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      04-17-2019, 11:51 AM   #23
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Turbo inlet pipe on stock turbo won't get you more power. But at least it's there in case you eventually turn up the wick with a larger turbo some day. I am a big fan of a good SSK/Ultimate Clutch Pedal tweak on the M2 MT. Much better shifting experience--precise, positive, great throw, better pedal feel...
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      04-17-2019, 11:55 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceM View Post
Turbo inlet pipe on stock turbo won't get you more power. But at least it's there in case you eventually turn up the wick with a larger turbo some day. I am a big fan of a good SSK/Ultimate Clutch Pedal tweak on the M2 MT. Much better shifting experience--precise, positive, great throw, better pedal feel...
Yeah, I was thinking the lot of the changes (FMIC, CP, BP, and TIP) would help with any power curve stuff, again, if any. Less turbo lag, better throttle response (which all help with plus the DV+), to me is worth more than a few HP. I'm not tuned and not planning larger turbo.

And, I have the BMS SSK and BMS clutch stop in my parts bin waiting to be installed. Will be tackling that next month after I'm done traveling in the next few weeks. Might need to look into the Ultimate Clutch Pedal though.
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      04-17-2019, 04:18 PM   #25
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BTW if you are gonna do the shifter you might do the rear bushing to eliminate some slop - https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-5...ifter-bushing/ unless the SSK comes with it already.

Someone on this forum tried it with great results, also tried it with both rear and front bushings but went back to just the rear because of increased vibrations.

I'm planning to do that when I'm gonna deal with the DP or resonator because the stock shifter is a bit too rubbery for my taste.
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      04-18-2019, 12:31 AM   #26
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I’m enjoying reading your experience with these mods. You mentioned that the DP increased HP everywhere. Does that include top end up to redline?

You said you removed the water pump but no mention of draining the coolant. Is that not necessary? Will it need a new gasket or anything to replace?
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      04-18-2019, 04:11 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18EM2 View Post
I’m enjoying reading your experience with these mods. You mentioned that the DP increased HP everywhere. Does that include top end up to redline?

You said you removed the water pump but no mention of draining the coolant. Is that not necessary? Will it need a new gasket or anything to replace?
Glad you are enjoying, thank you!

I'll dig out both charts and see if "everywhere" is as accurate as I remember and get back to you later today.

As for water pump, by remove I should have clarified that I just unbolted it and dropped it. This allows me to move it around, and access stuff behind/above it easier. It remains connected to the water hoses, as I don't want to deal with a coolant flush, nor is it necessary.

Here is the video I watched where I got the idea.


(There is a part where he talks through some gotchas after the shop part of the video.)

For the DV+ dropping the water pump is a must. For turbo inlet probably could get to that bolt without dropping water pump, but it did make life easier.
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      04-18-2019, 05:13 AM   #28
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Info Update 2: Dyno Chart

18EM2

Ok - dug out the dyno runs. I did these just over a year apart, at the same shop on the same dyno.

On the chart, RunFile_003.drf is the baseline run from April, 2017, before I had any mods in.

RunFile_006.drf and RunFile_007.drf are both runs from July, 2018, where the only engine mod I had on was the Akra DP (w/300 CEL Sport Cat).

Peak power is similar, max torque actually higher by 20ft-lb at peak, but you can see that the power and torque throughout the range is higher.

Definitely the biggest gains were below 5200 rpm, however even up to redline, for the most part, there were some (minimal, but still noticeable on the chart) gains.

From the drivers seat, the difference is 100% noticeable in the lower part of the rev range, top end, not so much. But we know the top end on the OG M2 is lacking, anyway, so it's not a surprise.

As a bonus, the car sounds awesome with the Akra DP + stock exhaust!
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Last edited by ddk632; 05-01-2019 at 08:14 AM.. Reason: Update title
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      04-18-2019, 05:19 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mr_lab_rat View Post
BTW if you are gonna do the shifter you might do the rear bushing to eliminate some slop - https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-5...ifter-bushing/ unless the SSK comes with it already.

Someone on this forum tried it with great results, also tried it with both rear and front bushings but went back to just the rear because of increased vibrations.

