It's a bit late for to provide logs since my car doesn't have a k03 on Stage 1/2 anymore. You keep saying normal driving conditions, but heatsoak isn't an issue unless driving aggressively, which is why all of us tune our vehicles correct? Like I said before, driving "normally" of course wont affect much of anything, however when heatsoak becomes a concern is when we want ALL of the power to be there in warmer weather after some aggressive driving.

I'm actually surprised you haven't heard of a Stage 1/2 K03 having heatsoak issues before. There's at least a couple threads about it on the Zine I know of, maybe they have some IAT numbers there. What I do know for sure is that I'm far from the only one to believe pushing more than double stock boost with a tune will raise heat levels to the point where a FMIC would help sustain cooler air in temperatures of 70+.....

I've experienced it for myself as previously stated, but I agree seeing the IAT's would help. I'm sure the proof is out there, and will start looking.

 

To preface: Not saying you are wrong, but my personal experience hasn't had similar results.

My car is 320awhp+ and I don't drive like a bat out of hell constantly. In fact, I only see max boost/load a handful of times every week.

Of course I've heard of a stock turbo heatsoaking, but not daily driving it. Having fun is one thing, but driving on a track is way different.

When my car was stock, I never considered a FMIC. There simply is no need for it unless you are tracking it. Especially in Minnesota. The two or three times a FMIC would be beneficial is negated by the hundreds of times it would make no difference, and even hurt performance (it robs a psi or two).

 

I agree 100%, and at this point is nothing more than our different personal experiences. I would never consider a FMIC on a stock one either, but certainly would on a Stage 1/2 where the boost levels are over 2x higher, which IMO would certainly create/push more hot air around. Honestly, my mechanic would tell me the FMIC wouldn't make a difference on Stage 1, however since I'd race my cousin all the time, primarily in the summertime, that's when it became noticeable. Considering our cars "were" almost identical in mods (albeit his intercooler) we always had fun lining up because it pretty much came down to the driver/launch. Most of the time if we both had a good launch, it would be neck and neck, except during warmer weather after we already ran 2-3 times. At that point, he was "always" able to pull ahead of me from that point on. To me, it was just far too convenient for that to happen consistently in warmer weather (70+) and only after some runs beforehand. To me, the only thing that made sense was the heatsoak, and the fact he had an aftermarket FMIC.

Either way, this is my daily driver, and being in MN the AWD is dandy. I'll repeatedly get on it everyday whether it's driving to/from work, when challenging those stupid azz GTP's, etc. When it's really hot out and I get on it from a light or stop sign when challenging someone, even at that point it felt like there's some kind of power loss (old setup). Seeing as I now have the K04, there's no doubt in my mind I'm upgrading to the FMIC before summer hits hard.

I'll continue to look for some IAT numbers, but it might take a little bit IF I can find them at all. Those statistics would be beneficial for sure!

Thanks Redline! Always fun

 

Shouldn't you be watching the Wild play right now? lol.

Personally, I don't think FMIC's belong on Audi's. Unfortunately, with a big turbo, it is necessary. That's why mine is black, so it isn't noticeable.

Realistically, if you want a intercooler upgrade and you plan on keeping the turbo to a gtrs or less, I say get an upgraded SMIC. My opinion, yes, but some SMIC's are pretty good and offers a cleaner look.

 

FWIW I don't even use max boost a few times a week. I might go over 15 psi maybe twice a week, less most of the time.

Back on topic though, a fmic is beneficial to any size turbo. On a stock k03 though it obviously won't be nearly as effective as running one on a k04 or higher. Daily driving a b5 on a k03 shouldn't create heatsoak unless it is unusually warm, you are in stop/go traffic, or you drive like an a-hole all the time.

 

Whoa big husky!

There is a fine line here. Say you have a FMIC my size on a stock turbo. It would be terrible. Way too big.

A FMIC will only be beneficial if it is better than the stock SMIC, and the stock SMIC is a great setup for most instances with a stock turbo.

 

Definitely forgot a word in there, a FMIC that is sized for a turbo is beneficial as it is in direct airflow instead of the SMIC that only has a small amount of the air hitting it that would hit a fmic. That sounds like a really big run on sentence, but I think it's gramitically correct haha.

 

I'd rather have an upgraded SMIC, but still haven't found one that is cheap enough. Oh yea, watching the Wild big time!

 

If you don't have an MNAudi account this link wont work. Its a apikol SMIC for a b6 for $250. I don't think it will bolt up, but I'm sure you could get it t work Login