S55 intercooler setup on an E90 N55
- Thread starter 9krpmrx8
- Start date
Thanks. Yeah it works with my er charge pipe. Tons of space actually. Here are a couple of pictures when I was kicking things up.
You can also see I ran the coolant line off the bottom of the tank to the hose coming off the firewall instead of the original location on the passenger side. I capped the passenger side off and used a tee on the drivers side. It’s the same hose as the original location, just on the other side, and everything seems to be working fine. But I have only went for a short 15 min drive. I got that idea from this thread, post 18: https://www.spoolstreet.com/threads/build-thread-dme-controlled-mac-dual-hpfp-radium-fst.6503/
Yeah it can be really short! It’ll be right next to the turbo so more heat maybe? Either way, I want to try it.
You can also see I ran the coolant line off the bottom of the tank to the hose coming off the firewall instead of the original location on the passenger side. I capped the passenger side off and used a tee on the drivers side. It’s the same hose as the original location, just on the other side, and everything seems to be working fine. But I have only went for a short 15 min drive. I got that idea from this thread, post 18: https://www.spoolstreet.com/threads/build-thread-dme-controlled-mac-dual-hpfp-radium-fst.6503/
Yeah it can be really short! It’ll be right next to the turbo so more heat maybe? Either way, I want to try it.
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Thanks so much, and nice work! I hadn’t seen Austin’s thread before, so thanks for sharing.
I was intending to buy an N54 front lower coolant pipe and just use the hot side soft lines that attaches to the lower plastic hard pipe in order to use the routing Turner suggests. However Austin’s/your method is much more elegant and doesn’t require routing 2 pipes in the same direction.
The factory N55 expansion tank branch points backwards towards the bulkhead (as I’m sure you know), whereas the N54 expansion tank branch points forwards (as per Turner instructions). The N55 routing expansion tank branch would be super painful as the hose would have to do a full 180, if not more, to follow that plastic hard pipe.
I have an E88 120d/123d suction hood to get air over to the hot side that I may be able to get to fit with heavy massaging/trimming. I’ll let you know, it’s definitely not drop in though.
P.S. I believe 1M’s use 33 32 6 764 505 for the strut brace, super low profile with a fat head, saves trimming the studs and hitting the cowl.
I was intending to buy an N54 front lower coolant pipe and just use the hot side soft lines that attaches to the lower plastic hard pipe in order to use the routing Turner suggests. However Austin’s/your method is much more elegant and doesn’t require routing 2 pipes in the same direction.
The factory N55 expansion tank branch points backwards towards the bulkhead (as I’m sure you know), whereas the N54 expansion tank branch points forwards (as per Turner instructions). The N55 routing expansion tank branch would be super painful as the hose would have to do a full 180, if not more, to follow that plastic hard pipe.
I have an E88 120d/123d suction hood to get air over to the hot side that I may be able to get to fit with heavy massaging/trimming. I’ll let you know, it’s definitely not drop in though.
P.S. I believe 1M’s use 33 32 6 764 505 for the strut brace, super low profile with a fat head, saves trimming the studs and hitting the cowl.
So what I’m planning to do as far as feeding the hot side intake, I’m gonna take it a small step further and I’m gonna source an auxiliary radiator that’s normally used for coolant on the 335is platform and weld 10an fittings to it and basically relocate the oil cooler since it’s the same base “radiator/oil cooler” used in the passenger fender. With a VTT oil plate and external thermostat. That should have everything bolt up like Oem in the driver’s side fender welll. Then I already deleted my fog lights and have the 335is bumper grills, and what I’m gonna do is use that instead to feed the cold air to the hot side intake. I’m currently doing that now feeding my injen intake since I deleted the stock snorkel with the PR block off plate to clean up the front end. To top the whole thing off my plan as a heat shield is to build or use something similar to the ATM intake setup for the 335D. Only difference is instead of receiving air from the snorkel up top, I’m getting much stronger ram air straight from the front bumper grill which was initially used for the oil cooler. Hoping to have a end result like this ATM intake if you look for a picture of it online
I think that’s a good idea, if you drive in all weather just be cautious of getting crap/rain on the filter with a direct scoop. See this video for what I mean.
If you didn’t want to go external thermostat you could just get a Mosselman -10AN adapter for the standard thermostat.
If you didn’t want to go external thermostat you could just get a Mosselman -10AN adapter for the standard thermostat.
Man I wanted that Turner tank, I just couldn't justify the cost compared to the 335D tank. Does the turner just Tee into the heater hose?
Honestly, I was really confused how the connection at the factory location was going to work. But after reading your post, it makes more sense. The expansion tank connection points backwards. You could get it to work probably with the hose with 90 degree bend, but I think the way I have it is better/easier.
I had no idea what an e88 120d suction hood was. Just googled it. That looks perfect and crossing my fingers it will fit easily.
Also had no idea about the 1m studs. Thanks for that. Crazy, after 10+ years of ownership, I am still learning new things about the 1er.
Very cool! Looking forward to seeing your progress.
It is pricey. I got a sweet deal from friend. You just need the tank (which is still not cheap!) and the rest of the stuff I got separately. The tee is not the turner install method, I just did that myself mimicking @bahn’s thread.
Not really, it has been over 100F here in South Texas for months so I am waiting until it cools down to get more data but I am on a new tune and full E85 now and the car runs great. I did pick up a 335is auxiliary radiator, I am going to plumb it in to the intercooler circuit and use it as a secondary heat exchanger.
Just re-read this thread, what a treasure trove of useful intake/inlet information. This will absolutely influence the intake on my car I'll be using with my turbo upgrade. Thanks again for sharing @9krpmrx8 
@9krpmrx8 Sorry for the basic question, but the coolant circuit for the A2W intercooler it's own independent circuit, correct? If so, what/where is the water reservoir for it? So a 335is auxiliary radiator will be a secondary heat exchanger, what/where is your primary heat exchanger? Any updates on getting the 335is radiator plumbed in?
Yes, it is its own circuit and I am am using the factory S55 reservoir.
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Yeah I had to cut the cowl a tad bit to get it to fit under the cabin filter housing but it is fine other than the fact that I have to remove the cabin filter to check the level. But eventually I'll get the M3 cowl setup when it is not stupid expensive.
I wonder if there would be a way to mount the W2A charge cooler to the cowl/strut bar as opposed to the intake manifold. Would need to be bushing mounted for flex I suppose, reinforced flex hose at the CP/IC interface for engine movement.
What size male thread was on this Vader fitting do you know? I think the available Radium fittings won’t work as they say they are for 19mm port and the port on the valve cover is 25mm.This is the one I got. Again, didn't come in black.
E36 E46 E9X E8X E6X Valve Cover Breather Fitting
NO MODIFICATION NEEDED, this plugs right into the valve cover and uses two o-rings that are provided for perfect tight fitment Flapper Delete Fitting for N54 WILL NOT WORK WITH RALLYROAD FUEL RAIL THAT HAS A RETURN FUEL SYSTEM AS SHOWN IN PIC (NOT THE PURPLE FITTINGS) also known as the...vadersolutions.com
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