[Simple5]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MECH-Tuning-...p2056016.l4276

Looks like a Helix/Wagner knock off!

[stanlalee]

Been around for a while. I'm still convinced it not EXACTLY the same as the Wagner just rebadged. A few people on the forum said they have that one and are pleased with it.

[Tiago@VRSF]

It's a copy of the Wagner. The stepped design is cool but it retains the oem connectors which is a huge restriction since they neck down to almost 2".

The only positive reviews I've seen from people on this forums regarding the kit are from people who are selling it. Here's a pm I received from a customer who's swapping theirs out for our FMIC.

"On a side note, the character "xxxx" in this (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=913529&page=2) thread is the guy from MECH tuning trying to sell his FMICs on here. If you're curious to see what that looks like, I can bring it by, there is a lack of quality so I never installed it."

[silver07335i]

I wouldn't cheap out on a crucial part such as a FMIC. I recommend sticking with quality and proven FMICs from ETS, Helix, VRSF, etc. If you're on a budget then VRSF FMICs are a popular choice.

[Johnny Boost]

For that price, why not get the VRSF FMIC?

[blaster3500]

It looks nice but curious to see how it performs. For what it is worth I picked up my used helix for about the same price with a j-pipe.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Johnny Boost

For that price, why not get the VRSF FMIC?

Exactly.

[Nhe261]

Never try never know. I installed the EBay inter cooler and I'm happy so far. That one looks like a quality part.

[Jklad]

I would avoid buying car parts off eBay whenever possible. Obvs some things make sense to get though.

My 7in vsrf IC was only around$400. Saving only a couple bucks more off this already low price is just not worth all the unknows associated with purchasing a no-name eBay version.

Someone I know told me their mechanic was upgrading their car using eBay turbos - super cheap. I looked at him like he was on crack.

[Brule]

I have an Ebay intercooler.
What a piece of shit it is.
One pull in 3rd IAT's go up to 150 (Map 2 JB4 FBO) 30 degree C

[Brule]

ETS or Helix!

[Miko226]

You can't go wrong with VRSF the price is unbeatable and the same can be said for the engineering and performance

[FLCoastal335i]

I would be interested in how much pressure drop it had. The more efficient the FMIC, the less work it makes for the turbos.

[Tiago@VRSF]

The less work it makes for the turbos, the less it cools.

There's always a compromise between flow & cooling with an intercooler. If you find an intercooler that flows really well, it's not going to do a very good job of cooling and if you find one that cools very well, you're going to find that it'll have quite a bit of pressure drop.

Finding the balance is very important and making sure that balance suits the application is even more important. These turbos are tiny and run out of breath in the upper RPM range so you really have to spend a bit of time finding the right balance of flow/cooling capacity when designing a core to suit the application.

This is something that's generally overlooked with the ebay/lower priced brands since most of the time they're just copying end tanks and slapping them on a universal, low density core.

[n54door]

One thing to keep in mind, cheaper intercoolers tend to use thicker or more heat soaking types of materials. I can't remember what the compositions are between the quality OEM I/c's and knockoffs, but the material does play a huge role in heat dissipation.

Cheap I/C's tend to heat soak quicker, as one of the other posters pointed out in their experience, which again, I believe is mostly due to the metallurgy. They also seem to weigh more for this same reason.

It's just not worth it.. it may 'look' like a known brand, but we don't buy I/C's for their looks. so...

[themyst]

I got an ETS 5 incher; it's an upgrade over stock but the larger 7 inch units are far superior in keeping heat soak at bay.

[Zombie1]

Originally Posted by Nhe261

Never try never know. I installed the EBay inter cooler and I'm happy so far. That one looks like a quality part.

For the review...you said in your thread you were going to log with the stock intercooler and with that eBay one. You say your happy so far so I assume it's on the car. Not trying to be a dick just waiting for the review you said you were going to do that's all.

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by n54door

One thing to keep in mind, cheaper intercoolers tend to use thicker or more heat soaking types of materials. I can't remember what the compositions are between the quality OEM I/c's and knockoffs, but the material does play a huge role in heat dissipation.

Cheap I/C's tend to heat soak quicker, as one of the other posters pointed out in their experience, which again, I believe is mostly due to the metallurgy. They also seem to weigh more for this same reason.

It's just not worth it.. it may 'look' like a known brand, but we don't buy I/C's for their looks. so...

Not sure what you mean by "more heat soaking types of material". Efficient cooling intercoolers have tightly packed fins which = more material and heat dissipating surface area. Denser fin packs = heavier. Light weight generally isn't a feature you want to look for in an intercooler.

This is your "typical" eBay core (actually CX Racing for another application) with loosely packed fins. Not much surface area for cooling. Its either not going to cool well or have to be extremely large which will cause pressure drop.


Here is a densely packed well known quality core (precision)


And there is a real ethical issue with buying Chinese manufactured products that has nothing to do with quality (Chinese manufacturing is good enough for apple and the planes you risk your life flying in) and everything to do with their internal subsidizing and trade tactics that allow cheap manufacturing but that's another topic for another day.

[crypticc]

This isn't one of them but my dad is always buying knock off ebay goods. How can they post a £3 product to the UK cheaper than I could post to the next postal district is beyond me. Subsidised is too small a word for that.... Of course nothing to do with intercoolers

[m4xm1l10n]

Here is their website, it seems like a great product but who knows ?

http://www.mechtuning.com/BMW-135-33...MIC-p/fmic.htm

http://www.mechtuning.com/default.asp