[NCe92fan]

As background, my stock 2016 M2's charge pipe blew at 24K miles about 4 weeks ago. I'm just now back on the road and wanted to post a couple lessons learned for future reference.

I considered other brands' pipes, but I personally liked the ER pipe design the best for a couple reasons: position of silicone coupler, t bolt (instead of spiral) clamps, "lips" on the pipes to hold the clamps, use of the factory c-clips and overall finish and quality. This is a personal choice, but it was worth the extra price to me. Finally, ER customer service is top notch!

I wasn't planning to swap the FMIC since I want to remain stock, but the factory one is pretty weak looking (small and has plastic ends). Again, personal choice but I went with the Active Autowerke FMIC.

Below are a couple lessons learned. I watched dozens of install videos and read hundreds of posts on the install. I never came across these issues so wanted to document them:

1. Tolerances. When you switch brands (ie ER pipes and AA FMIC), they all have different tolerances. So one option is to either stick with the same brand or keep the stock FMIC. I know this because mine weren't lining up right. Shout out to Fred Su at ER for helping me understand this mid-install and sending me a longer coupler.

You can see in the pictures that I needed a 4" coupler on the hot side and the standard 3" coupler (which comes with the pipes) on the cold side. You can also see that a 4" coupler would not work on the cold side because of the meth port.

2. The silicon coupler is not slick. The first time I tried to use windex to lubricate the pipes. This is a mechanic's trick because it dries. The issue is it dries too quickly and the lower pipes aren't easy to manipulate once in the coupler. I decided to use WD40, which worked great. Normally you wouldn't use an oil on silicon but this is thin enough that it should burn off.

3. Lubricate the seals and o-ring. There wasn't a clear consensus on this, but I used Sil-Glyde silicon lubricant. Oil can make o-rings swell, so I went with this lube.

4. Repairing scratches. I went with the brushed finish and scratched the pipes up pretty badly on my initial install. This can be fixed pretty easily. I used 120 and 220 grit sandpaper for the deeper ones and then finished it off with a green Scotch Brite scour pad. See before and after pictures.

5. Clamp tightness. It's hard to know how tight to make these since they use nylon to provide resistance. Fred recommended tightening until about 1" of the stud is sticking out. I went closer to 1.25-1.5". It seems pretty solid, and you can't move the clamps.

EDIT: I ordered everything from Extreme Powerhouse. They have great prices, and Mike is super responsive. I recommend contacting him through the forum.

Overall, I'm happy with the result. I hope someone finds this helpful in the future.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Thank you for taking the time to write this post, its very helpful. Also thank you for the shoutout

[NCe92fan]

I am noticing a "turbo sound" in comfort mode. I can't tell if it's just because I have metal pipes now instead of plastic or if there is a boost leak. It feels like there is strong power though, but now I am questioning if there is a leak.

I'm going to do some logs with Bimmerlink and see if I can see any trends indicating a boost leak.

Appreciate any advice if anyone has had a similar issue. I've searched through many of the boost leak threads and didn't see any that would be similar (ie no clear loss of power or CEL).

[PackPride85]

Originally Posted by NCe92fan

I am noticing a "turbo sound" in comfort mode. I can't tell if it's just because I have metal pipes now instead of plastic or if there is a boost leak. It feels like there is strong power though, but now I am questioning if there is a leak.

I'm going to do some logs with Bimmerlink and see if I can see any trends indicating a boost leak.

Appreciate any advice if anyone has had a similar issue. I've searched through many of the boost leak threads and didn't see any that would be similar (ie no clear loss of power or CEL).

Monitor your long term fuel trims. If that is increasing dramatically you have a leak somewhere.

[NCe92fan]

Originally Posted by PackPride85

Monitor your long term fuel trims. If that is increasing dramatically you have a leak somewhere.

Thanks! This will be my first attempt at data logging. Just ordered the Veepeak scanner and plan to download OBD Fusion and Bimmerlink. I'm assuming/hoping I can track fuel trim.

P.S. fellow Wolfpack grad and fan here. Go Pack!