[Had0uken!]

I had a G-plus on my N54 a couple of years ago! was great, at the time a lot of the people on the UK facebook groups were buying them and the logs looked as good as some of the other more popular brands. I then decided sold the intercooler as i was getting rid of the car but decided to keep the car in the end so had to get another intercooler which was nowhere as good in terms of fit or quality as the gplus and was about 20% more expensive.

[carguy138]

Originally Posted by JUMAS

That's the one I was referring to! I def enjoy seeing the good reviews and your feedback is valued as well. Trying to cool things down without breaking the bank xD haha

I got that one off Amazon a few months ago for around $215. Crushed my OEM intercooler when the jack slipped off the front jack point. Needed an intercooler ASAP and cancelled my order for a VRSF 5" stepped because it was on backorder. This was my first time not buying OE BMW or high end aftermarket (Turner, Dinan, etc.) and I'm quite happy with it.

I have zero complaints for daily and occasional spirited driving in my area. IATs never really go much above 95 degrees with 80 degree ambient and recover quickly. It fit perfectly and required no modifications or cutting to install. The important consideration is that it was a sigificant improvement over the stock BMW intercooler.

I will say that when I did extensive research on this subject, it was a bit of a ****show with venders and patrons arguing on this site. The venders would nit pick every log or picture of the fin pack, bring up OEM hose restrictions and then circle back to gains on highly modified cars with the products they sell. Gains and performance on an 800whp N54/N55 are not relevent to my use or interests.

[JUMAS]

Thanks guys !!! i love hearing the good feedback, makes me feel good about going for a cheaper than normal item.

[Turbod]

Originally Posted by carguy138

The venders would nit pick every log or picture of the fin pack, bring up OEM hose restrictions and then circle back to gains on highly modified cars with the products they sell. Gains and performance on an 800whp N54/N55 are not relevent to my use or interests.

I would disagree with this. When talking about stock or near stock builds, the various options for upgrades will be difficult to see any performance differences between vendors. When looking at how they perform on high HP cars you can see how well the intercooler actually performs. The issue is most people do not test on the same setups and conditions so you cannot really compare apples to apples.

[Tiago@VRSF]

Thanks for the support guys. We recommend avoiding the knock off eBay intecoolers simply due to the fact that these products haven't been engineered for these cars. Most of them are knock offs of the Wagner Evo 1 which Wagner doesn't sell anymore.

The OEM connections are prone to failure/leaks and they require the use of the OEM charge pipe connectors on both the hot and cold side. These OEM connections are prone to failure and were only designed to withstand OEM boost levels. Almost every tune currently available almost doubles the OEM boost levels which results in an immediate failure point along with boost leaks that will prematurely damage your turbos.

I understand how this may seem like a biased vendor rant but we used to sell multiple intercoolers with OEM connectors and we discontinued them after we discovered the inherent design flaws on tuned n54s. We currently offer 3 different intercoolers for this platform and could easily offer an intercooler with OEM connections but it's simply not worth the risk.

Whether you're looking for the best performing FMIC or something that's better than stock, it's important to make sure your upgrade doesn't cost you thousands of dollars down the road. It's also important to pay attention to the core used as many of the sub-$300 options skimp on fin density both externally and externally. Most importantly you should compare logs against similarly sized intercoolers in order to ensure you're making your purchase based on experience rather than hype.

Most of these pop up brands end up disappearing and rebranding after 3-4 months in order to neglect the advertised warranty. Here's an example of what you can expect from a FMIC that uses the OEM connection which happens to be the the most common failure point on the hot side.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

For a DD, I wouldn't recommend anything other than VRSF. If you run all the price comparisons, you're not going to find anything that meets that dollar to performance ratio.

[DiFFv1]

Originally Posted by Tiago@VRSF

Thanks for the support guys. We recommend avoiding the knock off eBay intecoolers simply due to the fact that these products haven't been engineered for these cars. Most of them are knock offs of the Wagner Evo 1 which Wagner doesn't sell anymore.

The OEM connections are prone to failure/leaks and they require the use of the OEM charge pipe connectors on both the hot and cold side. These OEM connections are prone to failure and were only designed to withstand OEM boost levels. Almost every tune currently available almost doubles the OEM boost levels which results in an immediate failure point along with boost leaks that will prematurely damage your turbos.

I understand how this may seem like a biased vendor rant but we used to sell multiple intercoolers with OEM connectors and we discontinued them after we discovered the inherent design flaws on tuned n54s. We currently offer 3 different intercoolers for this platform and could easily offer an intercooler with OEM connections but it's simply not worth the risk.

Whether you're looking for the best performing FMIC or something that's better than stock, it's important to make sure your upgrade doesn't cost you thousands of dollars down the road. It's also important to pay attention to the core used as many of the sub-$300 options skimp on fin density both externally and externally. Most importantly you should compare logs against similarly sized intercoolers in order to ensure you're making your purchase based on experience rather than hype.

Most of these pop up brands end up disappearing and rebranding after 3-4 months in order to neglect the advertised warranty. Here's an example of what you can expect from a FMIC that uses the OEM connection which happens to be the the most common failure point on the hot side.

That's the OEM Tract Pipe (Outlet)? , Is it true that if you purchase the VRSF outlet pipe with Having the OEM connections you will have to do modifications? Some decent companies like "G-Plus" are still around and decent.

[carguy138]

Originally Posted by DiFFv1

That's the OEM Tract Pipe (Outlet)? , Is it true that if you purchase the VRSF outlet pipe with Having the OEM connections you will have to do modifications? Some decent companies like "G-Plus" are still around and decent.

Yes you have to hack off that connection and use silicone couplers with t-bolts.

Keep in mind that any FMIC upgrade discussed here will be substantially better than stock. The real question is at what point does the delta between aftermarket FMICs become substantially different. PS2 or bigger turbo? FBO N54? 150+MPH for prolonged periods? Constant track abuse?