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Ambient Thermal Management is proud to be the originator of our stepped core intercooler design for the Fiat 500 Abarth market. For nearly 10 years now, our FMIC has set the bar for bringing cooler intake air temperatures with little cost of pressure drop to thousands of Abarth owners.
SIZE- We've measured the available area in front of the bumper in both depth and height and custom designed an intercooler that makes the most of this space - the result is an intercooler with 66% more frontal area and 81% more core volume than stock.
CORE- ATM is the only FMIC manufacturer producing a stepped core as one single assembly. Our core is custom made to our specifications, including the ambient and charge row height and internal and external fin count. And of course, at the heart of every ATM intercooler core is our unique rounded header bars which act as a velocity stack for the charge rows, increasing the flow efficiency from 80% to 98%.
System Volumes- We also opted not to utilize any of the factory plumbing. Our reasoning was simple; the factory Abarth plumbing IS the flow restriction in the charge side due to diameter, direction changes and unnecessary volume as well as a plethora of potential leak points. The ATM FMIC setup solves this by including efficient and direct low-volume charge pipes. This results in a whopping 1300ml total charge pipe volume compared to 3570ml volume in the stock design. That's 64% less volume than stock.
Endtank Design- All endtanks are not created equal. Air likes to flow in a smooth curved radius just like you see on the rounded cast endtanks of the ATM FMIC.
The end result is the ATM FMIC's ability to remove more temperature, meet the targeted air flow, and minimize the pressure drop on your Fiat.
HIGHLIGHTS
- More core volume than stock? - Yes, 81%
- More ambient face than stock? - Yes, 66%
- More charge rows than stock (12 and 10)? - Yes, 14
- Bar and Plate construction? - Yes
- Less charge pipe volume than stock? - Yes, 64% less volume
- Removes restrictive stock plumbing? - Yes
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Weight of the intercooling systems? - Factory 20lbs with most of weight in the plumbing - ATM 19lbs with most of the weight in the Intercooler
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We also designed the intercooler to sit against the factory heat exchangers, so the radiator fan could still draw ambient air through the core when the vehicle is in low speed situations
FINISH
Black or Silver Powdercoat
Performance:
The factory system has A LOT of plumbing which adds lag and pressure drop. The pressure drop requires the turbo to work harder by producing more pressure to hit the target boost and this causes a higher turbo charger outlet temperature further decreasing the intercooler system's effectiveness. You can see in the first datalog how the turbo outlet temps have almost maxed out the upper limits of the sensor.
One other HUGE disadvantage is boost drop off. Because the factory intercooler system requires the turbo to work harder, the turbo runs out of steam sooner. You can see in the second (standing start) data log how the boost drops off (especially in 4th gear). An efficient-flowing intercooler will keep the turbo in it's efficiency range longer. The factory cores are light and cannot "bank" cold temperature. As a result they heat soak quickly. The process of post-intercooler temps raising at a traffic light to the same temp as the pre-intercooler temperature does not take long. Another cause for this is the positioning of the intercoolers at the side of the car vs. in front of the radiator fans. With a centered front-mount intercooler, the radiator fans can assist in flowing air over the core at idling or slow speed scenarios.
1st Graph: Stock IC, 30-80mph, 1-3 gears, 78°F ambient temp
2nd Graph: ATM IC, 30-80mph, 1-3 gears, 78°F ambient temp
1st Graph: Stock IC, Standing Start, 1-4 gears, 78°F ambient temp
2nd Graph: ATM IC, Standing Start, 1-4 gears, 78°F ambient temp
Fits FIAT/Abarth 500 from 2012-2014+
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Requires NO cutting, removal and/or permanent modification other than drilling a 1/4" hole for the upper FMIC mount
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Utilizes factory mounting points- Yes
- Install video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSUeYpua4O8&feature=youtu.be