Back in Black! ** Custom FMIC Build Started & Finished**

[Stu_pot]

I've just re-read Nevs build thread again and it looks like his sits in about the same position as mine will. Later on in his thread, he has bent the cross braces a little to clear the top corner of the cooler.

Also, he has bent the 3 little bottom brackets upwards, possibly he thought they could be used as bottom mountings..

I'm a little happier now that it seems normal for the cooler to sit that low..

 

[Stu_pot]

I'm going to have this propblem on mine [I think] what I've done is get a bit of small box section [about 1" box I'd say] and if I have to I'm going to remove the brace bar and fix the box section inbetween the chassis legs to stop any flex.....this should allow the cooler to sit further forward and clear the front panel.

I also figure doing this will allow air to flow inbetween the cooler and rad so I dont get any cooling issues.

Thats not my pic but you get the idea.

You don't want to be removing the crash bar (you called it Brace bar? same thing?). A 65mm cooler WILL sit behind the crash bar but it's the 45 degree slam panel braces that are stopping it sitting higher..

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

You don't want to be removing the crash bar (you called it Brace bar? same thing?). A 65mm cooler WILL sit behind the crash bar but it's the 45 degree slam panel braces that are stopping it sitting higher..

To be honest mate I've not looked I just saw that pic I posted and have some bar just incase!

My cooler is 770mm end to end/inlet to outlet ......I'll make it fit I have big hammers

 

[Stu_pot]

LOL The width isn't really the issue its the thickness of the cooler, any more than 65mm and you're gonna run into problems with the rad and/or crash bar..

If you DO want it to sit higher than mine and Nev's then you can think about modifying the slam panel cross braces...

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

Yeah I think mines deeper than that.....I'll have to see what happens when we come to fit it.

I'll keep an eye on how you get on, although the pipe run is different I might be able to get some ideas

 

[DannyC87]

looks to sit the same sort of height as mine. If you look below the rad you will see the 3 holes for fastening the bumper back on (underneath the front lip of the car) - you can'y go lower than these without trimming your bumper alot if that makes sense?

 

[Stu_pot]

A quick update, didn't get a lot done yesterday as we were putting the conservatory framework and roof struts up but the cooler is fitted, BUT, it's the wrong one! Argh! I checked the dimensions when I first got it but I didn't check the inlet/outlet O/D's. With the rubber dust caps on they looked right.

So, I have a nicely fitting cooler with 57mm inlet/outlets and a 64mm pipe kit. I'm awaiting a response from Toyosports (Tuningpartsbay) about them sending the wrong one but if they don't send me a new cooler then my options are to use 57mm piping on the hot side (like Rob has done to reduce lag a little) and use a 57mm to 64mm coupler on the cold side..

Anyway, on to the pics :-

Offering the cooler up for the 2nd time :-

After some grinding (will paint after final fix)

O/S Bracketry complete

All top bracketry complete

Bottom stabilising strap, stops the bottom of the cooler flapping around. Ground down the captive nut on the cooler and the bolt head for maximum bumper cover clearance.

 

[Stu_pot]

A couple more pics of the bottom of the cooler and stabilising strap, ground down the O/S captive nut as well :-

 

[adam kelly]

hi what ic is this of looks like ya had to mod alot of stuff to make it fit.i fitted a forge on to my ibiza and its shockin how much moddin you have to do to make it fit how you want it.

your car looks nice to my uncle has one only got a dump valve and remap theo hes not on hear theo.

cheers adam

 

[Stu_pot]

hi what ic is this of looks like ya had to mod alot of stuff to make it fit.i fitted a forge on to my ibiza and its shockin how much moddin you have to do to make it fit how you want it.

your car looks nice to my uncle has one only got a dump valve and remap theo hes not on hear theo.

cheers adam

It's amazing how misuse of grammar and spelling can completely change a sentence

Thanks Adam, your Beeza looks spot on too. It's an ebay intercooler. I think the Forge kits are a lot more user friendly than earlier ones and it really depends on what car it's to be fitted to as to how much modding is required. Forge take as much pain out of it as possible though.

However, the Forge Big race cooler is approx £630 with discount so I'm saving over £400 doing it myself.