I'm planning to do that when I'm gonna deal with the DP or resonator because the stock shifter is a bit too rubbery for my taste.
Thanks, I've seen some threads on those bushings and will do some more research before I do the SSK install. That's not happening for another month anyway, so I have some time. Appreciate the suggestion!
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      04-18-2019, 06:27 AM   #30
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DIY Update 4: Removing DV 2 of 3 bolts out, top bolt wins day!

Yesterday's score:

Top bolt of diverter valve: 1,
Me: 0

Will get to that later.

So, all I was able to do was get 2 of the 3 bolts out from the diverter valve, and spent nearly an hour to no avail trying to get the top bolt out.

Man that thing is hard to get to! Well, it's actually not hard to reach, but it's hard to actually have enough leverage to turn it. Re-watched the DV+ video (posted above in #27), and will try using a standard closed wrench (do not have ratcheting wrenches) around my ball-ended 5mm allen key.

The leverage I tried yesterday was a small socket connected to a couple of socket extensions. Basically a long stick with a small object on it that can grab the long end of the allen key and add leverage to be able to turn/torque it. I think I did unseat it and turned it a hair, but not much. The closed wrench method should work better, as it's more direct.

First up was, identify the diverter valve. Attached photo has it circled, and also attached diagram - the DV is #9.

Then, getting to the first two bolts, was a little tricky, and having a long socket 5mm ball headed Allen (hex) key definitely helped. While I tried adding extensions to make it longer, that actually didn't work well. The reason is, the more extensions, the less force there is at the end.

Also, I think the tools I bought at Harbor Freight are crappy compared to my angled ball-head allen wrenches which I think are Craftsman, they just fit much better, and don't turn inside the bolt at all. The harbor freight one required a lot of push (force) to keep it as tight in the bolt as possible, or else, it would just turn inside the bolt and not turn the bolt. See photo where my hand is pushing the ratchet at the head, that's the reason for doing that.

So, one extension and the long allen did the trick for the first two bolts, while moving water pump out of the way to get at the bolts at a straight enough angle to be able to torque them enough and get them to turn. See photos for reference.

Then, patience is key as each ratchet stroke maximum was maybe 1/10th or less of a turn, so it's not a quick process.

Also attached, photo of the little wire clip that was on the DV, to remove it there's a tab at the top that you have to squeeze and the clip comes off easy. Photo attached has that circled as well.
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Last edited by ddk632; 05-01-2019 at 08:16 AM.. Reason: Update title
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      04-18-2019, 06:29 AM   #31
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Info Update 3: How the new pipes should fit together

On another note, now that I got all the pipes out, I figured out how the new ones fit together, and connect to the FMIC.

Having never seen any of them myself in the engine bay before, it was confusing. After seeing all of the stock pipes, where they start/end, how they fit to the turbo and FMIC, then the new pipes made perfect sense.
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Last edited by ddk632; 05-01-2019 at 08:17 AM.. Reason: Update title
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      04-18-2019, 06:31 AM   #32
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Info Update 4: GFB DV+ Packaging and Instructions

And final update for this morning with a few more pics, have to say, the DV+ is so nicely packaged, and it came with instructions!

Naturally, I did the most important part of the DV+ install first: Put the GFB sticker on my tool chest!
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Last edited by ddk632; 05-01-2019 at 08:18 AM.. Reason: Update title
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      04-27-2019, 02:12 AM   #33
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DDK632 - thank you for your replies and detailed info. You have me considering doing it myself. I keep thinking of all the tight awkward places and the inevitable skinned knuckles and I second guess my decision.
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      04-27-2019, 05:54 AM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18EM2 View Post
DDK632 - thank you for your replies and detailed info. You have me considering doing it myself. I keep thinking of all the tight awkward places and the inevitable skinned knuckles and I second guess my decision.


Haha, yeah your hands will look pretty beat up, no doubt about that!

I've got a bunch of updates to make on this thread, a lot has happened. It's been an adventure, with ups and downs along the way. Happy to report finally, yesterday, (after I ended up flying to Chicago instead of driving, more on that later) I got the remaining problems resolved.

