ESS VT2-500 Supercharger Kit Installed! Impressions, pictures, video.

[ZStig]

I have no complaints about my installer, but I still think most installs should be done in-house at ESS

[iPhoneEngineer]

Originally Posted by Beedub

[...]unnfortunatly your running parts that ess have told us wont work and i feel you must revert back to the euro headers[...]

To be clear on this point, ESS did NOT say that the Active Autowerke headers wouldn't work--I asked them before I used them. The only ones they said wouldn't work were the SuperSprint headers. They said they have heard no complaints with the AA headers, and I did install them before the kit and had no issues with the ESS N/A software. It's just the Alpha-N tune that appears to be so sensitive to the OEM header positioning.

Anyway, as I said, I've already purchased some OEM CSL headers and they will go in within a few weeks. Bought a better jack, a creeper, better torque wrench, etc to make the install less painful. However I still need to sort out THE way to do the sensor relocation because I'm really going to be pissed if it causes even more problems.

[ZStig]

I think I only know of one person thats modified their stock section 1 with 90* bungs AND has the ESS tune AND has issues. Everyone else is fine, right?

[iPhoneEngineer]

Originally Posted by Roffle Waffle

I think I only know of one person thats modified their stock section 1 with 90* bungs AND has the ESS tune AND has issues. Everyone else is fine, right?

I think that's in part because a lot of people end up "turning off" the sensors via the tune, no? I want them to be functional in detecting problems with the primary widebands.

[ZStig]

I think the ESS tune only makes them a lot more sensitive, at least thats what they told me my situation is. Running with them just dangling around proved to be bad, so they've gotta be on..

[iPhoneEngineer]

Got a quote for shipping the car to AZ with the shipper that ESS uses, which ESS will not cover: $695 /each way/, if I am flexible with pickup and return times (up to a week delay for each + time at ESS). Normally $850. Doesn't seem like a reasonable option to ship the car because in the meantime I'd also be without transportation. Even if I had a second car, the expense is really substantial.

Driving the car is not significantly cheaper due to milage and hotel costs, but definitely faster and maybe I could turn it into a Grand Canyon trip or something. Either way I can't get the time off work for a while yet.

Current plan: get the OEM CSL headers and sensor relocation done soon, and probably run the higher-boost pulley until ESS can look at the car...

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by iPhoneEngineer

Got a quote for shipping the car to AZ with the shipper that ESS uses, which ESS will not cover: $695 /each way/, if I am flexible with pickup and return times (up to a week delay for each + time at ESS). Normally $850. Doesn't seem like a reasonable option to ship the car because in the meantime I'd also be without transportation. Even if I had a second car, the expense is really substantial.

Driving the car is not significantly cheaper due to milage and hotel costs, but definitely faster and maybe I could turn it into a Grand Canyon trip or something. Either way I can't get the time off work for a while yet.

Current plan: get the OEM CSL headers and sensor relocation done soon, and probably run the higher-boost pulley until ESS can look at the car...

the only thing that concerns me is a higher boost pulley will be just leaking more air surely??? you'll get to your pressure point then it will leak as its currently doing now.....

just of note for you, i made MORE boost with the same pulley after my s/c unit was swapped to my new unit....

[iPhoneEngineer]

Originally Posted by Beedub

the only thing that concerns me is a higher boost pulley will be just leaking more air surely??? you'll get to your pressure point then it will leak as its currently doing now.....

just of note for you, i made MORE boost with the same pulley after my s/c unit was swapped to my new unit....

Yeah, it would leak more air, but even AJ at ESS (a naturally cautious and skeptical guy) recommended the pulley change as a band-aid fix and believes it will still net more pressure at the intake valves.

More updates: CSL headers arriving Monday, hardware for the job (gaskets, torque-to-yield bolts, etc) shipped out this morning with 2-day shipping. I'm working with Performance Technic which came highly recommended to me for this particular job (sensor relocation) and is also going to do the header swap, because the headers won't be here by the weekend and I just want to get it done. They are going to try to squeeze me in sometime this coming week and hopefully that will be the last of the hesitation / poor fuel economy. I've been getting 16-16.5MPG the past two tanks--granted, I drive up a mountain on my way home, but also don't use much gas on the way back down and there has been a fair mix of highway miles on both tanks.

