Muse Lower Intercooler Pipe Review
Please post up on your results either way.
I'm totally blown away though, now this LIP is the same one selling on ebay for .99 cents? I don't know how they can do that... simply incredible.
You need a better marketing strategy.
Last edited by VRSF Tiago; Nov 13, 2008 at 01:18 PM.
I also went with MUSE. I have both their UICP and LICP and installed the lower one this weekend. I didnt have the under tray on and was able to replace relatively easy without removal of the front bumber which I dreaded having to do to replace it. I didnt have bolts in the factory LICP either so that made things much simpler. OEM was put back on some time ago.
Overall it took me about 1 1/2 hours to replace. Hardware is good quality. It came with all necessary t bolt clamps, couplings and LICP itself. Fitment was good. I have OEM FMIC and used the OEM coupling and it fit fine. The one thing I did notice however due to having to use OEM coupling on a aftermarket LICP it sits lower than the stock, so driving around without a under panel kinda worried me, but if you are installing on most aftermarket FMIC you will have no issues what so ever. I didnt really feel any gains maybe just a bit on high end, but I also dont have my car tuned yet either.
Overall I would say a good product for the price.
Overall it took me about 1 1/2 hours to replace. Hardware is good quality. It came with all necessary t bolt clamps, couplings and LICP itself. Fitment was good. I have OEM FMIC and used the OEM coupling and it fit fine. The one thing I did notice however due to having to use OEM coupling on a aftermarket LICP it sits lower than the stock, so driving around without a under panel kinda worried me, but if you are installing on most aftermarket FMIC you will have no issues what so ever. I didnt really feel any gains maybe just a bit on high end, but I also dont have my car tuned yet either.
Overall I would say a good product for the price.
Last edited by djchopps0013; Nov 24, 2008 at 06:10 AM.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: CT
i have the muse upper & lower intercooler piping along with the battery tray that i picked up from vr-speed.com and i love them. they were the best bang for the buck, i've never had blow off problems and it looks like they are selling stainless steel lower intercooler pipes now.
the lower intercooler pipe was kinda low at first but I realized it was the stock coupler that was causint eh pipe to sit lower. once i took off the bumper and adjusted the coupler it lined up perfectly.
the lower intercooler pipe was kinda low at first but I realized it was the stock coupler that was causint eh pipe to sit lower. once i took off the bumper and adjusted the coupler it lined up perfectly.
i just bought this during christmas and installed it couple hrs ago my LICP is leaking now i have to take the ****ing bumper off again and fix it i dunno get it i used t-bolt clamps came with the kit?!!!
you're supposed to do the leak test before you put the bumper on. the pipe itself doesn't leak, its a solid piece of metal. its incorrect installation of the couplers and clamps that causes leaks. make sure those couplers are on there good and snug those t-bolt clamps down tight and there won't be any leaks.
you're supposed to do the leak test before you put the bumper on. the pipe itself doesn't leak, its a solid piece of metal. its incorrect installation of the couplers and clamps that causes leaks. make sure those couplers are on there good and snug those t-bolt clamps down tight and there won't be any leaks.
x2
I bought my Muse LICP few week ago, this is the best LICP I've ever seen especially for the $. There is no other LICP on the market can compare its value and quality. It fits perfectly, the finish is beautiful. The SS pipe doesn't weigh as much as ETS licp. next I will be getting MUSE UICP, again the price is reasonable for the short route UICP, unlike some company charge $300 for a freaking UICP.
I just picked up my muse licp and can't wait to slap it in. I will write up a review with pics and all so ppl with doubts can see what their getting for the price.
I also will be installing it on a stock fmic on my evo VIII,and won't upgrade til later on this yea.
Looks like solid piece of work tho. Great price too,can't complain
I also will be installing it on a stock fmic on my evo VIII,and won't upgrade til later on this yea.
Looks like solid piece of work tho. Great price too,can't complain
I bought my Muse LICP few week ago, this is the best LICP I've ever seen especially for the $. There is no other LICP on the market can compare its value and quality. It fits perfectly, the finish is beautiful. The SS pipe doesn't weigh as much as ETS licp. next I will be getting MUSE UICP, again the price is reasonable for the short route UICP, unlike some company charge $300 for a freaking UICP.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the Muse components I've bought (LICP, UICP, and small battery tray). Well worth the price, and the quality and finish of these parts are definitely good enough for me if not "absolutely perfect/show quality"... there were a couple very minor imperfections in the black finish on my battery tray (that you can't see at all once the part is installed).
Most importantly, the fitment to the car was excellent (I have an '06 IX SE), and it was nice that the kit includes the couplings to use with an aftermarket IC (I used my stock rubber ones b/c of the angle of the inlet/outlet pipes on the OEM IC).
The routing of the UICP does comes really close to the clutch slave assembly and bleed valve though - that's why there's an old, blue IC coupling in the 5th picture down... it's there to keep the piping from rubbing directly on the clutch slave stuff.
For me, I had some leakage problems until I cranked the T-bolt clamps about as tight as I could go w/o actually using the leverage of the 1/4" ratchet I was using. I didn't want to overdo it and potentially break the clamp or deform the piping, but after hearing the boost leak with test drives, and after my track day, I eventually had to tighten all of the clamps to the point where I could feel definite resistance to cranking down any more. I did this incrementally, over the course of a few days, because I was being a little paranoid overtensioning the clamps.
But, since tightening all of the clamps properly, no issues. There doesn't seem to be any problem with not having any mounting tabs to the body for the LICP, which was something I was greatly concerned about for street driving/track days. I run 25 psi max on a stock turbo.
I do feel there's a slight benefit in reduced spool time with the Muse LICP and UICP pipes, and maybe a touch more power too. I'm not of the opinion the average person can accurately ***-dyno a difference of less than 15-20 whp, which is probably around what these mods would net at the very most.
Also, Tiago at VR-speed.com provides some of the best customer service I've ever experienced, so that's a huge plus too.
Weights:
Muse Motorsports aluminum lower IC pipe – 1.23 lb.
Muse Motorsports aluminum lower IC pipe w/ coupler and clamps – 1.91 lb.
OEM Mitsubishi Evo IX battery w/plastic tray, tiedown, hardware, etc. – 36.55 lb.
Odyssey PC680 battery (w/brass battery terminals) – 14.33 lb.
Muse Motorsports small battery tray – 1.90 lb.
So, total weight savings with the small battery is 20.32 lb., but I added maybe another 80 grams or so by extending a factory ground wire by 8" or so to make the wiring reach the new terminal positions.
Sorry, I got distracted and forgot to weigh the UICP and OEM stuff.
I had to remove the front bumper cover for easy access to the intercooler couplings, and was surprised by how heavy the plastic bumper cover seemed. About 16.3 lb., according to my hanging spring scale I use for weighing bikes.
Pics:
And BTW, if you decide to remove your front bumper support beam to save some weight, it will take 13.61 pounds off the nose of your Evo:
Last edited by EGbeater; Feb 8, 2009 at 04:42 PM.