Background:
One theory goes that adding a FMIC will reduce the efficiency of the Air Conditioner.
The theory seems reasonable enough, and a couple of years back I tried installing a temperature probe between a FMIC and the AC condenser to see what effect there is on the air temperature. It appeared minimal.
Recently I installed the stock IC and a week later installed a CTS Turbo FMIC, so this presented an opportunity to check again for an effect that the FMIC may have on the AC performance.
Measurements:
For this comparison, a FLIR TG-165 handheld thermal camera is used to measure the air temperature leaving the driver’s side center vent.
Several measurements are taken while driving without the FMIC installed and with the FMIC installed.
Shown below are a series of measurements made without the FMIC installed with the Air Conditioner operating.
Next are shown a series of measurements made with the FMIC installed and the Air Conditioner operating.
Generally, the vent air temperatures for each condition appear similar.
An additional check using an ARM FMIC:
Conclusions:
Based on these samples there does not appear to be a significant difference in the efficiency of the Air Conditioning system. The addition of the FMIC did not significantly change the vent air temperature with the Air Conditioner functioning and the vehicle moving.
The possible effect of the FMIC on the Air Conditioner functioning efficiency was not tested for a stationary vehicle.