Scott,

This thread has all of that info already.

As for contact, it's not bolted in yet... Test fitting...

 

Wasn't trying to be short there -- was in the garage on a phone.

That was the Forge R60 FMIC, which was actually the reason (the lack of fitment) than this thread came into being.

The bumper cut had to be made for both clearance and fin-flow.

The moral of the story is: Forge is done selling these (from what I've heard), and it's a giant pain in the butt. It's a much better idea to stick to what Hujan and others are doing and use the R56 FMIC.

 

Theta

what about some of the other brand FMICs?

Alta or Helix are 2 that come to mind, there are probably others

scott

 

Wow...you went to battle with it, way to go.

Hope it all works out great for you. Did Forge ever offer to send you a R56 version?

 

Theta,

Well freaking done, my man. That must've been a herculean effort. I mean, that metal is pretty thick! Did you use a dremel? I really doubt that it will effect the safety of the car. Besides, now you have a giant FMIC in front of the car which adds an additional cushion! Just don't go around slamming your R60 into other cars head first, okay?

Scott,

Any of the other FMIC options (Alta, Helix, Forge R56) will fit. The only issue is that the lower grille on the R56 is taller than on the R60, so some of the intercooler surface will be lost behind the bumper on the R60.

As far as which to choose, the best one is whichever one has the face of the intercooler sit lower relative to the charge and discharge tubes. You want the intercooler sitting nice and low in the grille on the R60 compared to the R56.

My plan is to put an air diverter on the bottom edge of the intercooler extending downward toward the lower edge of the grille opening. The goal will be to trap air coming through the lower grille and direct it up into the face of the intercooler.

Another option is to buy the Tyrol Sport intercooler which is just massive and makes the whole issue a moot point. The only issue is whether you are comfortable covering so much of the radiator. They say it's a nonissue, but it makes me nervous.

http://www.tyrolsport.com/minifmic-detail

 

Hujan

i am leaning towards the tyrolsport FMIC

when i was managing a landspeed record team, we had a FMIC the same size as the water radiator mounted in front of the water radiator and never had any problems, even when we rode the bikes on the street

scott

 

I don't blame you. It's an impressive looking piece. I would try grabbing some measurements of the radiator on the R60 before buying it if I were you to be sure it would fit. It looks identical to me, but I'd hate for you to buy it and not have it fit. It's thin enough that you wouldn't have to worry about forward and aft fitment; it should slide right in.

You might have to trim the plastic airdams on the sides of the radiator area to accommodate those end tanks. Or you could leave them off altogether. (The air dams, not the end tanks!)

The big question is whether the tabs on the top would line up for it to bolt on. I'm positive the clips on the charge and discharge pipes would mount up because they are identical on both the R56 and R60. Not sure about the top tabs, though. You might have to get creative there.

 

First, thanks for the compliments.

That's one thick crash bumper -- it's between 2 and 3mm thick and feels somewhere between stainless and hardened while cutting. As far as tools, the only thing that eventually tamed the beast was my angle grinder and a DeWalt cut-off disc @ 13,000rpm.

I tried to use my RotoZip @ 30,000RPM but it just didn't have the bite it needed despite the high revs. So, 6-amps later, the grinder came to play.

After that was done, I used a grinding disc to even her out, then a Dremel to round off and sharp edges. I also re-cut the edges at angles to give a bit more strength to the cut area.

I don't know if it was worth it. I do know that it fits like it should now, and it's certainly a nice piece. I just got done painting the logo on it, and will get it installed either tonight or tomorrow.

Knowing all this now, I might be brave and go for the Tyrol IC. Looks very interesting, though the R60 won't have those top bolt holes, so you'll have to improvise.

As for the other R56 pieces, Alta, Helix, and Forge are all about the same. Lastly, Forge didn't offer me a thing. They did say that they weren't surprised it didn't fit (after taking my $830).

 

Also, if anyone wants pictures or measurements, speak up soon. I'm putting it all back together tomorrow.

While I have everything dismantled I'm more than happy to offer you guys measurements of anything related to this (radiators, bolt holes, ICs, etc). Perhaps that will help others looking at other IC choices without having to take everything apart.