Want to post all of the lessons learned.
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      05-01-2019, 06:38 AM   #35
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DIY Update 5: Remove DV - Last (top) bolt out, DV out!

So, been a while since I've continued my documentation.

Going to break out the posts more or less by the work I got to complete on different days. Some days, I only had a half hour to tinker, other days more time.

The last update, I had gotten 2 of 3 of the diverter valve bolts out, and called it a day after barely loosening (getting enough initial torque on my allen wrench to unseat the bolt and turn it ever so slightly).

Came at it from a different angle the next day, and realized that if I used a shorter allen key, I could get it in the bolt from the short end, reach up with my hand and pull down on the long end of the allen wrench.

The previous day, I was using my ball ended allen wrench (it's about 1" at the short end, 4" at the long end with the ball), but really could not get it to do much as

(a) it was too long if I used the short end, and I could not fully insert the short end into the bolt and

(b) if I used the ball end, I could easily get the allen into the socket, but then I did not have any leverage and simply could not make the bolt turn, at all.

Thus, using a shorter allen wrench accomplished the task of having more leverage (being able to pull down on long end of allen key) and also better fitment of allen key to bolt (since I could fully get it in there).

It was still a tedious process to get that bolt out, turning basically 1/6th - 1/3 of a turn at a time.

You can see in the two photos of the allen wrench and diverter valve solenoid, the zoomed out photo shows how far up there this thing is.

Also included a photo of the empty space that dropping the water pump and being able to move it around can create - absolutely imperative, and with some force, it'll move a significant amount, while still connected to all the hoses, so there is no coolant flush needed at all.

Lesson learned - when fighting with a stubborn bolt, calling it a day, grabbing a beer (or vodka), and then coming back with a fresh mind and a different approach the next day - highly recommended!
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Last edited by ddk632; 05-01-2019 at 08:18 AM.. Reason: Update title
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      05-01-2019, 09:06 AM   #36
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DIY Update 6: Rebuild DV solenoid with GFB DV+

I really thought this was going to be simple, but alas, it was not.

Now that I had the DV solenoid out, it was time to remove the stock DV and put in the GFB DV+.

The GFB DV+ instructions were great and clear. I should have read them in entirety first as it probably could have saved some frustration on breaking apart the stock valve. In fact, even in the photos that GFB included, the stock valve was pretty broken apart.

I've attached 2 photos of the stock valve in the solenoid, one plain, and one with details of what to look for.

Given my zero experience with any of this before, it was not really clear to me where the diverter valve ends and the solenoid begins, there are some grooves in there, some seem to move, some to not move. Up to that time, I had found several DIY videos, but they didn't actually show how to remove the old valve from the solenoid - they tend to focus on removing and reinstalling the fully rebuilt solenoid back into the car.

To make matters worse, my valve was stuck!

Thankfully, I found this awesome video where the removal of the stock valve is shown live on video. It was instrumental to help me understand what comes out, and what the empty solenoid looks like once you take out the stock diverter valve. The DV disassembly starts around the 1:53 mark.



Unfortunately, I had already damaged the o-ring groove on the solenoid out of frustration by the time I stopped to breathe and look for some better DIY video, and finally found the one I just posted above.

As you can see from the photo of the remains of my old valve, due to how it was stuck (it did NOT just come out with a bit of force the way that the one in the video came out), I ended up breaking it completely into pieces to get it out.

Also note, in that infographic, where my red and green lines meet, and the entire area inside of the green line, is the part that gets completely removed and discarded. It was hard for me to tell whether only the piece that is outline in orange comes out (this is the actual valve).

Once the stock DV was out, putting in the new one was straight forward. There is a small tab on the solenoid, and also a groove that fits that tab near one of the 3 bolt holes on the GFB DV+. This ensures that the GFB DV+ can only fit one way onto the solenoid, taking out any guess work.

It fits quite snugly, and snaps in so you know it is in. I basically snapped it to the solenoid at each of the 3 bolt holes by squeezing the two pieces together. Trying to snap all 3 at once straight on does not work, it just pops off at one end and can seem like it won't fit.