Aleks has been very helpful and will be taking another look at the car as soon as his smoke testing machine arrives, which by a blessed revelation, is apparently capable of producing smoke AT 15PSI! It will definitely the best chance yet at finding the leak since we can even exceed the expected system pressure. He's also going to get a bracket fabricated for the lower boost pipework, do my S/C oil change for free, and even offered use of his lift if I wanted to use it for the header swap

If no leak can be found, I suppose it could be a faulty S/C unit for reasons that can't be seen?

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by iPhoneEngineer

Yeah, it would leak more air, but even AJ at ESS (a naturally cautious and skeptical guy) recommended the pulley change as a band-aid fix and believes it will still net more pressure at the intake valves.

More updates: CSL headers arriving Monday, hardware for the job (gaskets, torque-to-yield bolts, etc) shipped out this morning with 2-day shipping. I'm working with Performance Technic which came highly recommended to me for this particular job (sensor relocation) and is also going to do the header swap, because the headers won't be here by the weekend and I just want to get it done. They are going to try to squeeze me in sometime this coming week and hopefully that will be the last of the hesitation / poor fuel economy. I've been getting 16-16.5MPG the past two tanks--granted, I drive up a mountain on my way home, but also don't use much gas on the way back down and there has been a fair mix of highway miles on both tanks.

Aleks has been very helpful and will be taking another look at the car as soon as his smoke testing machine arrives, which by a blessed revelation, is apparently capable of producing smoke AT 15PSI! It will definitely the best chance yet at finding the leak since we can even exceed the expected system pressure. He's also going to get a bracket fabricated for the lower boost pipework, do my S/C oil change for free, and even offered use of his lift if I wanted to use it for the header swap

If no leak can be found, I suppose it could be a faulty S/C unit for reasons that can't be seen?

ok now were were talking...... your going to have a beast real soon ;-)

yeah honestly, look back and youll see where i noted it, my tuner damaged my s/c during a pulley change, so they paid ess for a brand new unit, on fitting the new unit i had another 1psi pretty much everywhere in the boost range.....

btw your s/c will really get quiet after its oil change :-) mine has anyhow.

that smoke machine will show if your boost pipes are at fault, if your system is leak free then it could have been your s/c all along..??

im pretty certain they'll find a considerable leak, set the machine to 10psi... job done.

[iPhoneEngineer]

Originally Posted by Beedub

yeah honestly, look back and youll see where i noted it, my tuner damaged my s/c during a pulley change, so they paid ess for a brand new unit, on fitting the new unit i had another 1psi pretty much everywhere in the boost range.....

Yeah, I remember that--but you also had oil leaking down out of the S/C, right? So it was a pretty obvious failure upon close inspection. I see no such problems with my S/C unit. It could still be a dud, but we'll have to see, and unfortunately with no external symptoms I'm certain I'd have to bring the car all the way to ESS before they'd offer to replace such an expensive component of the kit (since there's no real way to prove it is the problem, even if no leaks can be found, if there are no signs of damage on the S/C...)

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by iPhoneEngineer

Yeah, I remember that--but you also had oil leaking down out of the S/C, right? So it was a pretty obvious failure upon close inspection. I see no such problems with my S/C unit. It could still be a dud, but we'll have to see, and unfortunately with no external symptoms I'm certain I'd have to bring the car all the way to ESS before they'd offer to replace such an expensive component of the kit (since there's no real way to prove it is the problem, even if no leaks can be found, if there are no signs of damage on the S/C...)

what happened was during the pulley change the internal seal got damaged, which was obviously was not a visible issue, BUT this is whats important, it was LEAKING boost pressure through the breather at the top causing the blower to blow its fluid out, im certain this could happen without the fluid being blown out, maybe this was your issue all along???? possible??

[iPhoneEngineer]

Originally Posted by Beedub

what happened was during the pulley change the internal seal got damaged, which was obviously was not a visible issue, BUT this is whats important, it was LEAKING boost pressure through the breather at the top causing the blower to blow its fluid out, im certain this could happen without the fluid being blown out, maybe this was your issue all along???? possible??

I suppose such an issue would be revealed by a pressurized smoke test through the S/C intake even with the compressor blades at rest, right?

