Anyway to push my fmic up??

recently brought a wrx and the fmic is well below the bumper. Has anyone had the same issue?? Can i flip it and give me more room?? or is it just the placing. I have been thinking about putting a v7 sti top mount on it but would have to set up the squrter etc which would just be a headache for me and i have a big trip soon and want to make sure it is protected. Ive been looking at putting a lip or covering it with a ali guard and putting holes so it does have some air going through it. What would be the best thing to do?? Cheers

and this is what it would kinda be like with the plate. It would just look way better in real life

then get like a little sti lip. The lip i got still doesnt fully cover it...

 boon said:

Personally I think it's just the wrong intercooler, even if you flip it the bottom will still stick out and it's just begging to get smashed open on a driveway or something.

Anything you stick over it will just look exactly like it is, a kludge to fix a dumb problem.

True i might measure it. It seems like all the gc8 ic are 600x300

Unsure if you read this in other thread - I know coz I had the same issue. Fits perfectly upside down the issue is the inlet/outlet not the sheer size of the thing altho a 280mm core would fit nicer core wise the inlet/outlet remains. Jack it up and stick your head under the car you will see what Im talking about. Idk if V1-4 are more forgiving or not but I do know about V5/6.

 evowrx said:

Issue is fitment - the pipes sit under the light surround so unless you hack it and put in covers or flip the cooler it will sit that low. I had the same issue and smaller cooler won't fix the issue as inlet/outlet are the same height.

By the time you get the lip/paint etc woudln't it be the same cost to just grab another intercooler kit. Otherwise a genuine Trust Greddy Lip will cover that, but that will set you back $700 alone.

 evowrx said:

Unsure if you read this in other thread - I know coz I had the same issue. Fits perfectly upside down the issue is the inlet/outlet not the sheer size of the thing altho a 280mm core would fit nicer core wise the inlet/outlet remains. Jack it up and stick your head under the car you will see what Im talking about. Idk if V1-4 are more forgiving or not but I do know about V5/6.

Thanks bud! you saved me money from buying another

 WRXER said:

By the time you get the lip/paint etc woudln't it be the same cost to just grab another intercooler kit. Otherwise a genuine Trust Greddy Lip will cover that, but that will set you back $700 alone.

the only other way i would go is top mount but then i would have to find the sprayer system then get new front bumper cause that one is cut up. It cost me $150 for the lip and $350 to put it on and paint plus i like the sound of the fmic. Always had a top mount

600x240 is a good fit. That's what i've got on mine. The bottom of the bumper is basically flush with the intercooler. My mate had his fmic installed by subaru specialists manukau. He bought a redline kit which came with the 600x300 intercooler and he had the same problem as you with it sitting too low. Judging by the way it looks.... I'm going to assume they heated the bumper up and just bent it down a little lol. Looks kind of Tacky imo, but hey that's another option.

 whatshouldiget? said:

600x240 is a good fit. That's what i've got on mine. The bottom of the bumper is basically flush with the intercooler. My mate had his fmic installed by subaru specialists manukau. He bought a redline kit which came with the 600x300 intercooler and he had the same problem as you with it sitting too low. Judging by the way it looks.... I'm going to assume they heated the bumper up and just bent it down a little lol. Looks kind of Tacky imo, but hey that's another option.

Got a pic of yours?

Heres my hdi intercooler can land them for around $450.. its very good fit once you fit it lol!

CORE SIZE:

-Thickness: 100mm

-Length: 580mm

-Height: 210mm

OVERALL SIZE:

-Thickness: 100mm

-Length: 830mm

-Height: 220mm

INLET AND OUTLET PORT SIZE:

-OD: 70mm

What are you planning to do with the bumper beam though? Have you just welded stuff up? Is that legal?

 slystiguy said:

What are you planning to do with the bumper beam though? Have you just welded stuff up? Is that legal?

Good question, It still uses the factory mounts/bolts and support but You have to cut alot out, its now stronger than factory anyway i use 3-4mm steel, the cooler has 4mm brackets on the bottom as well holds the weight.

Still needs finishing touches but here some pics give idea.. As far as legal req goes i guess i'll find out the hard way once it goes for cert but for now it works.

 evowrx said:

Got a pic of yours?

It's a little of center cause i had already drilled the holes to secure cooler and it was getting late. Will probably center it when i can be bothered/have some free time. There was atleast a 10mm-20mm gap between the bumper support and intercooler where i could have gone up a bit more. The bumper support has a sort of lip on it on both sides. If you snip it and fold it out flat, would give you more clearance as well. (little hard to explain and i dont have a pic)

Did you trim the light mount part of bumper at all? Curious to see pics of clearance there.

 evowrx said:

Did you trim the light mount part of bumper at all? Curious to see pics of clearance there.

Yeah i had to. I managed to trim around the part where the spot light covers bolt on to, also that metal plate had to get cut into shape as well. It's not the prettiest sight under those covers but hey, as long as the covers were secure, everything had enough clearance and the job looked tidy, i was happy. I wouldn't be able to install spotlights as the piping would be in the way. Not that i would want to anyways.

Ok so what i said then cooler size doesnt matter it still doesnt fit lol I had to do the same. Covers look 100x better than lights.

 evowrx said:

Ok so what i said then cooler size doesnt matter it still doesnt fit lol I had to do the same. Covers look 100x better than lights.

It sort of does. I see where you are coming from though. I tried fitting a 600x300 originally but no way it was going to fit without it hanging lower than the bumper, that's why i ended up with a smaller cooler. I had thought about cutting the center of the bumper support to lift cooler up higher and just make some tabs to attach them somewhere but that means making the support weaker than it already is. Was just easy getting a smaller cooler...

 whatshouldiget? said:

It sort of does. I see where you are coming from though. I tried fitting a 600x300 originally but no way it was going to fit without it hanging lower than the bumper, that's why i ended up with a smaller cooler. I had thought about cutting the center of the bumper support to lift cooler up higher and just make some tabs to attach them somewhere but that means making the support weaker than it already is. Was just easy getting a smaller cooler...

lol he has explained himself alot. What he is saying is that the problem is my lights. the ic piping has to go under them for everything to clear without getting rid of them so if i still got a smaller fmic the piping would be in the same place so wouldn't matter. if i got rid of my lights and put covers on then it would fit and i could do what i want with it.

Trimming the bumper/light portion and running covers solves all.