Also important to note, the GFB DV+ instructions make it clear that you must handle the red/gold cylinder VERY carefully - if it falls out of your hand or out of the solenoid, even microscopic damage can render it useless. This was good to know, as there is risk of it dropping if you're not careful when reinstalling the rebuilt solenoid back on the turbo..
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Last edited by ddk632; 05-01-2019 at 12:28 PM..
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      05-01-2019, 12:37 PM   #37
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Info Update 5: Charge Pipe Loctite Meth Bungs

Small info update here, as I was dealing with the DV, I decided to prep the charge pipe for installation.

The VRSF charge pipe comes with 2 holes (meth bungs) that can be used for methanol and I'm not sure what else the second one is for, other than more meth? Don't know.

I have zero plans to use these, and did not want to risk them backing out during driving and causing a boost leak. Went for high temp red (permanent) Loctite.

For peace of mind, it's worth it. Sorry for the blurry photo of the close-up meth bung with loctite in. The first photo shows just the screws in the meth bungs without the loctite, and if they back out just a little, they feel very loose. That was really what inspired the Loctite plan.
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      05-01-2019, 01:20 PM   #38
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If you ever change your mind you'll be out of luck. Red doesn't let go.
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      05-01-2019, 01:28 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cecaa850 View Post
If you ever change your mind you'll be out of luck. Red doesn't let go.
Haha not a chance ... I'm not a straight line junkie
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      05-01-2019, 04:27 PM   #40
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DIY Update 7: Install DV+ back on the car

Now that the DV+ was on the solenoid, it was time to install back on the car.

Note, as mentioned in my previous DIY update, the instructions of the GFB DV+ noted how important it is NOT to drop the red/gold cylinder out of the solenoid, as any even invisible damage can make it useless.

The cylinder sits loose in the DV+ housing, so if you hold it upside down (don't do this!) it will simply fall out.

My concern was, of course, holding the solenoid/DV+ assembly to the turbo without any bolts and having it fall while I was attempting to get bolts in.

What I ended up doing is getting it set in the turbo and holding it with one hand (couple of fingers) while I used my other hand to pass a bolt and allen wrench to the free fingers of my first hand. This way, I always kept pressure on the solenoid no matter what. I'm sure there are better/more advanced techniques out there, but this worked for me and I didn't drop the thing, lol.



Getting the two lower (easy) bolts in was pretty easy, and was enough to ensure that the solenoid cannot fall out.

Actually it was a little too easy, as I overtightened one of the bolts and cracked the edge of one of the bolt holes on the solenoid.

I used the ball headed allen wrench to tighten the bolts "hand tight" and then my short wrench that worked for removal to tighten rest of the way.

The top bolt was a challenge to get in, and with a tip from one of the videos I had watched, I taped it to my ball headed allen wrench with electrical tape, just enough to keep it from falling, but also make the tape easy to remove (see photo). This proved useful as it essentially "elongated" the bolt, making it "easy" (read: actually possible) to get in.

But that was only after I dropped it and had no idea where it went Looked all over and was scared it went in the turbo or something... so lesson learned -- tape the damn openings to the engine when working on the car. I knew about this but just didn't do it, and having to worry if I got a bolt in my turbo (probably unreasonable, it's a large bolt and the turbo fins are pretty close together) made me realize it would have been useful to have taped the openings.

Finally found the bolt after stepping back, looking from top of engine with a flash light .. see photo with bolt circled. Doh! That was definitely not fun.

Anyway, I got the DV+ in, woot!

As a side note, I don't see how it would be possible to do this install without removing the turbo inlet pipe. That extra space to get my hand in there with a wrench to the top bolt, which was still a complete PITA, was courtesy of the inlet pipe being out when I did this.
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Last edited by ddk632; 05-01-2019 at 04:42 PM..
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      05-07-2019, 05:43 PM   #41
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My man all of these mods I want to do in the near future just not researched the DV+ all that much.

It would be fantastic to get your car back on the Dyno when all your breathing mods are complete do you think this will be possible? Also your driving impressions.

Are you leaving the stock paper filter in situ too? Thanks
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      05-09-2019, 08:16 AM   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3t3p View Post
My man all of these mods I want to do in the near future just not researched the DV+ all that much.