 

[Cupra_R04]

I have the same problems with my cooler. Outlets are supposed to be 2.5" but are 2.75" so meant i had to get a reducer for both sides. Im still waiting for some pipes from forge asell so shall wait and see. Looking good so far though

 

[Talx]

Grate work but I would insist on them having the intercooler changed reducing the size of the pipes from 64 into 57 back to 64 is going to be not only a restriction but also will disturb the velocity and flow of charge through the system

 

[Stu_pot]

Grate work but I would insist on them having the intercooler changed reducing the size of the pipes from 64 into 57 back to 64 is going to be not only a restriction but also will disturb the velocity and flow of charge through the system

Well I'm having a nightmare with Toyosports (tuningpartsbay), they initially offered me £20 refund (on £153 worth of kit?!?!?) if I kept the cooler. They didn't/don't have any 64mm coolers, only 76mm. They've sent me 57mm-64mm reducers even though I didn't want them. Today they have offered a full refund which I don;t want either! I've already spent a lot of time fitting the cooler and 64mm pipes to the cold side.

So, I decided to use the cooler (As it was already fitted) and fit the 64mm piping to the cold side (so no restriction, just a step up in pipe size) and then get Toyosports to send me 57mm piping for the hotside piping, so again, no restriction.

The charge pipe is 60mm anyway so only a small step down to 57mm...

 

[JamJay]

Nice build up, really like the seats.

If I keep with mine then i'll be doing this also but due to lack of time, i'll have to opt fopr the fairly straight forward Forge kit with new crash bar.

 

[Stu_pot]

Nice build up, really like the seats.

If I keep with mine then i'll be doing this also but due to lack of time, i'll have to opt fopr the fairly straight forward Forge kit with new crash bar.

I really think that with people like Nev, Adam, Rob, CupraR04 and me etc you can save yourself a pot of money (circa £400) and by collating the information properly you could save a lot of time as well.

For example, If I were doing it all again, I would know exactly what to buy, where from and what quantities (rather than buying a generic pipe kit).

This would be my shopping list (based upon a target horsepower of no greater than 400-450) :-

1. Cooler with 550x225x64MM core dimensions with 64mm inlet/outlets.
2. 4 x 90 degree alloy bends (64mm/2.25")
3. 2 x 45 degree alloy bends (64mm/2.25")
4. 7 x 64mm/2.25" silicone couplers
5. 1 x Forge MAP Sensor pipe
6. 2 x THS/Forge/Samco etc Upper boost hoses
7. 1 x Industro pack of JB Weld (for fabricating pipe beads)
8. Pack of 20 Mikalor type clamps
9. 3 x small joist straps for brackets

It can definitely be done in a weekend, I've really been taking my time due to a)wanting to lol and b) building a conservatory at the same time.

So, you're only looking at an extra day on top of a Forge installation for fabricating a custom setup. Well worth thinking about.

 

[JamJay]

You're not wrong Stu, the bit the bothers me is the welding and contructing bit myself, I'm scared it'll all go very wrong for me.

 

[Stu_pot]

You're not wrong Stu, the bit the bothers me is the welding and contructing bit myself, I'm scared it'll all go very wrong for me.

Jay, what welding? No Welding required!

The cooler sits behind and below the crash bar..

The tools you need are (at a bare minimum):-

Vice (optional but Black & Decker workmate would do)
Hammer
Hacksaw
Drill and some new metal drill bits
Socket set
Assorted spanners
Relevant Torx bits (for removing bumper etc)

You can't really go wrong with cutting the pipes, if you go for the same setup as me then I can tell you roughly how long to cut the relevant pieces. It's not critical as the silicone couplers can take up the slack so to speak..

 

[Stu_pot]

A bit of an update, after resolving the problems with Toyosports, I ordered the 57mm pipes and couplers from Forge.

All remaining/outstanding parts arrived yesterday including a new MAP sensor as the old one practically fell apart trying to extract it from the OEM pipe.

Forge MAP Pipe in place with coupler :-

Cold Side Pipes cut and offered up :-

Cold Side Piped in place with couplers :-

Dressing the freshly cut pipes :-

All pipes cut, dressed and ready for JB Weld beading (I hope this gives people a better idea of what is involved in the process of fabricating/cutting the pipes and their final lengths) :-

Roughing up pipes ready for JB Weld :-

All pipes roughed :-

Applying JB Weld Bead:-

Close up of bead, notice how the JB Weld smooths itself out (like floating concrete)

Left JB Weld to dry so fitted battery relocation brackets:-

 

[Stu_pot]

Battery tray fitted, notice the edge has been dressed back to clear MAP pipe, needs more plastic removing. Look at all that room next to the battery tray! The 80mm silicone flexi pipe will come around the front of the battery to fit to the custom air scoop produced by a member on here..

Test fitted the bumper and needed to drop the cooler a touch to allow the hard pipes to sit in the gap below the Grill aperture..

Final resting place of the cooler, the hard pipes sit in the nicely under the Grill apertures (so out of site) and the bottom of the cooler sits slightly above the bottom of the bumper cover. I don't think a better fit can be had.

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

Looks spot on mate, where did you get the battery brackets from?