FRIM Review

[Beodude123]

Welp, I finally got around to putting the FRIM on the Z. It was the old style, so needless to say, it's a bitch to put on. There was very little I didn't have to modify to get it on. First, the most obvious part is the fittings that go on the back for the vacuum lines. Most of them are 1/4 size, but a couple are a bit larger. Some JB Weld did the job for those.

Next, you need to reroute the coolant line going to the heater core inside the car. A saw and some tubing can do this pretty well. Then, you need to bend the outside mounting brackets 180 degrees, as they sit on the upper part of the mani, instead of below the fuel rail. If you don't move the brackets, the injectors won't seat properly.

Also, a major thing with the old style FRIM was that the bolt holes needed to be cut 3/8 of an inch or so, so that way it sits a bit lower. Since the holes are moved, I used some washers to get good contact on the raised part that the nut would have sat on. Also, the flange is thinner, and the bolts used don't need the shank that the stock hardware uses.

So, once I put it all on, I had a 5,000 rpm idle. Since the IAC is off to the side, the hole in the throttle body just dumps straight to the plenum. Needless to say, it needs to be plugged. RTV did the trick pretty well, and is used to make a good seal between the throttle body, manifold and head.

Overall, (if I had it right the first time, without the massive idle) it took me 6 hours or so to get it all done, not including prep work.


SO! With all that fun stuff out of the way, let's get down to brass tax. How does it feel? With all the rest of the bolt ons, and an intake cam, it does pretty well. Before the FRIM, it would really start building power around 3,500 rpm, and have a nice hard push of torque from about 4,500 to 5,000. It would pull well until 6,500, but then completely fall on it's face at 7. Now, that hard push has been slightly reduced, but pulls strong until 7,500. Power below 2,000 has been reduced a bit (as would be expected), but it definitely doesn't make it an unstreetable car. I am having to make some adjustments to the way I drive, but not much.

I have a feeling the exhaust cam is really holding me back at this point.



So, is it worth it? On a bolt on car, more than likely no. They are fairly pricey.



I'm going to do more testing, but with the intake cam set to 10 retarded (it slipped a bit since last time), the best 0-60 I got before and after was 7 seconds. Granted, the second time had more weight, and I had wheelspin until about 25 mph. First time I had a bit of spin, but not like that. Should be an easy 6.8 methinks.


Overall, I'm pretty happy, it's definitely smoothed the powerband out. It's a bit jerky down low (less than 2k), but I'm still getting used to it.

[The_underclassman]

Thanks for the review! Definitely a good heads up if someone nabs an older version. Was it worth what you paid or do you think a custom intake manifold would have done much better (same price)?

[Beodude123]

Well, it was given to me by another ZXTuner, so it was no cost really. Just the hardware and gasket / JB weld stuff.

[Beodude123]

Okay, so I've driven it a little bit more. I've gotten a bit better feeling for it, although I still haven't driven it enough.


It pulls like a champ all the way to 7,500. This was definitely the rest of the top end I wanted. As far as power below that, I'd say it pulls harder over 6,000, but under that is a little less, but not much. I have a good bit of power from 4,000 on up, so it's a pretty good powerband overall.

Seems like I'm good on fuel. Even when it's cold, I can rev it up pretty high, and it never bucks or anything like that. I don't know how much more the stock injectors can do though. I'm not really looking to find out either...


I'm going to adjust the intake cam, and see what happens. Right now, it's set to 10 degrees retarded. I have a feeling it'll still pull plenty hard with it advanced up top, and it'll give me back some of what I lost down low.




I'll get some pics in a bit.

[S/R]

ill give ya twenty bucks for it right now!

[mellowness65]

have you read the focus builders' handbook? it has a lot of info and dyno results with different intake manifolds. I haven't gotten a chance to read it yet but I saw the section on it thumbing through last weekend

[zetec00]

Yeah that book is really informative. A must have for anyone modding their zetec.

[Beodude123]

I know that people reported a loss down low with it. I really can't say I'm surprised. The runners are about 3 inches shorter, and a lot larger.

[zetec00]

I wanted a FRIM, but I didn't have the money for it plus the throttle body. But I've read it flows extremely well up to even 8500 rpm, and since it is not a "short runner" manifold, it doesn't lose a bunch of lower rpm power.

[Beodude123]

Man, I love this mani. It's given me the top end I've been wanting for a long time. Once it's warmed up, it pulls hard from 4,000 all the way to 7,500. It's nice.

[zetec00]

Sweet. So does the SVT mani

[Thnikkaman]

nice review. how did you seal between the manifold and the head? i'm having a terrible time there with my FRIM. first time fuel ate through the rtv (permatex copper) in a mater of months, then i tried gasketting material... its still not perfect. i get an increase in idle as the car warms up. 1000-1100 when cold, 1400-1600 when hot. the IAC is currently disconnected.

what type of RTV did you use? how did you apply it?

[JohnP]

Try putting a 1/4"x1/4" bead about a 1/4" out around the port . Let it set and cure Before you use the manifold , 24hrs. is good . I used the Copper because it's metal filled , worked pretty good . I cut down the injector boss so the tip of the injector is flush with the surface . If the tip is back into the boss it has a tendency to form droplets , then you have raw fuel seeping between the head and manifold .

[inis]

nice review. how did you seal between the manifold and the head? i'm having a terrible time there with my FRIM. first time fuel ate through the rtv (permatex copper) in a mater of months, then i tried gasketting material... its still not perfect. i get an increase in idle as the car warms up. 1000-1100 when cold, 1400-1600 when hot. the IAC is currently disconnected.

what type of RTV did you use? how did you apply it?

when I had a frim a few years ago this was my issue and reason for getting rid of it. This time around , I fixed this problem permantly.

Try putting a 1/4"x1/4" bead about a 1/4" out around the port . Let it set and cure Before you use the manifold , 24hrs. is good . I used the Copper because it's metal filled , worked pretty good . I cut down the injector boss so the tip of the injector is flush with the surface . If the tip is back into the boss it has a tendency to from droplets , then you have raw fuel seeping between the head and manifold .

I've noticed the dripping issue, any pics of what you did? I've opened the ports for the injectors on the runner side some..but probally not enough.


Pics of my gasket fix:





I've had a perfect fit since I've done this. Only issue I've found is getting the o-rings to stay in place while motor is in the car is a bit tricky. Otherwise I'm very glad I did it. Can't wait to see how it holds with 20+ lbs of boost.

[JohnP]

I did mine back about 6-7 years ago , I've done a few for others since then . The manifold port configuration has to be transfer to the head if you want unrestricted flow . The injector boss needs to have some work done to it , make it as small as possible . The injector tip should be flush with the surface , this stops the dribbling of raw fuel into the runner . This manifold is Straightupmad's , I P-P the head and thermal coated the chambers/valves along with matching the manifold/head ports and fixing the injector problem.

The first pic is the stock configuration , second is after cutting the wings off , third is after a little work to see where tip comes out , forth has the tip flush lets the air flow suck the vapor in with no drips , last is what it should look like , nice smooth bump .