N55 Turbo Side Intake Progress

[JPuehl]

So on my last post I told you guys that my pcv valve took a shit, so I was venting it to atmosphere with the Ross racing kit. Well I installed this today in order to get some sort of vacuum back in the car at least during boost and wow it made a big difference how the car pulls! Not sure if it’s from the larger diameter inlet pipe or having vacuum again instead of fully venting but definitely made a big difference! The inlet is the shuenk inlet, I had the black wrinkle paint stripped off in order for clean welding and had my shop weld an Amazon 90 degree 1 inch pipe on it

You should think about having the inlet ceramic coated and block out some of the heat. I'm thinking about doing that to both my inlet and outlet since they're both bare AL. On the PS2 setup I had exhaust wrap which looked good when new but after time it started looking ragged, but still worked OK.

 

[CalvinNismo]

So I attempted to install the Midnight inlet today, obviously should be a 5-10 minute job, especially with how much access I have.

I had even taken some ‘you, versus the guy she told you not to worry about’ comparison images which, of course, are hilarious.

First thing that you’ll notice gets in the way is the oil feed line.

So persuade that onto a different route, fine, not ideal, but fine.

Then it clashes with the chain tensioner pretty badly if you want it in the standard position.

I have since filed and hammered some clearance into the inlet to get it somewhere close to the standard location. I will have to get the inside welded and ground back because I have had to file through all the weld on the outside and then some more.

The tab/bracket to the head also didn’t have enough clearance.

I will tidy this all up and get it to work, I’m just a bit pissed that the inlet just doesn’t fit right. I had already put a few hours in with a die grinder to clean the weld on the inside, and then a couple more gold taping it, and now I need to undo the taping to tidy up the clearance I needed to make. I guess the other option I could have done would be to cut off the bracket that holds it to the head and remake that, which I am going to have to do anyway, but then the fit to the standard clean air pipe would be even worse! If I was happy with it clocked over like that, I could’ve just lopped the bracket off and had that re-welded on.

Here are some images with the factory clean air pipe after my clearancing, it is bolted to the valve cover. You can see how off centre the bracket/tab bolt hole is.

Here is the same setup with the Pure inlet. It fits better to the clean air pipe, but isn’t fully seated into the turbo. The bracket that holds it to the head also doesn’t fit that well, but it aligns okay I guess.

I’m curious to know how other people’s fit! I will drop Midnight an email and let them know.

The Midnight inlet does clear an FTP turbo outlet, so that’s good at least. Am I expecting too much? Seems to me like there’s not a ‘perfect’ inlet on the market just yet.

 

[wheela]

Thanks for sharing, that's a bummer it's not a drop-in fit, it certainly isn't advertised as needing modification to work. I guess that's a good heads-up of what I should expect to encounter when adapting this inlet to my setup. I'll follow up with how it goes when I get to that point

Do you mind sharing what gold heat tape that is, and where you source it from?

 

[mwpa71]

So I attempted to install the Midnight inlet today, obviously should be a 5-10 minute job, especially with how much access I have.

I had even taken some ‘you, versus the guy she told you not to worry about’ comparison images which, of course, are hilarious.

View attachment 91473
View attachment 91474
View attachment 91475

First thing that you’ll notice gets in the way is the oil feed line.
View attachment 91477

View attachment 91478

So persuade that onto a different route, fine, not ideal, but fine.

Then it clashes with the chain tensioner pretty badly if you want it in the standard position.

View attachment 91479
View attachment 91480

I have since filed and hammered some clearance into the inlet to get it somewhere close to the standard location. I will have to get the inside welded and ground back because I have had to file through all the weld on the outside and then some more.

View attachment 91481
View attachment 91482
View attachment 91483
View attachment 91484

The tab/bracket to the head also didn’t have enough clearance.
View attachment 91485

I will tidy this all up and get it to work, I’m just a bit pissed that the inlet just doesn’t fit right. I had already put a few hours in with a die grinder to clean the weld on the inside, and then a couple more gold taping it, and now I need to undo the taping to tidy up the clearance I needed to make. I guess the other option I could have done would be to cut off the bracket that holds it to the head and remake that, which I am going to have to do anyway, but then the fit to the standard clean air pipe would be even worse! If I was happy with it clocked over like that, I could’ve just lopped the bracket off and had that re-welded on.

