[skinrock]

So I was able to jump in on the ETS group buy at the nearly the last minute, and got the basic 5" non-anodized core. Michael was great to deal with, superb communication and fast shipping - showed up at my door 2 days later.

When I opened the box, the first thing I noticed was how well it was packaged. Much care was taken to protect the core, and the miscellaneous parts were nicely organized. It doesn't seem like a huge deal, but it's nice to open a box and not find parts scattered all over or missing.

The FMIC itself shows off great workmanship. As I mentioned in the sale thread, the welds are fantastic. The fins were all in perfect condition, no dents or anything out of the ordinary.

Now for the fun part - the install. I had someone do it for me, while I swapped out my stock HIDs for 6000k bulbs. Removing the stock intercooler was pretty simple, really the only part you have to plan ahead for is cutting the clamp on the passenger side hose. We briefly compared the two units, and it was quite obvious there was going to be an improvement.

Installing the ETS unit was a bit tricky. There were two issues we ran into. First of all, the driver's side elbow was initially rubbing on the heat exchanger for automatics. It took a bit of re-adjusting, but we finally got a small amount of clearance without any hoses being twisted or crushed. That being said, we got the impression it was designed for a manual, and luckily it just happens to fit autos. Of course that is just an opinion, we just felt if the FMIC tube was angled even slightly different, it may have allowed for better clearance.

The second issue that bothered me was the passenger side clip that holds the radiator shroud didn't quite line up. There are a couple spots on the shroud edge that I believe are used for the stock intercooler, and the clip on the ETS was about 1/8" off clearing the clip, so it dug into it a little bit.

Overall, minor issues, whether or not related to trying to match both transmissions, but they aren't show stoppers.

Initial impressions - extremely happy. I don't know why this is what comes to mind, but for some reason the power just feels more raw now. It just felt like the engine was completely digging the cold air. And to my surprise, I noticed that boost came a lot easier. I have JB4 stealth gauges, and I rarely used to see them kick in under slightly lower than moderate acceleration, but now I noticed them triggering under pretty light load. I didn't push it a whole lot until I got back into San Francisco, and I did a couple first gear launches, and even after a 50 minute drive on the expressway, it completely lurched forward and pushed me back. Definitely feels like it's flowing a lot better and eliminated a little turbo lag, which I didn't expect until I got the downpipes. I mainly got this as a supportive mod to keep the engine cool and consistent, and was assuming the downpipes would give me the increased butt dyno, but I'm happily surprised it improved low end response.

Overall, very happy with ETS customer service and product quality, and definitely looking forward to enjoying the newly found power.

[EJ_3]

Good write up, no heatsoak for you . Let us know if you can feel a difference.

[Randomaccess335]

I have the same 5"ets ic and love it.
I had no problems installing it everything lined up perfectly.

[Brey335i]

I also didn't have any install issues and I'm auto

[ETS Michael]

We haven't any reports of fitment problems until this one. The intercooler was actually designed on an automatic. It bolted up to my Manual perfect as well. I'm glad you got it worked out. The mid range is a pretty decent increase in power over the unit for sure.

Your going from an intercooler that an internal flow area of 3.0" to one that has a flow area over just under 5.0" Plus the bar and plate core over the tube and fin.

Thanks for the great write up!! If you need anything else, let me know!

Michael

[skinrock]

Interesting. Well, as I said, the tube issue just required re-aligning. We initially thought everything was in place because the elbows at both ends weren't crushed, but that wasn't the only thing that had to be considered. Just something I hope people keep in mind.

Regarding the clip, I'll try to take a picture today, not sure how clear it will be without jacking up the car again.

[RoundelM3]

My 5" ETS had no issues going in, either (aside from popping that passenger-side clamp on the stock unit intake side). Very happy with the performance difference and the service from ETS.

[Chicks-Love-Bimmers]

Thanks for the review, I'm probably going to order one if I can't find a used FMIC for a good price.

[skinrock]

I think we can attribute the "raw" feeling I described to me just finding out that one of my Injen filters fell off sometime after the install. The funny thing is, I had this weird feeling about that filter and wanted to double check if it was secure, even though we didn't remove it during the install. Not sure what happened, guess I'll have to check it after every drive for a few weeks.

Luckily only drove it a few hours in a fairly non-dusty region.

[daisy16905]

I started seeing a need to add 1/2 quart of oil every month or so after installing my 5" ETS intercooler???? Not sure if you will see this or not?? I may need to have all intercooler connections from instal double checked

[skinrock]

I'm no expert, but that doesn't sound right. Could be unrelated, but I would definitely have it checked out. I think oil leaks can be a sign of blown gaskets.

[EJ_3]

Originally Posted by ETS Michael

We haven't any reports of fitment problems until this one. The intercooler was actually designed on an automatic. It bolted up to my Manual perfect as well. I'm glad you got it worked out. The mid range is a pretty decent increase in power over the unit for sure.

Your going from an intercooler that an internal flow area of 3.0" to one that has a flow area over just under 5.0" Plus the bar and plate core over the tube and fin.

Thanks for the great write up!! If you need anything else, let me know!

Michael

About how much power can the 5 inch intercooler can hold?

[JB4-335]

I've had the ETS 5" IC for a while now and an extremely happy with it. I noticed a huge drop in IAT's. The best part is the top end of 3rd gear, no heatsoak and it keeps pulling all the way.

[hamburglar]

Sounds awesome! Will it fit an E93?

[max]

Originally Posted by hamburglar

Sounds awesome! Will it fit an E93?

I believe the E92 and E93 are exactly the same up front - so yes it should fit fine.

[hamburglar]

Originally Posted by max

I believe the E92 and E93 are exactly the same up front - so yes it should fit fine.

Nice, this is going on the wishlist!

[skinrock]

Originally Posted by 335coupe2007

just noticed u have the akrapovic exhaust. Do you have any vids of the sound from ur car by any chance??

Ha, actually my upgraded mic for my DSLR came today, and I'm about to get some (hopefully) good videos of it. Unfortunately I never got any before getting the catless downpipes installed, but it didn't seem to make a huge difference imo. I'll let you know when the video is up.

[skinrock]

Here's my first attempt:

The thing I love the most about this exhaust is it's not over the top. It's not raspy or extremely loud, it puts more focus on a consistent, clean sound from idle to redline. Startup and idle gives off a nice low gurgle, while revving it gives you somewhat of an exotic sound. I need to play around with the mic a little more and try to capture the best sound, though.