FMIC question for new beetle alh

just seeing if anyone has there 2 cents to toss in this pile. any suggestions are welcome.
1998 New Beetle ALH 5spd. had a Borg Warner BV39 turbo added 80k ago, kerma tune, Bosio DLC 1019 injectors, 3 bar map etc. south bend stage 2 endurance and SMF ran great.

then turbo failed. i suspect a boost leak causing overspeed of turbo, wife never noticed...it is her car. either way, turbo failed.

I inspected bearings, and also suspected minor head gasket leak from an overheat after losing fan in summer on way home (237F top temp recorded on scan guage while she was stuck in traffic) long story short, decided to pull block to do bearings, and head gasket.

for now installed a lower mile ALH motor from an auto beetle i bought with a bad transmission, ran great and has the 11 mm pump too. i decided to go with the VNT 17 this time around, and it is here and on the block now, hanging back in the car.
this was the background on the car... now for the question>.

I bought a FMIC and have been playing around with the idea of using it on the beetle, here is where the question lies....

A.) is it worth it over the stock miserable SMIC the beetle uses.

B.) i know it will help some but will the extra length of pipe cause lag issues that negate the benefits?

C.) how much does increasing the diameter of the pipe influence lag?

i bought and plan on using a 2.5 inch pipe off the turbo, which will then go through the intercooler (front mounted below the bumper) and back around behind the intercooler and up thru where the pipe would normally travel dropping to a 2.25 inch pipe.
I am dropping to 2.25 because that is the size i found that has a 3 bar map sensor mounting point and into the intake via a 2.25 inlet that replaces the egr.

i have it pretty well set up as to how it will go and only need to modify the front clip a bit to get it to work.
however i am wondering is it worth it. i realize i am really just assumign that the FMIC will be a great benefit but not sure if the extra pipe diameter and length will make it worthwhile.

i plan on finishing it as much as possible next weekend when i have some days off but was curious what the people that understand this better than i do think about it.
it would sure be easier just to shove the old SMIC and pipes back in and use my capped off EGR valve which is tapped for boost but if it is worthwhile i dont mind spending the extra day actually mounting it in where it will stay.

any opinions or knowledge about this very welcome. i really enjoy learning about these cars and i am not a mechanic by trade simply by hobby.
thanks in advance

PS. i plan on increasing the downpipe and exhaust soon also. in the meantime it has a conservative stage 2 kerma tune for about 150 hp. granted it does not know that i added an 11 mm pump so i may get it retuned to account for that.

From what I've read here, the stock IC stuff on these cars is sufficient for all but the highest horsepower (above 180?).
Maybe more ideas here-
TDI Power Enhancements

i like the sound of that. i have no intention of increasing it much more. wife loves it just the way it is. i am the only one that ever has a heavy foot on it and the 150 hp tune is perfect...up hills in 5th gear pulling as hard as i would want it too....

any other suggestions/advice welcome.

here is a stupid follow up guestion...will it be more prone to damage with the tune that it has and restricted flow from the SMIC or is that just to get more performance out of it?
is it just increasing the exhaust pipe that protects it from high EGR or does it need more flow through the intercooler also?

Talk to the person chipping the car. Some things like clutches sometimes want to be upgraded.
But generally no, a chip tune will not do damage, although often will exaggerate existing issues.

I did a bigger SMIC when I did a bunch of upgrades. An FMIC in a Beetle is a tough one due to the round shape of the front. Without a significant adjustment to the front bumper and valance, it is hard to fit unless you hang it down low (This can result in scraping on speed bumps).

See the link below which is what I put in.

This one opens up the restriction on the outlet side of the cooler for more air to move.

http://www.hpamotorsports.com/product_smic.html

well i cant afford to lose ground clearance. i was planning on cutting front as necessary. the beetle is monstalined with tan color so it is not like i am cutting up a beautiful paint job... it is a kind of cool franken paint job....

that is a nice SMIC...does it fit right in.... it is pretty steep though.... not sure if i am willing to drop that on one unless it is essential.


anyone else want to weigh in on whether it is needed or not for a 150 hp car.... as long as i just lose a bit of performance i dont think i care... again... it is just the wife's car and she is happy with it as is.... now if i am damaging it by not opening up the flow...then that is a different story...

how essential is improved flow for a car with the listed mods.... (dlc 1019 injectors, 11mm pump, kerma tune, etc. vnt 17 turbo)

i can always use this setup on my jetta which i am building so i am out nothing by not using it...

I think there are similar SMIC's on ebay for less.

Mine fit right in and I drilled a bunch of holes in the plastic inner fender liner to help air move through and cool the SMIC.

The outlet pipe was changed as well to a matching sized pipe to the IC outlet. The stock SMIC has a tiny outlet to match the tiny pancake pipe. I think VW designed this to help keep the charged pressure up with the tiny VNT15. But I could be wrong

We are pulling a >2,000 lbs. camping trailer with our Beetle and wanted to keep the air moving to help with the internal temps. The car probably puts out about 170hp and 320 ft-lbs (Had a recent SB clutch blow up with all this weight and power thrown together).