fastest cars on the M5 board race has VK FMIC.

So you currently have the vk intercooler installed. So was there ANY cutting required or was it just a simple remove old intercooler and install new one. Also how is the quality, any pics

[E92White]

Originally Posted by Terrance28

Any intercooler is an upgrade over the stock unit.

+1

I bought an RPI FMIC from Terrance and it rocks!

[xDrive Mike]

I just received and installed the ETS intercooler tonight. Great fit and finish, the welds are perfect. It was a squeeze, but nothing had to be cut or trimmed.

[Craig@SupremePower]

I have a helix unit and i'm very pleased with it!!

[vbmw335]

Originally Posted by rollyn2night

So you currently have the vk intercooler installed. So was there ANY cutting required or was it just a simple remove old intercooler and install new one. Also how is the quality, any pics

Absolutely no cutting etc...straight plug and play just like it shows on the video on their website and several other reviews.

I am telling you guys ...i have it fotr almost 8 months now...love the performance,quality . Its a no brainer at this price. I paid $850 then ....Now i can install in 10 mins...two screws and then two clips and you are done.

http://www.vkmotorwerks.com/intercooler.html

[Ilma]

Originally Posted by vbmw335

Absolutely no cutting etc...straight plug and play just like it shows on the video on their website and several other reviews.

I am telling you guys ...i have it fotr almost 8 months now...love the performance,quality . Its a no brainer at this price. I paid $850 then ....Now i can install in 10 mins...two screws and then two clips and you are done.

http://www.vkmotorwerks.com/intercooler.html

+1

My VK shows flat - even decreasing Intake temperatures on my datalogs consistently.

I was so grateful that this unit uses the stock couplers because when I had my turbos replaced, it was an easy swap back to stock....just like stated above...two screws and two clips = done!

[skier]

How difficult would it be to go back to stock if needed? Have you had to cut OEM piping?

Originally Posted by xDrive Mike

I just received and installed the ETS intercooler tonight. Great fit and finish, the welds are perfect. It was a squeeze, but nothing had to be cut or trimmed.

[luca335i]

The ETS one looks nice. I'd get that one.