[Bours]

Originally Posted by ShaneN55

If you aren't tracking go 5". Right now I'm DP, JB4, CP and PPK and haven't had any issues. Will be going 5" IC soon. I knew two guys who raced their N54s and one had 5" IC with FBO and one had 7" with FBO and guy with 7" lost cause he wasn't getting boost as fast.

there is more lag with a bigger intercooler ??? i dont get why

[Tiago@VRSF]

There isn't, he probably had a different tune running different boost. We've compared both and found no additional lag between our 5" stepped and the 7.5" competition.

[Cory S]

The 7" will have slightly more pressure drop, (less than .5psi). Performance wise, they both keep similar IAT's, until you are really compressing and heating the air. Usually after about 10-12 seconds of WOT, is where the 7" will keep IAT a bit lower.

[LGCubana]

Originally Posted by Bours

there is more lag with a bigger intercooler ??? i dont get why

On the same tune, with all of the remaining hardware being the same, the 7" will have added lag because of it's cavity size, vs the smaller cavity of the 5" stepped; it just naturally takes longer to fill (bring to pressure) a larger vessel.

What I can't quantify is exactly how noticeable the lag is. Could be a fraction of a second or greater. All depends on the supporting tune, hardware and the driver's ability to pre-stage boost.

[JETmn]

Originally Posted by LGCubana

On the same tune, with all of the remaining hardware being the same, the 7" will have added lag because of it's cavity size, vs the smaller cavity of the 5" stepped; it just naturally takes longer to fill (bring to pressure) a larger vessel.

What I can't quantify is exactly how noticeable the lag is. Could be a fraction of a second or greater. All depends on the supporting tune, hardware and the driver's ability to pre-stage boost.

With how quick our turbo spools and how small the size difference is, you are talking hundredths of a second. You aren't going to notice that. Think about the volume being pressurized between the IC piping, IC and intake manifold. A slight increase in IC size is not going to make much of a difference.

[Bours]

Originally Posted by LGCubana

On the same tune, with all of the remaining hardware being the same, the 7" will have added lag because of it's cavity size, vs the smaller cavity of the 5" stepped; it just naturally takes longer to fill (bring to pressure) a larger vessel.

What I can't quantify is exactly how noticeable the lag is. Could be a fraction of a second or greater. All depends on the supporting tune, hardware and the driver's ability to pre-stage boost.

oh very interesting sir

[Bours]

Originally Posted by JETmn

With how quick our turbo spools and how small the size difference is, you are talking hundredths of a second. You aren't going to notice that. Think about the volume being pressurized between the IC piping, IC and intake manifold. A slight increase in IC size is not going to make much of a difference.

i heard people say they can feel the bigger intercooler lag but you might be right cause your turbo spools so fast i doubt there might be any or maybe its just a placebo effect who knows !

[bimmerfan1972]

Resurrecting an old thread here. Thinking up intercooler upgrade. I've seen a lot of chatter about 7" vs 5". What I don't see is manufacturer? Who has upgraded their IC and would you recommend it? What is the best one?

My car:
2011 335xi e92 n55

[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Originally Posted by bimmerfan1972

Resurrecting an old thread here. Thinking up intercooler upgrade. I've seen a lot of chatter about 7" vs 5". What I don't see is manufacturer? Who has upgraded their IC and would you recommend it? What is the best one?

My car:
2011 335xi e92 n55

For the price you are paying, I would probably go with VRSF products. Their new revised products are solid and really evolved and updated from the early models they had. VRSF's intercooler are at a fraction of the price of other big brands such as ETS, ER and just as or even more performant than these brands.

The 7.5 stepped is insane if not the 5 stepped seems to be a very solid option even for Stage 2+ tuned vehicles.

I kind of regret going with my hella expensive intercooler when there is a solution that is as good at the fraction of the price.

What are your power goals or mods?

[bimmerfan1972]

I don't have any mods currently. Not really any goals yet either. I've had this car for 5 years and just recently gotten into doing all the work on it myself.

I don't have goals, but there are a few things I would like to change:
Replace stock air intake with something nice sounding, and nice looking
Intercooler
Aluminum charge pipe

What else should I be looking at?

[Tiago@VRSF]

Originally Posted by ANMVQ

I just upgraded mine today vrsf 5 stepped . Ken's custom tune

Originally Posted by GripAndRip

I'm glad to hear you got that thing on finally. You find a better more competent shop or you do it yourself? I remember the shop you tried couldn't do it.

Did it help a lot?

Originally Posted by Bours

i want to buy a vrsf 5 stepped if anyone is selling one !

Originally Posted by TheGoodTheBadTheUgly

For the price you are paying, I would probably go with VRSF products. Their new revised products are solid and really evolved and updated from the early models they had. VRSF's intercooler are at a fraction of the price of other big brands such as ETS, ER and just as or even more performant than these brands.

The 7.5 stepped is insane if not the 5 stepped seems to be a very solid option even for Stage 2+ tuned vehicles.

I kind of regret going with my hella expensive intercooler when there is a solution that is as good at the fraction of the price.

What are your power goals or mods?

Thanks for the support guys, we greatly appreciate it

The 7.5" Stepped Competition HD is the best option for anyone on stock or upgraded twins. It offers a larger frontal area over our old standard 7" design and it'll outperform any of the more expensive alternatives that add that pesky BMW tax.

[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Originally Posted by bimmerfan1972

I don't have any mods currently. Not really any goals yet either. I've had this car for 5 years and just recently gotten into doing all the work on it myself.