It would be fantastic to get your car back on the Dyno when all your breathing mods are complete do you think this will be possible? Also your driving impressions.

Are you leaving the stock paper filter in situ too? Thanks
On the DV+, this is the thread that convinced me to get it:
DV+ with stock turbo

So, even though I haven't finished documenting, due to a bunch of recent travel, I did get all the mods in and the car feels fantastic. I might be driving myself a little crazy and think I might still have a small boost leak, then drive it again and feel like it doesn't, and it makes a few new noises (can hear turbo spool more, and the DV+ does a sort of whistle, but then after few boost leaks due to install error at first, I sometimes think I hear a boost leak whistle, haha -- going to get a boost leak tester and settle it scientifically).

I'll do a proper driving impressions thread, but for sure, butt-dyno says there is a big, noticeable improvement in how quickly the car builds revs, throttle response in general, and also noticeably less lag between shifts, feels like the car keeps boost longer and loses less boost during shifts, which is what the GFB DV+ is designed to do.

Definitely plan to dyno next month on the same dyno I've done the baseline runs with, and will post the chart here!

So far have stock filter, haven't researched much other than I always put a K&N filter on all my motorcycles. I'll probably change the filter or get an intake at some point, but no plans for now.
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      05-11-2019, 06:41 AM   #43
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DIY Update 8: Installed Pure Turbo inlet pipe

Now that the DV+ was back in, I felt like the rest of the re-installation process should be fairly smooth sailing and straight forward.

Luckily, at least for the turbo inlet pipe, it was.

Installing Pure Turbo Inlet Pipe

The main tricky thing here is lining up the Pure Turbo inlet pipe straight in the turbo (best done from looking down via the top of the car) prior to giving it a proper shove into the turbo.

I had the air intake sensor disconnected, and moved air intake out of the way previously. This involves removing the right side corner strut brace, which covers the 4th clip of the airbox. Also, I learned that the airbox will not clip in properly unless you first clip in that 4th clip which sits under the corner strut brace. That was fun, lol.

Further, I had removed the left side corner strut brace in order to loosen the water tank and gain better access to the turbo inlet pipe vacuum hose connection, secured by one allen screw (formerly a torx screw on the stock pipe).

You can see the photos of top of engine with my arm in there past the water tank, and both corner strut braces off. I actually later figured out that if I pull directly up on the water tank, the hose will stretch, and I can place it at a 90 degree angle toward the front of the car, and it'll sit there. As opposed to the 45ish degree angle in the photo. That made life even easier!

As for install, very simple. The Pure Turbo inlet does not reuse the 10mm nut that the stock inlet pipe had at the turbo connection. It's a tight fit and when clamped to the air intake, it is rock solid.

I kind of wiggled the Pure Turbo inlet pipe and turned it around a bunch in order to avoid snagging all the lines, hoses, and electrical wires that are in that part of the engine bay, and made sure to re-route those electrical cables the same way as they had been, prior to attempting to actually insert the pipe into the turbo.

Basically make a note when removing stock pipe which electrical cable routes around it vs behind it, and one is clearly longer so it makes sense.

Once the Pure Turbo inlet pipe was in the engine bay (still loose, but it can't exactly fall out now), I went back under the car and lined it up with the turbo inlet -- see some photos where the pipe is about an inch away from the turbo, and then when it's partly in. I probably went back and forth a few times between top of car and under car to adjust the position.

Finally, pushed it in from the top of car where I had more physical leverage, as hard as I could, into the turbo. If it's aligned straight, it will go in.

The other fun part was not nearly as hard as removing the stock pipe was, mostly because I had figured out how to properly access the screw that secures the vacuum hose to the inlet pipe with the water tank moved out of the way to make more space to get my arm down there with an allen wrench. I included some photos of how I reached that screw.

Getting the vacuum hose into the inlet was also easier than the original removal, again because I felt more confidence to push the thing around with more force than when I first started this project. See photo of inside of the inlet pipe with vacuum hose snugly in there, and the allen screw on the outside of the pipe.

