Between my last post and this one, I received back my Blackstone oil analysis. This was my first time using their service, but probably will do so in the future with the new ST setup and 3,000 mile OCIs. The 5,000 mile interval (ends up being every few months in my case), was confirmed to be in good standing along with signs of a healthy engine. Good news for all the money that I just dumped into this car.
Upon returning to the garage, my first order of business was getting this turbo clocked properly. Once I had everything in front of me again, I realized that I had clocked the compressor housing at a bit of angle because I was forced to due to the bank 1 wastegate sitting directly below. Talking strictly manifold design, this seems to be the best option for wastegate placement, but also adds some more precise fitment into an already tight situation. With some patience and a little help via text from Payam, I removed the water pump and thermostat (this time with the subframe installed) to gain access to the hard oil drain for some adjustments.
It took about an hour of tinkering with the wastegates, dump tubes, and v-band clamps to get them in the correct orientation where the hard oil drain line could snake past the manifold and wastegate to perfectly mate up with the oil drain up of the compressor housing; now sitting directly at the 6 o'clock position for easy draining. Once this was adjusted correctly, everything suddenly fit much better, so I went ahead and re-installed the large orange o-ring for the turbo and fitted the polished compressor housing, silicone coupler, charge pipe feeding down to the inlet of the FMIC, and tightened the v-band clamps once they were oriented properly.
On the bench, I realized that with the BMS shorty filter, there was going to be some interference with the compressor cover port that the MAC solenoid would be connected to. With a straight NTP to AN connection, there wasn't enough clearance, with a 90 degree NTP to AN, there wasn't enough clearance to thread the fitting in, so a 45 degree fitting installed at the right angle was needed to make everything fit to my liking.
From there, the hard SS lines of the ACF kit could be connected while still allowing the BMS shorty filter to fully seat. I also went ahead and tightened down all the AN fittings and mounted the MAC solenoid. The SS lines are ultimately what pushed me towards this kit. With all the other heat protection in place, I have zero worries these will ever give me any issues.
Once the turbo was completely fitted with charge piping in place, I moved on to the huge downpipe. While it didn't look like there was nearly enough room, it snaked right into place. I added a nice layer of silicone as suggested by Payam and tightened everything down. I did have to bend the DOCRace heat shield slightly, but other wise it all fit together nicely. I even took further precautions for heat protection because of the close proximity of the downpipe to the AC lines--moving it up slightly, wrapping everything in DEI sleeving, and cutting off & reusing the OEM outlet heat shielding as another barrier.
At this point, there were a lot of loose ends to button up, but things were coming together. I relocated the coolant tank with ease using the bracket, brass fittings, and heater hose supplied by ACF, but unfortunately the active steering reservoir is slightly larger with different angled hoses, so that, coupled with my charge pipe + BOV combination would not allow proper fitment. So I extended the lines using appropriate sized power steering hose, barbed fittings and clamps, welded the bracket to the factory strut bar, and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
The factory strut bars would be combined with the OEM BMW Performance aluminum strut bar. And I went ahead and picked up a used, thicker front Eibach front sway bar.
I didn't take many pictures of some of these steps under the car here because it was mostly reassembly of everything, but here are some stream of thought notes regarding the steps between getting the turbo and downpipe mounted & addressing software in the next picture:
- Fitting the active steering rack back in and getting all the electrical harnesses connected by myself was no fun. Neither was getting all the suspension components torqued back down.
- The OEM mid-pipe mated up perfectly with the ACF downpipe.
- I went as far as to installing all the plastic panels underneath except the main one under the engine (so I could check for leaks upon first start), before moving on to installing the Phoenix Race FMIC.
- I also didn't take many pictures of this step, because I was beginning to get frustrated with the amount of plastic that had to be cut away. I ended up using an angle grinder, cutting wheel, tin snips, and reciprocating saw in very tight spaces and in very close proximity to the radiator & AC condenser to get the job done, and had to test fit everything over a dozen times to get things fitted properly, but finally got this monstrosity mounted.
- It's huge, heavy, and has been proven to keep IAT's very much in check. For those worried about weight, I had the whole thing hanging by just the silicone couplers and tightened t-bolt clamps before fitting the two screws, and there was no way it was going anywhere.
