A4 (B7) Competition Series Front Mount Intercooler (FMIC) Kit

Key Features:

• Large 20x11x3" (2411x3" with end tanks) High Density Bar & Plate Construction Intercooler Core.
• Rolled intercooler end tank design (welded and ported interior for improved flow).
• Mirror polished finish or optional Type III Hard Black Anodizing (for stealth) finish.
• Complete aluminum intercooler piping.  Replaces every single OEM piping/hose with hard piping for improved throttle response.
• Larger sized intercooler piping than OEM, optimized for "Big Turbo" high horsepower applications.
• Intercooler piping features beaded ends, silicone hump hoses and t-bolt clamps to prevent intercooler piping from coming off from high boost.
• Compatible with K04, GTRS and similar turbo upgrades.
• Retains the OEM side fog lights, horn, headlight washers, etc...
• Includes replacement External Power Steering Cooler Kit with all hardware to mount and install.  Replaces OEM Power Steering cooler with more efficient unit.  No need to tweak or rig the OEM line.
• Includes all hardware needed to install.
• Limited Lifetime Warranty.

The heart of the ER Competition FMIC is the massive 20x11x3(24x11x3 with end tanks) high density bar and plate intercooler core. It features 660 cubic inches intercooler core.  Through extensive testing of different types of intercooler cores (tube & fin, bar & plate) we found that the high density bar and plate core to be the most efficient. Independent testing has shown that our FMIC is so efficient in cooling that it has cooled intake air temperatures (IAT) to almost ambient (outside) temperatures. We also did extensive testing on the proper size to use to effectively cool the hot charged air from these big turbo upgrades as well as fight off heat soaking (when the intercooler cannot transfer heat away faster than the heat building up from the hot intake air). heat soaking is not an issue at all as shown by consistency of the IAT staying in the same temperature range throughout the WHOLE RPM powerband. Also our FMIC recovers so fast after a full throttle pull that once you shift, it recovers completely. This is why pull after pull, our FMIC does not heatsoaking. Beat on it all day long and the IAT will consistently be near ambient temperatures. Our Competition FMIC is just what it is, designed for competition. The other intercoolers may be adequate if you lived your life a ¼ mile at a time (with hours between runs to cool down), they will definitely heatsoaking under harsher conditions like road racing where you/re at full throttle for at least 20 minutes. Imagine you pegged behind the rear bumper of the car in front of you. With no cool airflow flowing through your intercooler, it will heatsoaking very fast, loosing you that very precious power you need to pass the car ahead of you. The FMIC then becomes a heatsink. Since our FMICs are quite large, it can hold more heat longer before it heat soaks, giving you extra valuable time with all the power you need to make the pass.   

The Competition Series Core features a thick 3" core.  This has many advantages over a thin core that many of our competitors use.  With a thicker core, we do not need to go tall to get the same intercooler size.  This allows better internal flow characteristics as the airflow does not need to travel upwards to the top of the core.  Also, intake airflow wants to travel through the core on the path of least resistance.  Because of this, intake airflow will want to travel towards the bottom of the core straight to the outlet.  This makes the top of the core less efficient as airflow will not want to travel through that section.  At the same time, our FMIC does not block the entire face of the radiator.  This allows direct airflow for the radiator over the top of the intercooler ensuring a proper cooling system.  Everything needs to work correctly on the car.  Without having good airflow to the radiator, the car will overheat.  With it's size and ability to support over 600hp, it is the "last intercooler you will ever buy", no matter what size turbo you decide to run in the future.

Unlike turbo kits and other parts where the main power adder is constant, intercooler gains (or recovery) is based largely on how badly the current intercooler setup working and will vary from setup to setup. Dyno graphs do not properly show the performance of intercoolers, intake air temperatures do as that is the job of the intercooler. We can take a car with a huge turbo upgrade; test it with the OEM Side Mount Intercooler (SMIC) and run 30 lbs. of boost. Then test it with our FMIC. We'd probably gain 20-40 wheel horsepower from that. But does that properly show how good the intercooler is? Will most people see these kinds of gains? Showing the intake air temperatures against ambient temperatures shows how efficient the intercooler cools the hot charged intake air and is the best way to judge how good the intercooler works.

 

With the big turbo upgrades available today, 300+ hp A4 2.0 are now becoming common place. As horsepower level start exceeding 300 hp, the OEM intercooler hose/piping (2.0) itself starts to become a restriction. When intake air starts to reach the speed of sound (Mach 1) the piping size itself becomes a restriction (and yes, we pulled out the equations and calculated the numbers). With that in mind, the ER Competition FMIC features 2.25 charge (turbo to intercooer) hard piping and 2.5 cold (intercooler to throttle body) hard piping to properly match the higher flow rates of these big turbos. The smaller charge pipe helps keep airflow velocity high to fill the large FMIC, which helps increase response and reduce turbo lag while the larger cold pipe helps with high end flow (matches OEM throttle body size). Our extensive testing has shown that higher top end power is achieved with the larger piping. Also, all OEM hose is replaced with complete hard piping and run as short as possible while taking the least amount of bends possible which increases response, decrease turbo lag, and reduces pressure drop back to OEM levels if not better.

Our B7 A4 Competition FMIC requires no  cutting of the OEM bumper cover or any grill covers at all  Our end tank design with it's inlet/outlet curving inwards towards to body makes this possible.  This technique was pioneered by us with our B6 Competition FMIC and has made it's way to the B7 Competition FMIC. 

We also offer our intercoolers in any color of the rainbow you want (special order) and is available in only Type II Anodizing (asthetics).

Quality is very important to us. We do extensive R&D as well as beta testing to ensure this (as some of you may already know, waiting for us to release the production units). We only release our products once we feel we have reached perfection. We do not rush to get our products out even if there is alot of potential customers. Also, we do quality checks before the intercoolers are packaged. EVERY FMIC is pressure tested to 50 PSI of pressure before they are shipped to ensure no leakage. EVERY FMIC is test fitted on the original component on the car (OEM radiator) to ensure perfect fitment. We include only high quality parts and accessories in our FMIC kit. We include detail instructions and ALL parts needed for installation. All our FMICs are backed with our Limited Lifetime Warranty.