Also, after I had already done the work, I purchased a set of ball-ended torx wrenches which I think are 100% necessity for BMW work. Should have done that sooner and added to my ball-ended allen wrench set! The other must have tool I ended up purchasing to finish this job and do all the clamps were ratcheting wrenches -- made life so much easier, as well.

The Pure Turbo inlet comes with 2 clamps and a rubber tube to connect to the air intake. This was pretty straight forward, I left both clamps loose, put them with rubber tube and air intake all together, fit the rubber tube to ensure coverage of both ends (the air intake and pure intake fit pretty close together, so this is likely hard to mess up). Once fitted, last is to tighten both clamps. This was an important lesson I learned later with the charge pipe.

Inlet pipe was in, woot!

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      05-11-2019, 07:48 AM   #44
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DIY Update 9: Charge/boost pipes, C clips, FMIC, and lessons learned!

Well this is going to be the final post on the DIY stuff for a while.

Honey Badger is back together and has been driving AWESOME.



Here, I'll detail a few things that got me good and hopefully will save someone some trouble.

The biggest issue was lack of instructions. Sure, if you're a mechanic, that's cool. As a mechanic, things that are alien to a noob hobbyist starting out are obvious and common sense. Like how to fit pipes together, where they are located on the engine, where things fit into, where there are o-rings and not, how C clips should look like, etc.

None of that stuff was obvious to me and so I ended up doing some learning and put the car back together and apart 3 times before sorting out issues that I could have avoided had I known these things at first.

The biggest ones are

1. Prior to installing FMIC and charge / boost pipes on the car, fit the pipes to the FMIC, with the C-clips, try to pull them off with all your might, and if they are clipped in properly, take visual note of how the pipes LOOK on the FMIC, which will make life easier when you're under the car.


In my case, I had the charge pipe on and it appeared to be clipped in properly, was flush to the little stub pipe on fmic, but then popped off when I went for a test drive. So, I stepped back, removed FMIC and both pipes, and did #1 above. Which then helped me realize that lower charge pipe needed to go about 2mm further over the FMIC stub pipe, not be flush with it. However, the lower boost pipe looks different and is more flush with FMIC pipe!

And, this will be probably different in many combinations of brands, etc. So I think the most important is to fit the pipes to FMIC outside of the car, with clips, and understand how they will look when properly fit and clipped in.

Which led me to..

2. Leave all clamps and rubber tubing to be the last thing that you get tightened. Get the top and bottom fitment down and make sure C clips are in all the way before tightening lower and upper pipes together with the clamps and rubber tubing.

The most important is to make sure the pipe at top end fits to the engine and clips in correctly, and that at the bottom end, it fits into the FMIC and cannot be yanked off when clipped in (this goes for both boost and lower charge pipe).

Essentially get the pipes to fit correctly at their ends, and then working the rubber tubing and clamps to fit the lower to upper charge pipe, or the lower boost pipe (small metal piece) to the upper boost pipe, is actually really easy, if not tedious. Also ratchet wrench makes tightening those clamps about 50x faster.

Also,

3. Use a diagram to understand what parts should exist and go where. Before doing any work!

Again, no instructions with any of this stuff makes for a lot of guess work for a noob. I knew from reading some threads that the top charge pipe has an o-ring that needs to go on the VRSF charge pipe.

However, I didn't realize that there were 3 more o-rings, one at each other end of each pipe. I missed those at first, which accounted for another test drive and back to the drawing board session. The diagram on real-oem (attached) shows clearly there are 4 o-rings, 3 of which I missed the first time around. See #9 and #10 on the attached diagram.

Last but not least, this was not a big deal to figure out but I did have to look it up --

The stock pipes have these plastic pieces that hold the C-clip on the outside of the pipe. I wasn't sure if those get re-used or not, which made breaking them an uncertain ordeal. And getting those C-clips off of the stock pipe completely without breaking the plastic was pretty much impossible.

Luckily, you don't need the plastic part, just the metal C clip, for the aftermarket pipes.

Those are most of the gotchas.

One other trick I found helpful was to put some masking tape on the top boost pipe, to mark the center of where the C clip should go. This made it much easier since it's a tight space there and can be hard to see.

Driving the car is so awesome now and feels great to know I did it and didn't take it to a shop!
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