[iPhoneEngineer]

Confirmed: Performance Technic in Pleasanton, CA has worked me in for Thursday morning for both the AA -> CSL header swap and sensor relocation to Section 1. They are the experts in the Bay Area for this job specifically, as well as highly recommended for BMW work in general, so I'm excited to work with them!

This could be a turning point for my install. Also looking forward to seeing Aleks again once his pressurized smoke machine arrives .

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by iPhoneEngineer

I suppose such an issue would be revealed by a pressurized smoke test through the S/C intake even with the compressor blades at rest, right?

definatly......

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by iPhoneEngineer

Confirmed: Performance Technic in Pleasanton, CA has worked me in for Thursday morning for both the AA -> CSL header swap and sensor relocation to Section 1. They are the experts in the Bay Area for this job specifically, as well as highly recommended for BMW work in general, so I'm excited to work with them!

This could be a turning point for my install. Also looking forward to seeing Aleks again once his pressurized smoke machine arrives .

i praying this is your turning point, i want to see your videos leaving those PSS tyres laid out on the floor :-)

[Beedub]

did you contact ESS re the plugs??? did you ask for a detailed explanation on why the stock plugs are fine ;-)

[iPhoneEngineer]

Originally Posted by Beedub

did you contact ESS re the plugs??? did you ask for a detailed explanation on why the stock plugs are fine ;-)

No, I have bugged them so much I want to leave the communication lines clear for really critical stuff. The offhand questions I've asked often don't get responses anyway...busy guys, gotta remain to-the-point.

It sounds like you know something about it yourself, though, so enlighten us . Most supercharged applications benefit from a slightly cooler temperature plug; why not the VT2-500? This isn't about the quality of the plug or even platinum vs iridium vs copper; I'm sure you can get the same design plug with a different temperature.

[iPhoneEngineer]

OEM CSL headers arrived today.

The Good: they seem exceptionally well-designed, at least as light (subjectively) as the Active Autowerke headers. I really wanted to avoid the sensor relocation but it looks like these are definitely the best way to go for an Alpha-N tune like the VT series.

The Bad: the rearmost runner coming from cylinder 6 is pretty severely dented. The seller (member of this forum) completely failed to mention any damage to the headers. The headers were exceptionally well-packed and damage definitely did not occur during shipping. The triangular mount where it bolts on for #6 is not even flush, which would certainly cause an exhaust leak. I will have to get it repaired as well as possible ASAP before the installation on Thursday. This is concerning particularly because the metal of this part of the headers (before the collector) is very thin. However, I am not comfortable installing them as-is because it could cause a hot-spot in the headers or even inside the combustion chamber. Less unexpected, one of the gaskets to Section 1 is baked onto one of the headers (still trying to get it off, it's just flaking) and all of the triangle bits need to be thoroughly cleaned as well. Perhaps most bizarrely, one of the headers had a /narrowband/ oxygen loosely mounted in it...lol.

If anyone from the Bay Area happens to read this and knows of a good metal shop that might be able to repair them, please PM me.

[MIKe86]

I would have sold the car and everything associated with it by now. You have the patience of a saint!!

Seriously wish you some good luck and hope you get things sorted relatively quickly. Just seems like it's one thing after another, and unfortunately I got to know the feeling all too well when modding my e30. :/

[johanness]

And I'd spend some extra $ and pay a visit to the crook who neglected to mention the OBVIOUS damage. Unless u didn't ask to see pics to begin with??

[beta]

That sucks, I hope you can get it sorted out in time. I was going to have some work done at the shop you're going to, and was looking forward to asking Joe about your car.

[Beedub]

Re the plugs iphone, coming from the world of tuned r35s i can gaurantee you our plug is more than sufficient for our application... With our very safe tune and good aits, i see this as a waste of money ;-) if ur so sure why didnt you buy a cooler set on your last purchase???

Ams tune the gtr to 1300awhp and use the stock plugs that came with the gtr, i know im loosing the topic slightly but in our light pressure application that spends 60% of time out of boost on a normal drive its just not needed.

Yeh the csl headers are imo all the header this car needs, and as good as the aftermarket offerings, very good design, actually the complete euro exhaust is a good design.

Btw name n shame the ass wipe that sold u the headers.....

Good luck iphone im willing u to be sorted soon.

Please excuse grammer, sent via iphone