BMW F Series Intercooler For N20/ N26/ N55 Engine - ARM Motorsports

An ARM F30 Intercooler upgrade is one of the best modifications you can make to your N20/N26 or N55 powered BMW.  The F3X's significant weak point is its stock intercooler.  This becomes obvious when tuning your F30 to increase boost with a Stage 1 tune and even more so with a Stage 2+ tune.  With a higher boost target, the charged air coming out of the turbo is hotter, therefore increasing IAT's.  To compensate for the higher IAT's the ECU (DME) reduces boost, timing, and overall power to protect the engine.  The ARM F3X FMIC Kit keeps your IAT's low allowing you to maximize the power your N20/N26 or N55 is capable of making. 

CONSTRUCTION

The ARM F3X FMIC is the perfect cooling solution for any stock turbo or upgraded turbo N20/N26 or N55 setup.  With an intercooler core size of 20x11x3" and an overall volume of 660cu in. the ARM F30 FMIC is 235cu.in. or 36% larger than the stock N55 intercooler which comes in at only 425cu in.  In addition, the ARM F30 FMIC utilizes an ultra-dense 14 fins per inch external core, giving it the best cooling performance possible.  

With a 220sq.in. face the ARM F30 335i FMIC has a 120% larger frontal area than the OEM intercooler with only a 100sq.in face, and 120sq.in. larger than OEM and 55sq.in./33% larger than most aftermarket F30 intercoolers.  Having a larger frontal area equates to more effective cooling compared to thicker intercoolers of similar or even larger total volume.  On intercoolers that are thicker from front to back, the ambient air that cools it is less effective because the ambient air temperature increases as it passes through the external fins of the intercooler.   In the short time it takes from the ambient air to pass from the front of the FMIC to the rear of the FMIC, it's temperature (ambient air) has increased, effectively decreasing the ability to cool the FMIC where the ambient air exists.  The ARM F3X FMIC spreads the total volume of the FMIC core forward and taller to make the total frontal surface area larger, maximizing the cooling efficiency.  This is shown in our IAT testing results below. 

INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE RESULTS

Our baseline run was performed on a 335i running 16psi of boost with the stock F30 intercooler.   The 3rd gear run started at 93 degrees and ended at 126 degrees, a huge increase of 33 degrees Fahrenheit on 16psi of boost, and certainly restricting the amount of power this N55 could have been making.

After installing the ARM F30 FMIC there was a massive improvement in cooling performance that resulted in only a 2 degrees Fahrenheit increase in IAT. In this 3rd gear run with boost peaking at 18psi, which is 2psi higher than the stock intercooler run, it starting at 95 degrees and ended at only 97 degrees. This is a 94% improvement in cooling over the OEM 335i intercooler!  

INSTALLATION

Installation of the ARM F30 335i FMIC upgrade requires no cutting, trimming or removal of the front bumper or radiator shroud.  It is a direct fit which bolts up into the original stock intercooler location.  The CNC connectors will connect to either the stock F30 intercooler piping or to any upgraded intercooler piping that fits the stock intercooler. 

F30 HOSE UPGRADE

If you're looking to improve the charged airflow and simplify your intercooler piping, the ARM Motorsports F30 FMIC Hose Upgrade is available as an optional upgrade.  This hose upgrade is designed to fit the ARM F30 Charge Pipe upgrade and eliminates the need for the stock F30 intercooler connections altogether.  It reduces the total amount of connections by 50%, from 4 to 2 on the driver side, and 4 to 3 on the passenger side.  The ARM F30 Charge Pipe is required to fit the ARM F30 FMIC Hose Upgrade.  

IN THE BOX

We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return.

To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it, unworn or unused, with tags, and in its original packaging. You’ll also need proof of purchase.

To start a return, you can contact us at palenonracing@gmail.com. If your return is accepted, we’ll send you instructions on how and where to send your package. Items sent back to us without first requesting a return will not be accepted.

You can always contact us for any return question at palenonracing@gmail.com.

Damages and issues
Please inspect your order upon reception and contact us immediately if the item is defective, damaged or if you receive the wrong item, so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right.

Exceptions / non-returnable items
Certain types of items cannot be returned, Burger Motorsports does not allow returns, custom products (such as special orders or personalized items), JB4 Tuners and air filters can not be returned. We also do not accept returns for hazardous materials, flammable liquids, or gases. Please get in touch if you have questions or concerns about your specific item.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept returns on sale items or gift cards.

Exchanges
The fastest way to ensure you get what you want is to return the item you have, and once the return is accepted, make a separate purchase for the new item.

Refunds
We will notify you once we’ve received and inspected your return, and let you know if the refund was approved or not. Certain circumstances will require a restocking fee of up to 25% at the discretion of Palenon Performance. (Examples of these circumstances include but are not limited to multiple failed delivery attempts, modified or damaged products and packaging, etc.) If approved, you’ll be automatically refunded on your original payment method. Please remember it can take some time for your bank or credit card company to process and post the refund too.

Handling

If the item is shipping from us direct, you will receive a tracking number within 1 business day. Most orders fulfilled at our warehouse will ship the same business day if ordered by 12pm MST. If the item is being drop shipped from the manufacturer, we cannot guarantee a tracking number within 1 business day. If an item is being drop shipped, we cannot guarantee the 24 hour (1 business day) processing time. A purchase of expedited shipping at checkout means that once item is ready to ship, it will ship using the upgraded shipping method. Some manufacturers require 3-5 days to process orders. Purchasing expedited shipping may speed up the processing time of your order, but we cannot make any guarantees in relation to faster processing time on the manufacturer’s end.

Cancellations

If you used a credit/debit card or PayPal to place an order and decide to cancel or return your order for any reason, a 5% merchant fee will be passed along to you (8% for Shop Pay installments). Some manufacturers can take up to 7 business days to ship out orders. If an item is out of stock we will reach out to you within 48 hours to confirm you would like to proceed with a preorder. If the item is listed as custom-built/ built to order within the description, or if the ETA or average lead time is visible on the product page at the time of ordering and you are cancelling inside of that ETA/lead time you will be charged the merchant fee. If the cancellation is outside of the time frame the merchant fee will not be charged to you for canceling.