[LYTSOUT]

I knew I wanted to go to BM3 Stage 2, but I felt like the posts around here were unclear as to whether a new FMIC was really necessary or not...sure, everyone said it was optimal, but some guys mentioned variables like local climate (Texas desert vs Colorado mountains), street vs track use, etc leading you toward real-world necessity.

So I reached out to PTF and asked them directly. Here was their response: "The requirements for Stage 2 93 octane map are high-flow downpipes and front-mount intercooler (FMIC). These are absolutely essential, in order to keep the performance at optimal and not damage anything.

Intercooler cools the air compressed by the turbo/supercharger reducing the temperature and increasing the density of the air supplied to the engine.

Without an intercooler, the engine will fail to supply the required amount of air under the optimal pressure, thereby affecting the air-fuel ratio of the engine, potentially damaging your turbo."

Kinda hard to argue with an answer as direct as that! So then I reached out to @mike@x-ph.com and Tiago@VRSF for recommendations. They both strongly recommended the VRSF 6.5" Stepped Competition rather than the 5" Stepped Performance version b/c the 5" wouldn't be able to handle the increased flow of Stage 2 as well as the 6.5" could. He also assured me that it's not so big that it would increase turbo lag, so that's the one I went with.

Installation: Very straightforward. I removed the front bumper like most other ppl rather than try and do it with the bumper still on, and I'm glad I did. Honestly, that was the longest part of the job, but it was MUCH easier than it would've been with the front bumper on. Removing and reinstalling the tension clips on each side of the piping was mildly annoying, but it wasn't that big of a hassle. It just took a few extra minutes on each side than I expected.

Fit and Finish: Literally perfect. It'd be hard to imagine anything better.

Performance: Perfect. Zero increased turbo lag. Interestingly, even before flashing to Stage 2, my butt dyno suggested more throttle response and top end. But the logs told a much more quantitative and reassuring story. For sake of simplicity, I'll distill the logs down to just the IATs in pulls from 2k in 3rd through redline in 4th...

Ambient Temp - Hardware - Tune - IAT 2k in 3rd - IAT top of 3rd - IAT top of 4th - (IAT delta from bottom of 3rd to top of 4th)
72F - Stock - OEM - 90F - 112F - 117F (+27F)
https://www.bootmod3.net/log?id=5ed4...729b6c7129048e

72F - Stock - Stage 1 - 86F - 129F - 140F (+54F)
https://www.bootmod3.net/log?id=5ed3...90c66237c1d0f8

82F - VRSF 6.5" - OEM - 104F - 95F - 100F (-4F)
https://www.bootmod3.net/log?id=5eda...729b0f7178b9f1

82F - VRSF 6.5" - Stage 1 - 101F - 97F - 109F (+8F)
https://www.bootmod3.net/log?id=5eda...90c634ff221de4

79F - VRSF 6.5" - Stage 2 - 92F - 92F (0F) ...*there was too much traffic to get into fourth gear so a third gear pull was the best I could do*
https://www.bootmod3.net/log?id=5f4f...90c61f061ddbc8

I'm no expert at reading datalogs, but to me, those results are extremely impressive. Generally-speaking, they tell me two things:
1) The OEM intercooler is actually underpowered for even an OEM tune, let alone Stage 1.
2) The VRSF 6.5" is just about perfect for a Stage 1 or Stage 2 application. In a third gear pull, the IATs actually drop in the OEM and Stage 1 tunes and remain rock steady in Stage 2.

Weight: It's not exactly lightweight. OEM IC is 8lbs, VRSF 6.5" is 27.4lbs, and hanging that extra weight at the very front of the car is obviously a suboptimal situation if you were extremely concerned about balance, but the performance results far outweigh (PUN INTENDED) this minor downside esp for a street application.

Value: I got a the VRSF catless DP and the FMIC as a combo deal from x-ph for $663.10 shipped. This really is an amazing value for something that looks, fits, and performs as well as this product does. Hell, you could easily pay that much for an FMIC by itself, let alone bundled with a DP!

Overall: I couldn't be happier with this FMIC. It looks great, fit great, installed easily, and most important of all, it performed even better than I expected. Zero turbo lag was added, it controls IATs from OEM all the way through Stage 2 maps amazingly well...and I got all that for an unbeatably low price. What's not to love?!

[Pussiwillow]

I'm highly considering the 6.5 stepped
Thanks for this post

[mike@x-ph.com]

Im glad i was able to help

Sub'd for the VRSF intercooler results. Please post a stage 1 datalog as well for a fair comparison between VRSF and stock FMIC on the same map

[AmuroRay]

For it's cost, it's easily one of the best ICs on the market.

[DJSF3014]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Im glad i was able to help

Sub'd for the VRSF intercooler results. Please post a stage 1 datalog as well for a fair comparison between VRSF and stock FMIC on the same map

Do you guys have the 6.5 race intercooler in stock still?

[deadmn1337]

Originally Posted by DJSF3014

Do you guys have the 6.5 race intercooler in stock still?

They will be in stock on 9/2 supposedly. I have one back ordered right now.

[AmuroRay]

Awesome review OP. Any pictures?

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by DJSF3014

Do you guys have the 6.5 race intercooler in stock still?

My system shows this intercooler just got back in stock

its only a matter of time now to process all the pending orders

[FastF30]

This was 2nd run right in a row (pull/slowdown/pull) Yesterday.... MHD 2+ 95octane map... boost in the 17psi range (more heat)
car temp said 95f and very humid.... IAT 115-126 = +11

Not Bad for Burger Motorsport typical 5" step cooler... anything is better than stock...