Here are some images with the factory clean air pipe after my clearancing, it is bolted to the valve cover. You can see how off centre the bracket/tab bolt hole is.

View attachment 91486
View attachment 91488

Here is the same setup with the Pure inlet. It fits better to the clean air pipe, but isn’t fully seated into the turbo. The bracket that holds it to the head also doesn’t fit that well, but it aligns okay I guess.

View attachment 91489
View attachment 91490

I’m curious to know how other people’s fit! I will drop Midnight an email and let them know.

The Midnight inlet does clear an FTP turbo outlet, so that’s good at least. Am I expecting too much? Seems to me like there’s not a ‘perfect’ inlet on the market just yet.

Thanks for info.good write up...definitely worth contacting midnight.. I am one of a few that is watching how this plays out.

 

[CalvinNismo]

I’ve dropped an email to Kyle at Midnight, I’ll see what he comes back with and report back.

Do you mind sharing what gold heat tape that is, and where you source it from?

It’s from Funk, on the Pure inlet I used DEI, in my experience the Funk is thicker than DEI and the glue seems stronger on the Funk too, but I’ll see how it does after a few heat cycles.

Funk Motorsport: Reflective Gold Heat Tape for induction kits & bulkheads

Gold Heat Tape is used to protect Induction kits, fuel tanks and engine bays! Used by motorsport professionals in race, rally and drift cars worldwide

funkmotorsport.com

 

[houtan]

I don’t have any super useful to add like the current discussion going on. But thought I’d share some pictures of the Nelson hotside snorkel installed.

The part looks good. It’s a little fiddly to install since there are nuts you have to put on the backside of the screws and the space is tight. The pictures on their site have the part installed without the factory scoops, but decided to install them and they seem to work fine together.

My assumption was the rubber seal would seal to the hood but it doesn’t. I sprayed the seal with water and closed my hood and the underside of the hood was dry. Still, I believe it does its job of directing air to the filter.

 

[JPuehl]

CalvinNismo, I had a similar clearance issue with an early VRSF AL inlet an ended up bending the support tab slightly and put about 2 washers between the tab and mounting surface and was able to mount the inlet without grinding or pounding on it and was still able to attach the (restrictive) OEM plastic pipe leading to the intake.

 

[CalvinNismo]

Thanks @JPuehl, one of my fabricator mates has sorted out my mess making and it doesn’t look too bad now.

It’s actually pretty smooth to the touch, smoother than it looks in the photos, but it’s now fully welded on the inside so it can be airtight again.

I made the tab into a shape that is a pretty good fit with some wood and my fingers.

@houtan that snorkel looks wicked sick.

 

[Richm240xi]

So I attempted to install the Midnight inlet today, obviously should be a 5-10 minute job, especially with how much access I have.

I had even taken some ‘you, versus the guy she told you not to worry about’ comparison images which, of course, are hilarious.

View attachment 91473
View attachment 91474
View attachment 91475

First thing that you’ll notice gets in the way is the oil feed line.
View attachment 91477

View attachment 91478

So persuade that onto a different route, fine, not ideal, but fine.

Then it clashes with the chain tensioner pretty badly if you want it in the standard position.

View attachment 91479
View attachment 91480

I have since filed and hammered some clearance into the inlet to get it somewhere close to the standard location. I will have to get the inside welded and ground back because I have had to file through all the weld on the outside and then some more.

View attachment 91481
View attachment 91482
View attachment 91483
View attachment 91484

The tab/bracket to the head also didn’t have enough clearance.
View attachment 91485

I will tidy this all up and get it to work, I’m just a bit pissed that the inlet just doesn’t fit right. I had already put a few hours in with a die grinder to clean the weld on the inside, and then a couple more gold taping it, and now I need to undo the taping to tidy up the clearance I needed to make. I guess the other option I could have done would be to cut off the bracket that holds it to the head and remake that, which I am going to have to do anyway, but then the fit to the standard clean air pipe would be even worse! If I was happy with it clocked over like that, I could’ve just lopped the bracket off and had that re-welded on.

Here are some images with the factory clean air pipe after my clearancing, it is bolted to the valve cover. You can see how off centre the bracket/tab bolt hole is.

View attachment 91486
View attachment 91488

Here is the same setup with the Pure inlet. It fits better to the clean air pipe, but isn’t fully seated into the turbo. The bracket that holds it to the head also doesn’t fit that well, but it aligns okay I guess.

