Cobb stock location FMIC

JohnyPython said:

@TwizzleStix I wish COBB came out with this sooner also.

A couple reasons:

I asked a Cobb protuner to tune my truck and was reluctant to do so with my CVF IC.

Perhaps the quality of the Cobb IC is better considering the price.

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The tuner that was reluctant clearly hasn’t seen the CVF up close because the quality is excellent.

It’s human nature to associate a higher price with better quality but in this case it’s one being made in the U.S. and one in China. They are very comparable in quality.


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DetTigers said:

The tuner that was reluctant clearly hasn’t seen the CVF up close because the quality is excellent.

It’s human nature to associate a higher price with better quality but in this case it’s one being made in the U.S. and one in China. They are very comparable in quality.


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I agree and he did say that he had no experience with CVF ICs but extensive with the Cobb.

I like the CVF and for the money it is excellent. Sometimes, you get what you pay for and I’d like to compare the Cobb and CVF.

The CVF intercooler is a Chinese copy of a US design and it costs too much for such forgery. I hate that.

HOWEVER, if it was only say $150 which is much more than the cost of the components welded together, then hell, I would buy one too. The problem is in the economics and international trade rules in the US. If the US Trade Commission would restrict and/or tax the shit out of Chinese knock-offs, then they wouldn't be so attractive to buy.

I bought a stainless steel downpipe for a previous turbo car from ATP for $650 and moved on. When I was doing some other upgrades I saw a Chinese copy for only $125! It was so cheap I bought it just to inspect it and pass on the info. It was literally a perfect copy with zero defects. It was still on the car when I sold it years later. I also sold the used ATP pipe for $300, so it was still worth more used than the china copy.

If we(enthusiasts) are looking to save money IF POSSIBLE, then purchasing Chinese knockoffs is a go-to. It isn't unpatriotic, it's economics. I would rather have the USA-built product, BUT it doesn't make sense to throw away your toy-purchasing money if you don't NEED to, especially if the budget is pretty tight.

My budget is much more "loose" now than in my younger days, so I can buy pretty much whatever I want, so the Mishimoto was/is the top dog IMO. The Cobb will certainly be as good, or likely better if you like the look of well-engineered greatness.

As consumers, we have the influence/money to control where things are made. Yes, we can blame govt/bean counters etc. If we focus on domestic products and everyone buys into then maybe the jobs would have stayed here.

Of course this is perhaps a pipe dream and somewhat theoretical but it’s just my opinion based on my experience in manufacturing.

I remember a time when everything was made in Canada/USA. With our global market that has changed and of course, $ always drives the market.

Sorry about the political crap (which I try to stay away from) but again just my opinion.

Cobb intercooler looks real nice and hopefully it’s made in US.

TwizzleStix said:

The CVF intercooler is a Chinese copy of a US design and it costs too much for such forgery. I hate that.

HOWEVER, if it was only say $150 which is much more than the cost of the components welded together, then hell, I would buy one too. The problem is in the economics and international trade rules in the US. If the US Trade Commission would restrict and/or tax the shit out of Chinese knock-offs, then they wouldn't be so attractive to buy.

I bought a stainless steel downpipe for a previous turbo car from ATP for $650 and moved on. When I was doing some other upgrades I saw a Chinese copy for only $125! It was so cheap I bought it just to inspect it and pass on the info. It was literally a perfect copy with zero defects. It was still on the car when I sold it years later. I also sold the used ATP pipe for $300, so it was still worth more used than the china copy.

If we(enthusiasts) are looking to save money IF POSSIBLE, then purchasing Chinese knockoffs is a go-to. It isn't unpatriotic, it's economics. I would rather have the USA-built product, BUT it doesn't make sense to throw away your toy-purchasing money if you don't NEED to, especially if the budget is pretty tight.

My budget is much more "loose" now than in my younger days, so I can buy pretty much whatever I want, so the Mishimoto was/is the top dog IMO. The Cobb will certainly be as good, or likely better if you like the look of well-engineered greatness.

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The Cobb and Mishimoto units are definitely well-built! And while I can definitely appreciate your experience with other brands, I don’t think it’s really fair to compare CVF to a generic knock-off.

For example, Wagner isn’t made or designed in the US, and it’s well-known that Mishimoto themselves don’t produce domestically.

Comparing us to an off-the-shelf knock-off brand is a disservice to the half dozen tax-paying, American staff members we employ (including engineers), not to mention the dozens of US-based resellers of our products.

CVF-Jason said:

….
Comparing us to an off-the-shelf knock-off brand is a disservice to the half dozen tax-paying, American staff members we employ (including engineers), not to mention the dozens of US-based resellers of our products.

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I base my statements on personal experience. I've inspected with my own eyeballs the CVF IC and while it appears to be fully functional without functional flaws, it is not made to the same skill and quality standards as at least two that you mentioned, Cobb and Mishimoto. I have zero experience with Wagner, so I can't make a valid comment.

The point is that facts are facts and stating them as such doesn't do a disservice to anyone. They are FACTS. You can twist the words around until you feel better about them, but nothing can change the facts as they are currently, OTHER than a change to the CVF processes.

If it "works" and people buy it, then it is a valid product. I've never said anything about functionality, just the skill and workmanship applied. It is looks like a duck, walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, then it is pretty damn likely to be a duck.

TwizzleStix said:

Dang truck dweebs. The FMIC is called "Front Mount" because there are several other locations for intercoolers in vehicles. The Subaru and MazdaSpeed cars mounted them on top of the engine. Some German cars mount them in the wheel well, behind headlight area. Some race cars mount them on each side of the radiator in their own little housing. The term derives itself because of these various locations, hence the "stock location" FMIC for the F150 series vs the full frontal radiator blocking version FMIC. Only turbo truck dweebs would make up different theories because, well truck dweebs. Please expand your perspective.

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As a fellow sport compact owner/tuner I'm fairly entertained by your comments on intercooler locations. I was lobbying earlier for FMIC and BMIC for the Raptors because, yes, it's true, the names are mostly arbitrary. For example on Subarus a FMIC is not only in front of the radiator, but also usually below and behind the bumper so could also be called a "BMIC". The bumper beam itself is often replaced with a bracket and the opening in the front fender below the bumper is often enlarged. To add to the confusion, these "FMIC's" often extend upwards to the point where they block the bottom of the radiator. Then there are the rarer "VMIC" or V-mounts where both the intercooler and radiator are both mounted at angles so they each get first-pass air. The Subaru rally cars also used a modified V-mount but it was again different from what most tuners use and of course had nice CF ducting. In the case of the Raptor it just seems expedient to call one the BMIC because it is clearly packaged different and has different operational impacts compared to the ones in front of the radiator.

Cobb’s FMIC behind the grille is made in China. So it wouldn’t surprise me if their stock location IC is made their too. One of the reasons I didn’t go with Cobb.

SVTFordRaptor said:

Cobb’s FMIC behind the grille is made in China. So it wouldn’t surprise me if their stock location IC is made their too. One of the reasons I didn’t go with Cobb.

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Good to know. No wonder all the brand endcaps look the same - they’ve been copied over and over and over.

Reminds me of a story that a tooling engineer told me about some Chinese dies he was getting made. He did a follow up visit to a plant over there and he found 2 sets of tooling. They made 2 - one for the customer and one for aftermarket. Even before the oem parts were in production.

carmelk6 said:

Full on truck dweeb honesty. I initially thought the “F” in FMIC meant “factory” in the case of the Gen 2

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ok hows COBB factory mounted replacement intercooler sound...FMRIC LOL