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Thanks for the compliment, it has been a fun Swap so far.Originally Posted by philly98540
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Update:
Searched high and low for someone who has done the ground work on the piping for the intercooler. Fact is, I know of only 1 build but unfortunately can not get any additional information.
Plan B... I just bought a TIG. I have some basic welding experience but I know TIG is a whole different animal when it comes to technique. I'll be sourcing some scrap piping to practice on. The Stage 2 piping and intercooler run about 2K from AA. I was able to buy a TIG, Tungsten, Aluminum media, Miter blade, piping, clamps, hose, Intercooler and miscellaneous tools for under 1200. I need Argon/Bottle and should be ready for "Schooling". I have a 9K lift which will make things a lot less painful on the ol back. When laying up the piping there's a lot of up and down to achieve angles and access in general.
Next steps install Supercharger and start fabrication.
Some really great Videos on youtube regarding introduction to TIG welding Pipe Fabrication in general.
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UPDATE:
AA SuperCharger will be here This coming Friday (Nov 16, 2018).
56341977984__21CF65E2-BAEC-41D9-BE54-973BC6B368AF.jpgI have all the piping and have begun to learn the art of TIG welding. I love it, I am not good at it yet, but I have confidence I will be able to produce an air tight Intercooler system.
Sometime you just have to go for it and see where you end up. I have 1400.00 in to the Piping, Clamps, boots, Intercooler and new Eastwood TIG Welder/Gas. This is much less than buying a kit and regardless I have not found one for the E39. So "roll up" the sleeves and get to work right?
IMG_1296.jpgRemoved the Bumper and the Auxiliary fan this morning to get an Idea of the battlefield. I strapped the Intercooler in place to see what modifications would be needed for the bumper/cover.
IMG_1295.jpgTo my Surprise, not much needed in the way of modifications. Well, maybe one... The Auxiliary fan will not be going back in! I'll be TIG'n up some aluminum stock to mount off the AUX Fan Studs.
IMG_1301.jpgLooks like it belongs in there.
So far it has been a rewarding project. Once I have the SuperCharger install I will post my progress with the fabrication of the piping.
MN
Last edited by mnewman; 11-10-2018 at 11:37 AM.
Sim Simma
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No aux fan?
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Correct, the Aux Fan will not be retained. I live @2800ft and commute to San Diego daily. I drove the car with a inoperative aux fan for the first year. it was 115 a couple times this year, no cooling issues. For the most part the Auxiliary fan is used to cool the AC condenser and the AC will blow hot AT Idle when the fan is not working. I am contemplating the purchase of the Zionsville cooling system upgrade though. We shall see.
http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/s...ii-1999-03-i6/
Last edited by mnewman; 11-10-2018 at 11:55 AM.
Sim Simma
Moderator
Are you just going to be relying on the fan clutch then?
Without the aux fan working my car usually stayed in TDC on the temp gauge but over 100C. The temp gauge is very buffered. Perhaps retrofitting an electric puller fan would be a safer option? The fan clutches arent known to be super reliable and F/I will only further shorten the life of the fan clutch setup
Going into my TENTH YEAR of providing high quality reproduction BMW fabrics!
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Offering the best prices on the best quality reproduction fabrics!
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I have been thinking about purchasing http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/s...ii-1999-03-i6/ Not sure yet, I do respect your concerns though.
Sim Simma
Moderator
If you are comitted to removing the aux fan, you should also commit to that Zionsville kit imo! Especially when you are generating more heat with F/I... You may be just on the edge of "ok" temps now with the N/A engine, youd be on borrowed time running just a fan clutch with the supercharger....
Whatever you do, Im excited to see it running with the s/c
Going into my TENTH YEAR of providing high quality reproduction BMW fabrics!
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Offering the best prices on the best quality reproduction fabrics!
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Thanks for the Nudge in the cooling system, I think I'll buy it haha.
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Update: Zionsville 2-stage 14 inch puller fan, manifold, and Expansion+ Shroud on the way. I was able to Fab up the Mounting for the Intercooler tonight. I will need to notch the bumper slightly in order to not chaff the intercooler. Supercharger arrives Friday, just in time to Fab up the piping over the weekend. Like a kid on Christmas Morning
IMG_1306.jpgGood news... Hood Shuts!
IMG_1302.jpg3/16th Weld and strapped to the stock Aux mounting points.
IMG_1304.jpg
IMG_1303.jpg
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Update 11-15-2018:
Got the front bumper modified, had to clear about 1/4 inch of aluminum material to clear intercooler and mount bumper without chaffing.
IMG_1307.jpgStarted on the Hot air piping. My plan is to run the furthest length HOT to help with heat loss transfer before entering the intercooler.
IMG_1308.jpgGetting more confident with TIG welding. Not the purdiest out there but, not sending this to NASA either.
IMG_1310.jpgHot Side piping mocked up. Plan is to come off SC and turn down through the Airbox area and tie in to hot side.
Supercharger arrives today and I have the weekend to make some progress. Stay tuned!
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Wow, nice work. Having owned a ZHP 330i and several E39 530i's I can say the ZHP motor definitely comes alive really strong in the higher RPM's but lacks the torque down low. I preferred the torque of the 530i considering the traffic around here, since there wasn't much room to open it up for the top end in daily driving. Supercharger should help that though!
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Thanks RBelton!, I couldn't really feel a difference from the stock M54b30 but I think that has something to do with the DME as they are completely different.
UPDATE: Supercharger is installed and the car is running!
The good news:
Car is running and for the most part it was a smooth process to install. The directions are lacking sufficient vocabulary in some areas and the pictures, well they are from 2008. Also, I am not good at following directions either so I have that going for me. Overall I give the install instructions a 3.75 out of 5. I will say phone support is/was awesome so far, Andrew, Craig and Nic have been great over at AA. That is more important to me than instructions.
The Not so good:
For now I'll need to engineer the intermediate piping and Fab up the Purge Valve to accommodate the clearance are where the pressure side makes a 90 deg to the intermediate pipe. Basically, there's no room for me to tie in to the hot side of the intercooler and pipe the cold side to the intermediate piping. A small road block.
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Cool !
Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …
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I decided to go for the Intercool piping Fab yesterday. I was able to get it done in about 4 hours and happy to report I was incorrect about the spacing in the engine bay. Using silicon 90 turns it is very possible with minor clearance issues. For the hot side pipe I came off the Supercharger with a 90 deg and shot it straight down along the side of the radiator and between the heater hoses. Once this was done it it was easy to tie in to the horizontal pipe that extend to the passenger side intercooler port. For the cold side, I was able to s-turn the piping up and behind the bumper cover and through the original Air-box port on the fender-well. From there it was a tasked to use a couple 90's and get a straight shot to the intake intermediate pipe.
DME is still learning, 40 mile shakedown this morning resulting in no codes or issues to report. Hot side temperature using laser temp gun suggests 130 degrees. The cold side, in the engine bay suggests 75-78 degrees. Next on the list is Dyno and final tuning session with AA.
Enjoy:
Last edited by mnewman; 11-25-2018 at 11:54 AM.
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