 

Maybe grab the dimensions of the radiator for those looking at the Tyrol FMIC. Height and width would be great. Maybe also grab a shot of the front of the car without the crash bumper to compare to pics of the R56.

Would also be nice to know how much gap there is between crash bumper and the face of the radiator.

I think that's it! We can post up the information here and turn this into the definitive thread re FMICs for the R60.

 

I got the last of these ill-fitting R60 forge models, with a scratch and dent discount from Way. I think the dents on this are cosmetic as they are not crushing any of the internal air pathways. Anyone disagree with the assessment that this is only cosmetic?

 

Theta, do you have the measurements for your cut, or did you just use the profile of the IC and then add an inch of gap? Also, it sounds like going straight for the angle grinder with a cut blade is the way to go?

EDIT: After looking at your pics a little closer, I see that's exactly what you did.

My next question is about getting the cosmetic bumper off-- Did you follow any guides? Any tips there?

 

Alrighty -- I'll get those measurements and pics today, Hujan!

Christian, I will get you the exact measurements on where you need to cut today, as well. It will save you a lot of time having those. Just mark it off with white-out (that was my choice, anyway) and start cutting!

Cosmetic bumper is actually really easy. I was expecting WAY more of a challenge after some of my foreign car adventures.

Follow the Forge manual guide for the easy stuff (the Forge FMIC R60 manual) and then more specifically or contradictory to the directions:

1) There are no bolts after the bottom clip removal. I looked for like 20 minutes like an idiot.
2) Remove another pin-clip more than they say - it will be easier.
3) Pull back and out when removing the fender covers. Hard. So hard you think it's going to break. Obviously don't break it, but it's a surprising amount of force.
4) Make sure you disconnect the lighting BEFORE you start pulling the bumper off. It's a pain in the *** to one-hand the whole bumper cover while disconnecting bulbs.
5) Remember to disconnect or remove the bulbs on the side markers before removing, or you'll rip the wires.
6) If your temp sensor is on the bumper cover, take that off. If it's on the plastic by the IC, no worries.

I think those are all the tips I have for you.

Like I said, I will get pics and measurements for everybody later on today! Until then, I leave you with this!

 

To be continued...

 

Theta

is it necessary to remove the headlight assembly? or was that to completelt remove the under-bumper?

scott

 

That made things easier on that side for both the crash bumper and the cosmetic bumper. Really crammed-in over there because of the washer lines and tank.

 

thanks Theta

Chris @ tyrolsport says his FMIC "should" fit the cms with no problems, but he has not had one in to fit himself to make specific instructions for the cms

he is looking for someone near him for an install/direction making first fitment ... anyone in the nyc area?

scott

 

Okay, gents! I'm going to break this down in sections because there's a lot of info to post from tonight.

First, here's a good guide if you find yourself needing to remove the front crash bumper for a FMIC install:

 

Next up -- pictures and measurements of the front area without the crash bumper or factory IC: (sorry for the crap iPhone 4s pics in advance)

 

Next, for Christian, and perhaps others -- measurements for cutting out the lower piece of the crash bumper:

 

Third, a section specific to how I customized the mounting of the Forge FMIC. Not sure if this will help people or give mounting ideas for the future... but here it is - I was pretty proud of the idea - stainless hardware and some drilled 5/16" holes. Absolutely rock solid, not moving anywhere with the 5/16" stainless bolts and hardware.

Also shows that this does not contact the radiator or A/C one bit!

 

And lastly, the finished product. The outlining of the logo may have been a bad idea... not sure if I like it yet. It just didn't look right with the red spray (obviously this is why the recommend blue) but I wanted it to match my color scheme. Oh well.

 

Oh, and I didn't finish tonight -- so any more requests before tomorrow evening?

 

Dude, you're an animal. Your keyboard must be smoking, let alone all your tools. Thanks for all this information. I really hope it will help others to figure out what they want to do with their intercooler options.

You did a great job all around. And I actually dig the outlining on the "FORGE." I think it looks good. (Though the final test will be when you button it up and look through the grille.)

I don't have any more requests for you except to take some photos of the finished product from head on. That's all I got.

Edit: You gonna clip off that lower tab on the intercooler, or will it actually tie down to something?

 

Right on - you can be sure of that. Also, thank you - I think the outline will pay off when it's behind the grille.