I'm really surprised by the coolant being 183f & oil temp 212f...I'm using the sport cooling option in MHD...

https://datazap.me/u/fastf30/log-159...ata=3-6-7-9-19

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by FastF30

This was 2nd run right in a row (pull/slowdown/pull) Yesterday.... MHD 2+ 95octane map... boost in the 17psi range (more heat)
car temp said 95f and very humid.... IAT 115-126 = +11

Not Bad for Burger Motorsport typical 5" step cooler... anything is better than stock...

I'm really surprised by the coolant being 183f & oil temp 212f...I'm using the sport cooling option in MHD...

https://datazap.me/u/fastf30/log-159...ata=3-6-7-9-19

You're getting some throttle closures because of overboost FYI.

Also, the sport cooling lowers target to low 200s or so (from about 230 for coolant). When you drive aggressively and/or ambient temps are really high, the DME will lower it further. I saw my coolant go down to 185 just driving on the highway casually in comfort mode when outside temp went over 110F the other day. No sport cooling option.

[FastF30]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

You're getting some throttle closures because of overboost FYI.

Guess the car is still adapting... what else could be the cause?

Sorry to jack the thread... going over to MHD thread...

[obeeone]

That's interesting and I was going to make a post to see if anyone else had noticed the "sport cooling" at high ambient temps. I was also monitoring thing during our high temps here and noticed right about 99-100 F that my water and oil temps were drastically lower than normal. Paid close attention and anything below 98 F temps are normal then anything above 100 temps are way down.

On a side note to the OP, I also installed the 6.5 HD and have been very happy with the cooling ability as well as fitment. I installed without pulling the bumber and it wasn't too hard at all, just pulled the lower bumper cover down and forward slightly while I shoved the intercooler up into place. My only issue was the metal tabs that held the fan in the bottom were a little off and I had to bend them slightly to get the fan to drop into them. Besides that it's been great.

[AmuroRay]

Pictures?

[LYTSOUT]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

Pictures?

Oh, yeah. Sorry, I almost forgot about the pics!

I was planning to do a detailed recap/update once I got the logs done in Stage 2, but I haven't had time to get them since I live in the city and it's a chore to find enough open road at a reasonable time (usually like 7am on a weekend) to blast through 3rd and 4th without endangering my fellow drivers and/or my clean driving record! I'll go ahead and update the original post with pics now, tho.

Edit: done. Looks good, huh?

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by LYTSOUT

Oh, yeah. Sorry, I almost forgot about the pics!

I was planning to do a detailed recap/update once I got the logs done in Stage 2, but I haven't had time to get them since I live in the city and it's a chore to find enough open road at a reasonable time (usually like 7am on a weekend) to blast through 3rd and 4th without endangering my fellow drivers and/or my clean driving record! I'll go ahead and update the original post with pics now, tho.

Thank you for the pictures, I’ll wait on the review!

[LYTSOUT]

OP updated with a log in Stage 2 and my final thoughts. Enjoy!

*Unfortunately, there was too much traffic for me to [safely] max out fourth gear, but the data is solid for that third gear pull*

[AmuroRay]

Great thread, thank you for such a detailed review. You literally couldn’t ask for more.

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

Great thread, thank you for such a detailed review. You literally couldn’t ask for more.

Ok, I lied. I want a full pull whenever you can

I also went back and read the some of your other threads - Honestly, great reads. I wish more threads were like this.

[LYTSOUT]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

Ok, I lied. I want a full pull whenever you can

I also went back and read the some of your other threads - Honestly, great reads. I wish more threads were like this.

Lol! Thanks. They aren't as detailed DIYs as some around here, but I do try and give an honest option and share what I've learned (which, when you think about it, is essentially a core purpose of these forums).

Anyway, I'll see what I can do. I live in the city so without driving 30-45 mins to a country road outside of town, the best spot I've found to do log pulls (and I try to do them all on the same stretch of road) begins with an on-ramp leading into an interstate. The best time to do this is on weekend mornings (like 7-10am), but with my work schedule, kids soccer games, and the occasional hangover, it's really tough to hit that window!

[miksebik]

Hi guys, we are modding a F30 335xi with Pure stg2 turbo, the Wagner EVO2 IC is a huge disappointment (130F IAT in high rpms). So we need a bigger intercooler. I believe VRSF is one of the biggest...

But. Why did a UK well-known shop stop told me they will not have this product as customers complained about the quality and fitment issues? Do you know something about it? It would be a pain in the a.. to order it from USA to central Europe and find something unusable..

Also, why the Wagner evo3 does not fit F30? Or is it doable as it is on M2?

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by miksebik

Hi guys, we are modding a F30 335xi with Pure stg2 turbo, the Wagner EVO2 IC is a huge disappointment (130F IAT in high rpms). So we need a bigger intercooler. I believe VRSF is one of the biggest...

But. Why did a UK well-known shop stop told me they will not have this product as customers complained about the quality and fitment issues? Do you know something about it? It would be a pain in the a.. to order it from USA to central Europe and find something unusable..

Also, why the Wagner evo3 does not fit F30? Or is it doable as it is on M2?

Do the VRSF Race. I’ve told everyone that the Evo2 is not a good intercooler, and I was dismissed.

I’ve read a few reviews, and most of the issues people had were years ago. You should be fine now.

[alohasurftoad]

Originally Posted by miksebik

But. Why did a UK well-known shop stop told me they will not have this product as customers complained about the quality and fitment issues? Do you know something about it? It would be a pain in the a.. to order it from USA to central Europe and find something unusable..

the UK shop is informed correctly. i've been on this forum for 5 years and read numerous quality and fitment issues with all of the products that they make. i wouldn't use their stuff even if they paid me to...

i'm not sure if this is big enough but this intercooler is high quality...https://www.atmspeedshop.com/collect...5i-intercooler

Dinan makes a big intercooler to consider...https://www.dinancars.com/products/e...arts/D330-0021