View attachment 91489
View attachment 91490

I’m curious to know how other people’s fit! I will drop Midnight an email and let them know.

The Midnight inlet does clear an FTP turbo outlet, so that’s good at least. Am I expecting too much? Seems to me like there’s not a ‘perfect’ inlet on the market just yet.

Hey Calvin that’s crazy you had to deal with that, mine that I recently bought and installed went on perfectly without any issues. I wonder if you just got a bad fitting one? I also wanted to point out, idk if it makes any difference but I am still on the stock turbo. Do you think the VTT turbo you have maybe sits slightly different even if by a few mms on the engine? I could see that being the cause for the inlet not sitting right. And last question, I see that you have a turbo smart wastegate actuator, you probably mentioned it before so sorry if I didn’t see, but how did you get that to work?

 

[mwpa71]

what's is the od dimension? Thanks

 

[JPuehl]

I don’t have any super useful to add like the current discussion going on. But thought I’d share some pictures of the Nelson hotside snorkel installed.

The part looks good. It’s a little fiddly to install since there are nuts you haven’t put on the backside of the screws and the space is tight. The pictures on their site have the part installed without the factory scoops, but decided to install them and the seem to work fine together. My assumption was the rubber seal would seal to the hood but it doesn’t. I sprayed the seal with water and closed my hood and the underside of the hood was dry. Still, I believe it does its job of directing air to the filter.

View attachment 91532

View attachment 91533

Why is your engine bay so clean? lol

 

[wheela]

Why is your engine bay so clean? lol

Or maybe HOW???

 

[houtan]

Why is your engine bay so clean? lol

Or maybe HOW???

Haha. It’s probably because my car spends more time on jack stands than driving on the road lol. Living in SoCal helps.

 

[CalvinNismo]

Hey Calvin that’s crazy you had to deal with that, mine that I recently bought and installed went on perfectly without any issues. I wonder if you just got a bad fitting one? I also wanted to point out, idk if it makes any difference but I am still on the stock turbo. Do you think the VTT turbo you have maybe sits slightly different even if by a few mms on the engine? I could see that being the cause for the inlet not sitting right.

I think that’s a valid point, the VTT turbo could be in a slightly different place. Though the VTT GC and other cast replacements are advertised as a ‘drop in’ fit, it wouldn’t be that surprising if they weren’t millimetre perfect replicas of the OE turbo. I did have to move the lower turbo support bracket on the block (the one on the turbine housing) a bit when installing my GC which I didn’t think was a biggie (the bracket is slotted). I will try the standard BMW inlet on the weekend to see how that fits and report back. Glad yours dropped straight in though! Could definitely be something to do with my setup.

And last question, I see that you have a turbo smart wastegate actuator, you probably mentioned it before so sorry if I didn’t see, but how did you get that to work?

After measuring the actuator that came with my turbo I bought the Mini specific Turbosmart actuator as that is what matched the closest dimensionally. The threaded length could be a little shorter, but otherwise it’s just a drop in fit. I believe @9krpmrx8 runs a Turbosmart vacuum actuator too.

Actuators Archives

Enhance your turbocharger's performance with a Turbosmart internal wastegate actuator. Universal and vehicle-specific wastegate actuator options available.

www.turbosmart.com

View attachment 91555what's is the od dimension? Thanks

It’s 81.25mm and the internal dimension is a hair under 3” at 76mm.

 

[Richm240xi]

I think that’s a valid point, the VTT turbo could be in a slightly different place. Though the VTT GC and other cast replacements are advertised as a ‘drop in’ fit, it wouldn’t be that surprising if they weren’t millimetre perfect replicas of the OE turbo. I did have to move the lower turbo support bracket on the block (the one on the turbine housing) a bit when installing my GC which I didn’t think was a biggie (the bracket is slotted). I will try the standard BMW inlet on the weekend to see how that fits and report back. Glad yours dropped straight in though! Could definitely be something to do with my setup.



After measuring the actuator that came with my turbo I bought the Mini specific Turbosmart actuator as that is what matched the closest dimensionally. The threaded length could be a little shorter, but otherwise it’s just a drop in fit. I believe @9krpmrx8 runs a Turbosmart vacuum actuator too.