I don't have goals, but there are a few things I would like to change:
Replace stock air intake with something nice sounding, and nice looking
Intercooler
Aluminum charge pipe

What else should I be looking at?

Alright I'll try to be complete here.

Intercooler: Any aftermarket front mounted intercooler (FMIC) will be better than the OEM one. 5" and stepped 5" are very good even if you plan to push the car to the max with stock turbo. 7" or above is, in my opinion, only worth it when you upgrade turbos and even at that point you can combine 5" with other methods to achieve a very good cooling level. This being said, keep in mind that 7" and above will require you to trim some of the inner bumper which is really eady and doesn't change anything.

Chargepipe: Honestly any metal charge pipe will be completly fine. If you plan to run meth injection later on, you might want to order the charge pipe with bungs machined in it. You can simply plug the bungs if you are not using them.

Air Intake: You have 2 main options here. Injen intake which is in metal, looks nice, but after some time heat soaks because of the high heat conductivity of metal or you have the BMS intake that is in plastic, is a not as nice aestheticaly than the Injen one, but heat soaks less. Both sound good in my opinion.

If you would like to hear the engine of the car a lot more when driving, you can buy a simple cheap mode: BMS Cowl Filters. This essentially deletes your cowl and allows sound to be louder in the cabin.

If you plan on continuing to mod to reach big power you have to go with a catless downpipe. I recommend VRSF downpipe.

If you want exhaust mods, there is a shit ton of aftermarket catbacks. Find a sound that suits you, it's all about your personal liking here. I personally likes the BMW performance exhaust sound!

[bimmerfan1972]

TheGoodTheBadTheUgly

Thanks for the info. Ok, here is what I'm thinking:

https://www.vr-speed.com/vrsf-7-fron...2-e90-e92.html

https://www.vr-speed.com/vrsf-3-5-st...-bmw-135i.html

https://www.vr-speed.com/vrsf-charge...i-n54-n55.html

Not sure if I want the Injen intake, looks nice, or the BMS, which is cheaper.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-injen-pa...take/sp1126wb/

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-burger-m...s-n55-int~bum/

[bimmerfan1972]

TheGoodTheBadTheUgly

Can you post a picture of your engine compartment? Would like to see what everything looks like with the BMS intake and the charge pipe.

[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Originally Posted by bimmerfan1972

TheGoodTheBadTheUgly

Can you post a picture of your engine compartment? Would like to see what everything looks like with the BMS intake and the charge pipe.

I have no clue how to post pictures on here and right now because on winter my engine bay is diacusting. I'll try to pass you a link to a drive with pictures I took a while ago.


EDIT: Here is a link with some pictures of my engine compartment. I really do not know how to have a clean compartment so bare with me . Some of these pictures are taken when installing the mods so parts are missing.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?...xD2TjkN2vn_eQ-

[bimmerfan1972]

That's helpful, thank you. My engine is filthy right now too. Just sprayed it off, hoping that helps some.

[bimmerfan1972]

Got my VRSF intercooler installed today. Choose the 5" model. Probably pick up a charge pipe in the next couple weeks. Not sure about downpipes. I would like the catless but I've heard about the gas smell. High flow catted?

Anyway, I've been thinking about your question TheGoodTheBadTheUgly about power goals. What else do I need to stage 1 or 2 with JB4? Which I do not have yet, but will pick up at some point. Will I need to upgrade my turbo? They are just so expensive. What kind of HP can I get from upgrading everything else and waiting for my turbo to blow up?

[JPuehl]

I have a 7" HD VRSF and love it. It's great but doesn't use OEM connectors which doesn't bother me as a my turbo piping have been replaced/upgraded.

[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Originally Posted by bimmerfan1972

Got my VRSF intercooler installed today. Choose the 5" model. Probably pick up a charge pipe in the next couple weeks. Not sure about downpipes. I would like the catless but I've heard about the gas smell. High flow catted?

Anyway, I've been thinking about your question TheGoodTheBadTheUgly about power goals. What else do I need to stage 1 or 2 with JB4? Which I do not have yet, but will pick up at some point. Will I need to upgrade my turbo? They are just so expensive. What kind of HP can I get from upgrading everything else and waiting for my turbo to blow up?

Nope! To be a stage 2 or stage 2+ comparing to MHD you only need an FMIC, charge pipe and a downpipe. Honestly, I was also scared about the smell of the catless downpipe, but when you are inside the car driving with all windows opened or idling you literally can't smell it. It's pretty much only if you are behind the exhaust and the smell isn't that horrible, to be honest. The cold air intake is totally not necessary, it's only if you want to have better sound and upgraded turbos are on a level higher than stage 2/2+!

[bimmerfan1972]

Good to know, thanks.

[bimmerfan1972]

MHD looks a lot easier than JB4. No opening the ECU box. What has your experience been? Have you used JB4? How do they compare?

Side note, looks like I can get a good power boost with what I have done so far, just the intercooler. I'll get charge pipe soon, leave downpipes for later. Spring maybe, looks like a lot of work, and not an easy install. Not that the FMIC was

[starbuck]

Regarding intercooler, I went with the Stepped 5" VRSF.

I've seen so many topics like this, and I do think the information out there is confusing - especially because some of the models have gone through finpack revisions. Some of the testing data on retailer sites are from previous revisions which can be very inaccurate if looking at the latest revision. I bought the updated stepped 5" that I haven't found much data on, though the previous revision had data to indicate 11 degree increase post 3rd gear pull. When I do a 3rd gear pull, my temp actually drops 2 to 3 degrees.

I'm FBO on a custom Eurocharged tune with a PS1 about to go in.