- I triple checked tightness proper fitment on all the t-bolt clamps holding on silicone couplers. The last thing I want is to get into boost for the first time and blow off an IC pipe.
- I installed fresh NGK plugs at .022 gap, new Delphi coils, and switched from the RB external PCV with Mishimoto OCC to an RB PCV and cap for simplicity sake. Plus I have the proper tools and know-how to do walnut blasts whenever I need now.
- I connected the OEM flapper valve to the BMS high side OCC, and then connected about 6 feet of heater hose to the outlet, and routed it underneath the car next to the fuel lines, which should help push these fumes far behind the car with the exhaust.
- I added coolant (about a gallon), bled the system, topped off, bled the system again just to be safe, and topped off again.
- I finished adding fluids: fresh Motul engine oil, power steering fluid, and windshield wiper fluid.
- With a battery charger connected, I uploaded the ST JB4 firmware, and made the proper adjustments for my particular setup.
- Now that the firmware was done, it was time to move on to the BMS ST E85 Twin Scroll BEF. I activated the cold start hoise reduction, "sport" coolant target, ADV o2 sensors installed, and a 950RPM idle to help reduce the noise of the SMFW.
Now was the moment I'd been waiting for. I disconnected the electrical connections of the injectors, primed the car and looked for leaks. Nothing. I then reconnected the electrical connections, got back in the car and fired it up. It immediately started and began idling normally. I hopped out of the car, and inspected for leaks up top as well as underneath. For the next half hour I left the car idling, looking for things out of the ordinary. Besides the minuscule amount of noise from the SMFW, everything seemed to be set up correctly. I let everything cool back down completely, added a bit more coolant to top off the system, and repeated the entire start + fully get up to temperature and check for leaks routine. Once I made sure no liquids or exhaust gasses were escaping, I noticed that, as expected, all the heat wrap had to burn off a layer of something, resulting in some smoke. Once that stopped, I cut the ignition off again, reattached the undercarriage plastic shielding, and installed the remaining engine bay components for a stunning final result.
Once EVERYTHING was back on the car, I gave it all another once over, and prepared for a first drive. At this point, my fiance had become quite tired of all the time I'd been spending across town working on this car over the past month and had expected me home hours ago, so basic functionality was all I'd be looking for. Plus I needed to break in the clutch for the next 500 or so miles. A few thoughts I had along my drive home:
The clutch and flywheel combination is silky. Rev matching and downshifting is much snappier, and easier IMO. The Spec 2+ feels pretty much indistinguishable from what the factory clutch felt like. Engagement is easy and predictable, although that may be a testament to my other transmission/shifter modifications. With a 950RPM idle, chatter is basically non existent. A small bit of NVH at low RPMS, like when not quite coming to a stop, and speeding up again, all while in second gear. Would more than likely be non-noticeable to an average passenger. If this combination can hold the power and last for a decent amount of time, I'll be very happy. I think I made the right decision with the steel MFactory SMFW and Spec Stage 2+ clutch.
The exhaust volume hasn't changed much out of boost, even with the much larger downpipe, but start dipping into boost at all, and prepare yourself for a real treat. The sound in comparison to the twin turbos is night and day, and it's not even close as to which I prefer. I can't wait for the first WOT pull to hear everything working in symphony. Normal city driving and highway driving result in a drone-free, very moderate tone. Downshift, and prepare for jaws to drop.
I never took the car above 5,000 or so RPM once it was up to temperature as I just rolled very easily into boost a few times in 3rd gear to make sure the boost wasn't unchecked. Despite installing the 11.6psi, wastegate spring pressure in map 1 would hit around 16psi and stick rock solid, which I've heard is somewhat normal when using Tial wastegates on our application. I'll wait on logs and some more drive time to make any comments on spool time, but let's just say I don't think this BB 6062 spools much slower than my stock twins with the wastegate rattle fix maximized, if it all.
Wastegate rattle is gone obviously, but more importantly, no smoke as I approach a stop. Two huge reasons why I wanted to make this upgrades in the first place.
I'll be back soon when I have a chance to put the car through its initial map 1 logging paces and work out some kinks with some more pictures/video. It was way too windy outside, the weather is still near freezing, and the sounds of a ST N54 car makes need to be captured properly so others can appreciate.
