NefMoto

I have a 2002 GTI with a Gonzo GTT hybrid turbo installed. I have been working on the tune and am making 23-26 psi from 2,800-redline. It has been near 32 degrees outside during this time so intake air temperature with the stock side mount intercooler has not been a problem, but summer is right around the corner so heat is going to be a problem. The car is daily driven stop and go on a 55mph road. I’m really stuck on which direction to go. WM with stock intercooler or FMIC? Thanks in advance for the experience/opinions.

Justin

fmic

WMI = you have to worry about how much you have yet, when finished you can´t keep pushing hard

FMIC = vary with weather (when really hot will not be so efective as WMI) but allways present...

WMI, if done correctly will always make more power, because besides having MUCH lower IAT, you will also have MUCH better timing.
As for running out - unless you're beating it on the track, you won't be using more than 3-4L per fuel tank. If driving long distance normally, you won't be using it at all.
I usually mount it in the windshield wiper tank and you use more fluid for the windshield wipers than for WMI in bad weather.

You can also have a proper WMI kit with failsafe and add switching to rear o2...

There is always much more potential with WMI. For those who have actually ran a proper WMI kit and tuned for it, this question is a total no-brainer.

Agree on all accounts, my experience mirrors what prj said.

The only down side is a tiny bit of hassle sourcing meth vs plain distilled water.

So water meth it is. To be honest I’m glad to not have to add gobs of boost piping under the hood, nor am I a huge fan of the giant intercooler out front. Stock looking is way more my style at this point. Any preference on specific brands/must have features?? Amazon has a snow performance kit for $255 shipped. Looks like a simple on/off boost switch that I would set up for WOT boost levels is included with that kit. Some of the more expensive kits have a progressive controller, but it seems like the safety features built in to ME7 would make that unnecessary for spirited daily driving???

If you are tuning for it and using it properly, then the only thing that you should look at is Aquamist HFS-3.
Everything else you can just fit a small nozzle that won't affect afr as much.

There's a massive difference between running a cheap kit with a pressure switch and a proper kit progressive with flow (not boost, those are bs), and that you are actively tuning for and taking advantage of.

How well does the stock SMIC cool and what kind of pressure drop does it cause?

My preference would be to address poor intercooling with a better IC than to install a WMI kit.

Thank you everyone for the opinions. After some further research and keeping my goals in mind I ordered a front mount kit from CTS turbo today. Hooray for tax return sales. Saved me $100.