Actuators Archives

Enhance your turbocharger's performance with a Turbosmart internal wastegate actuator. Universal and vehicle-specific wastegate actuator options available.

www.turbosmart.com

It’s 81.25mm and the internal dimension is a hair under 3” at 76mm.
View attachment 91588
View attachment 91589

Thank you for the link! Did you have to do any changes to your tune when switching to this one? Or just set it at the 6 inches of vacuum like the stock and forget it? Would be curious to see if I see any improvements over the stock one

 

[CalvinNismo]

Thank you for the link! Did you have to do any changes to your tune when switching to this one? Or just set it at the 6 inches of vacuum like the stock and forget it? Would be curious to see if I see any improvements over the stock one

I haven’t actually started the car yet! I won’t do for some time either because there’s a lot to do before it can be running again! I did just set it to 6inHg like the factory one. Sorry I can’t provide more information yet!

 

[mwpa71]

Awsome thanks fir that

I think that’s a valid point, the VTT turbo could be in a slightly different place. Though the VTT GC and other cast replacements are advertised as a ‘drop in’ fit, it wouldn’t be that surprising if they weren’t millimetre perfect replicas of the OE turbo. I did have to move the lower turbo support bracket on the block (the one on the turbine housing) a bit when installing my GC which I didn’t think was a biggie (the bracket is slotted). I will try the standard BMW inlet on the weekend to see how that fits and report back. Glad yours dropped straight in though! Could definitely be something to do with my setup.



After measuring the actuator that came with my turbo I bought the Mini specific Turbosmart actuator as that is what matched the closest dimensionally. The threaded length could be a little shorter, but otherwise it’s just a drop in fit. I believe @9krpmrx8 runs a Turbosmart vacuum actuator too.

Actuators Archives

Enhance your turbocharger's performance with a Turbosmart internal wastegate actuator. Universal and vehicle-specific wastegate actuator options available.

www.turbosmart.com

It’s 81.25mm and the internal dimension is a hair under 3” at 76mm.
View attachment 91588
View attachment 91589

Thanks mate..so 76mm ps2 inlet and 81.25mm for MM.. by my math has approx 14% more area..

 

[CalvinNismo]

I test fitted the standard inlet and it fit pretty much perfectly. I know this doesn’t confirm the VTT GC is in exactly the same place as the OE turbo, but to me it does show the fitting issues of the other inlets I’ve bought. Midnight was purchased from Midnight, Pure bought from Pure Europe (Peter), so not ‘fake’/copies.

After a week of faffery, the inlet is modified and gold taped again.

And now it is fitted.

It clashes slightly with the FTP outlet so it can only be rotated a fraction, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.

The inner bore of the Midnight inlet matches the VTT GC pretty much perfectly. So will be smaller than the GC+ or Pure 750.

And the X5 thermostat fitting fits perfectly with the outlet and rubber hose for those interested in that.

 

[wheela]

I test fitted the standard inlet and it fit pretty much perfectly. I know this doesn’t confirm the VTT GC is in exactly the same place as the OE turbo, but to me it does show the fitting issues of the other inlets I’ve bought. Midnight was purchased from Midnight, Pure bought from Pure Europe (Peter), so not ‘fake’/copies.

View attachment 91708
View attachment 91709

After a week of faffery, the inlet is modified and gold taped again.
View attachment 91710
View attachment 91711

And now it is fitted.
View attachment 91713

It clashes slightly with the FTP outlet so it can only be rotated a fraction, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.
View attachment 91714

The inner bore of the Midnight inlet matches the VTT GC pretty much perfectly. So will be smaller than the GC+ or Pure 750.
View attachment 91715

And the X5 thermostat fitting fits perfectly with the outlet and rubber hose for those interested in that.
View attachment 91712

Thanks for sharing this information and great pics!

 

[mwpa71]

So on my last post I told you guys that my pcv valve took a shit, so I was venting it to atmosphere with the Ross racing kit. Well I installed this today in order to get some sort of vacuum back in the car at least during boost and wow it made a big difference how the car pulls! Not sure if it’s from the larger diameter inlet pipe or having vacuum again instead of fully venting but definitely made a big difference! The inlet is the shuenk inlet, I had the black wrinkle paint stripped off in order for clean welding and had my shop weld an Amazon 90 degree 1 inch pipe on it

Does the pcv hose need to be connected to intake in order to operate correctly??