Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Ok I am about to fit a FMIC to my MY00 and have some questions.

I was tempted to paint the FMIC Matt black so it blends in better with the front of the car but was wondering if it would be better if I left it silver as light reflects heat and dark absorbs it. The last thing I want is for the intercooler to heat up due to it absorbing heat rather than radiating it.

I also was wondering if the engine temp will increase due to me fitting a FMIC in front of the radiator? as now the air getting to the rad will be first passing through a hot intercooler and then passing through the rad, will this make a difference to the engine temp as there will be less cold air passing through the rad? also are the 2 stock fans man enough to compensate for the loss of cold forced air through the rad? or should they be upgraded to Kenlows or other fans with a bigger displacement?

Cheers
Steve

Moley

iTrader: (9)

I don't know the answer...but would like to!!!

Have a FMIC on my classic, and wonder what it will be like when the warmer weather arrives (if it does)

p1mark

i used my FMIC in silver and black, and i am monitoring charge temps accurately. i noticed no difference whatsoever in charge temps between unpainted and painted.

Coolant temp is not a problem on imprezas, unlike charge temps. I know of a few 500 BHP scoobs runing o.e radiators.

The heat and reduction in air flow before the rad will not unduly affect your water temp, i cant notice it anyway but i am still using standard temp gauge. I suspect it will only be a few degrees.

Any supposed disadvantages of FMIC are outwieghed by the good points, so dont worry about it.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Cheers Mark.

Steve

Mark A

iTrader: (1)

I had to let my car "cool" down a couple of years ago when Bob mapped it, it was the hotest day of the year and we'd just completed a couple of high speed runs. He suggested i remove the aircon rad to lower the temps if I was going racing.
I think this would only be a problem if you tracked or raced in summer on a day when the ambient temp is around 30 degrees. As we all know those days are very rare.

Mark

360ste

iTrader: (1)

I have a FMIC fitted to my bugeye and am certain that after fitting, the coolant temperature dropped slightly. My thoughts on it are that by removing the TMIC there is an increase in airflow over the back of the engine resulting in a slight depression. The result being more air travelling through the radiator and over the engine causing a reduction in engine bay temperature. The afore mentioned could be total bull but I am sure of my view on this matter.

silent running

I/Cs and rads can be stacked in front of each other fairly effectively with minimal problems to the one behind. Although the entire IC may be dumping a lot of heat, if you look at each square cm of it and how much hotter that particular airflow is before it hits the rad behind, there's not a lot in it.

As far as the black/silver thing goes, black is not only an absorber of heat, but also the most effective radiator of it as well. I would always go with a black painted front radiator or I/C rather than silver. At standstill it SHOULD perform better although I'd imagine the difference wouldn't be huge - most of the time a radiator is cooled by the effect of throughflow of air rather than actual passive radiation.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Great thanks all for all your advise and opinions. Thinking about it the rad on my car is black as standard! maybe this is a subtle hint from the manufacturer

silent running

Exactly. Any heatsink application where a component needs to dump a lot of heat with the most possible efficiency is always painted black.