Finally! A FMIC (front mount intercooler) option for the 535 from CP-E. Pictures of the install on a 2008 535i with the N54

If you have a 535i and are looking for an aftermarket FMIC, you probably have run into the same thing I have. Lots of people said it fits, no one has direct experience though. After going thru quite a few other 535i owners experiences, I decided to try and take it on myself. I started not trusting what people were saying online (I know, shocker) and calling manufacturers directly. One of those was CP-E. As fortune would have it, I got the owner on the phone and I started asking him questions. They too said they sold one but had never fit one themselves and, well, same old story. Josh (the owner) did pique my interest by letting me know he had sold quite a few and never received a return, so he assumes they fit. This, and now knowing Josh a little better at this point, really rang true to me. So, even if it wasn't a "direct" fit, how bad could it be? I knew better then to DIY but, after seeing how it was done, I don't think it would be too bad.


So, I pulled the trigger and got their 535 FMIC. When it arrived, I was actually a bit shocked (wife included to have a size reference - she is 5'4"). Yes, that is the look I normally get when she sees something new for the car.


The box was huge!! I got a sick feeling to my stomach. No way was this gonna fit. I opened it up though and was pleasantly surprised.


It was really well packed to avoid damage. Now I'm still fairly new when it comes to ordering higher end bolt ons, but I was not expecting that. Here's a few more shots to show the parts and the welds.


I took the car to the shop the next day where they wouldn't give me a quote, but I trust the guys so off I went on this journey. I wanted to take a shot of the bumper off with the stock IC on, but the guy was too fast and he had the old one out by the time I got back there. Regardless, here is the shot of the "space" for the IC and the oil cooler.


We compared the size of the two IC's. Weight wise, the CP-E was probably 5 times as heavy, easily. You could see down into the stock IC and the cooling fins were really minimal. The CP-E one just feel solid and sounds that way to (I know, weird, but more metal = a deeper sound, right?).


He pulled down the oil cooler (not shown) and started to test fit the IC. It's hard to tell without seeing it in person, but the part of the radiator bracket with the arrow pointing to it must go. It will not let the CP-E FMIC slip into place. There's another photo below of it being cutout.


So after the test fit, the surgery began to cut out the part of the bracket that protrudes into the FMIC "space".


The 2nd test fit shows the factory screw threads for the OEM IC are not in the right place for the CP-E to directly bolt into. They are close but, well, it wasn't close enough. The tech drilled thru the bracket and ran a bolt thru it to secure the weight. You will have to do this on both sides.


Once the holes are drilled and you've bolted the FMIC to the radiator bracket, then it looks fantastic! Well placed in the front of the car without blocking any other critical parts.


Next comes the tricky part, and honestly the one reason I brought this to a shop that customizes in tuning cars. The oil cooler. Now I've been told it was the transmission cooler by many other folks, but the tech insisted it was the oil cooler. I'll believe him as CP-E even sells an oil cooler kit which would go, well, right where it was sitting. The trick here is how to attach this thing securely and make it look good too. They decided to use an L bracket and the factory plastic "clamp" the wraps around it (and connects it) to the factory IC and use the threaded holes on the CP-E FMIC to mount it to. Brilliant!

Here's the oil cooler just resting on top for now.


The shop took a strip of aluminum, put an L bend into it (actually well past 90 degrees, probably around 135 degrees), drilled holes at the bottom to mount to the FMIC and at the top to mount into the plastic OEM OC bracket. Voila! You now have a clean install that looks good and is secure.


He reconnected the oil cooler lines, made sure all the other lines were out of the way and not pinched or rubbing, then buttoned everything up! Here is how it looks from eye level. One thing I didn't photograph is he had to trim the rubber "curtain" that you feed the oil lines thru on left. Not much, just enough to keep it from putting stress on the lines.


The cost for the install was $400 and took about 4½ hours total. Again, it's not overly complicated but you do need cutting tools, a vast array of bolts (I have no idea what size) and some strip aluminum to make this happen. I'm sure there may be other little wrinkles but as I didn't DIY, I can't really help with that.

I'm very happy I did this and, the next day I went ahead and installed my cobb AP STG2 FMIC (aggressive) map. I quickened my 0-60 time by .6 of a second (without really trying hard) and my IAT's are staying much cooler now. Here's a log of a quick 0-60 run I did last night. I will get a dyno run done soon but I am guessing I am around 370-380 whp. All I know is the car hauls now (it did before but it's another pronounced difference - as much as from stock to Cobb stg 1) and, during my run, after a sunny 75 degree day (it was dark out), we breaking traction at around 4k in 1st gear.


Hope this helps everyone!