ESS 625 install advice?

[801M3]

I recently pulled the trigger on a used 625 kit and I am going to tackle the install this weekend.
I am trying to reduce the learning curve by being as prepared as possible. I know there are several members that have installed their own kits but there isn't really a good write up. I will have ESS instructions of course. But i thought i'd ask if anyone has any advice, tips, tricks or anything to make this process as easy as possible and remove some of the frustration.

I appreciate any knowledge or advice anyone has to offer..

Can't wait to have this thing going with the 625!

[MilehighM3]

Follow the instructions, and read them through a couple times before starting. That way the process will be more familiar as you go and the "stop to see what's next" breaks will be greatly reduced. The instructions leave a bit to be desired, but if you have any experience with this engine or type of thing, it shouldn't be a problem.

I would go ahead pull the cowling, strut braces, plenum, auxiliary fan, bumper, the splash shields under the engine and the front half of the fender liners to start. You'll need to do this anyway, but the instructions don't have the disassembly all at once. At least not that I recall. It's been a while since I read through them. Overall the kit isn't bad to install at all.

[801M3]

@milehighm3 Thank you! I do need to read through them again. At this point it's all the hoses and routing that im mildly concerned about but im sure it all comes together and makes sense.

Did you run a smaller pulley at your altitude? Did you experience some pressure drop? Ive been told by other locals here that i'll run approx 2 psi lower than at sea level.

Thanks again.

[MilehighM3]

Pretty much every supercharger kit at altitude will suffer a boost pressure loss due to the lower atmospheric pressure. If you want to run the 6-6.5psi that the kit is designed to run, you will likely need a pulley 7-8mm lower than what's provided. I'm not sure what your altitude is, but we are at 6,000' and 8mm is about right, maybe just a tad less than desired. Boost pressure will also be dependent of the exhaust back pressure, so keep that in mind as well. A catless car will make a little less boost, but more power as a result of better flow.

[Markao66]

Originally Posted by MilehighM3

Pretty much every supercharger kit at altitude will suffer a boost pressure loss due to the lower atmospheric pressure. If you want to run the 6-6.5psi that the kit is designed to run, you will likely need a pulley 7-8mm lower than what's provided. I'm not sure what your altitude is, but we are at 6,000' and 8mm is about right, maybe just a tad less than desired. Boost pressure will also be dependent of the exhaust back pressure, so keep that in mind as well. A catless car will make a little less boost, but more power as a result of better flow.

thats very interesting as you mentioned that a catless car will make less boost, i run a essvt2 625 and i was wondering why i could never reach the 7psi mark, and now it makes sence. at redline i see 6,6.5psi depending on the weather here in south Florida.

as far as instruction, all i can remember when we did mine is, bolt the oil catch can before you actually mount the manifold, i had to go back a few hours to reinstall that. : /

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by Markao66

thats very interesting as you mentioned that a catless car will make less boost, i run a essvt2 625 and i was wondering why i could never reach the 7psi mark, and now it makes sence. at redline i see 6,6.5psi depending on the weather here in south Florida.

as far as instruction, all i can remember when we did mine is, bolt the oil catch can before you actually mount the manifold, i had to go back a few hours to reinstall that. : /

Good tip!

[JEllis]

I installed my VT2 kit. Hardest and most confusting part is the correct routing of the hoses. I have many pics and feel free to PM me when you have questions. ESS is also very good about answering their phone and providing real time guidance. Everything else was per the ESS provided instructions, which are very good.

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by Markao66

as far as instruction, all i can remember when we did mine is, bolt the oil catch can before you actually mount the manifold, i had to go back a few hours to reinstall that. : /

Oil catch can? I would have loved for ESS to provide one. Do you have a catch can or are you referring to the coolant expansion tank for the air to liquid heat exchanger that is bolted to the manifold?

[MilehighM3]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Oil catch can? I would have loved for ESS to provide one. Do you have a catch can or are you referring to the coolant expansion tank for the air to liquid heat exchanger that is bolted to the manifold?

That's all I could think of too. There's definitely no oil catch can in the kit.

[W Cole]

I'm almost done installing mine right now and have a question about the supercharger fitment. I was able to get it bolted up but it seems to be rubbing the engine bay. Also, the plastic intake piece has about a 1/16" gap on the top of one side where it clamps to the supercharger because it is touching the engine bay and/or the coolant line that sits below the supercharger (the one you relocate). I've tried the following:

- pulled the supercharger out and made sure that coolant hose was as low as possible and also turned the hose clamp around so it was more out of the way.
- when installing the supercharger onto the car I left it loose in its bracket so I could move it into as optimum position as possible.

I'm all out of ideas. My car has 37k miles. I am wondering if my engine mounts have worn down (they visually look ok) which is causing the engine to sit low. I wonder if people just run their kit this way?

Some things I learned along the way:

- careful removing the radiator fan. The clip is very brittle.
- when you take out the oem injectors the o-rings will stay in the fuel rails. Make sure to remove them before installing the new injectors.
- when you re drill the coolant hose bracket be careful as it's also mounted further back so it won't want to twist very easily.
- when you redrill the coolant hose bracket make sure the hose isn't kinked afterwards (mine was). To fix this loosen the hose clamp and twist so it sits nicely.

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by W Cole

I'm almost done installing mine right now and have a question about the supercharger fitment. I was able to get it bolted up but it seems to be rubbing the engine bay. Also, the plastic intake piece has about a 1/16" gap on the top of one side where it clamps to the supercharger because it is touching the engine bay and/or the coolant line that sits below the supercharger (the one you relocate). I've tried the following:

- pulled the supercharger out and made sure that coolant hose was as low as possible and also turned the hose clamp around so it was more out of the way.
- when installing the supercharger onto the car I left it loose in its bracket so I could move it into as optimum position as possible.

I'm all out of ideas. My car has 37k miles. I am wondering if my engine mounts have worn down (they visually look ok) which is causing the engine to sit low. I wonder if people just run their kit this way?

Some things I learned along the way:

- careful removing the radiator fan. The clip is very brittle.
- when you take out the oem injectors the o-rings will stay in the fuel rails. Make sure to remove them before installing the new injectors.
- when you re drill the coolant hose bracket be careful as it's also mounted further back so it won't want to twist very easily.
- when you redrill the coolant hose bracket make sure the hose isn't kinked afterwards (mine was). To fix this loosen the hose clamp and twist so it sits nicely.

I found that installing the SC with the intake on it was best way to get the proper fitment. Instead of getting the SC in position and then trying to get the intake on, try putting them on as one piece. The fitment is going to be tight! I am pretty sure my intake rubs a little on my engine bay. I need to work on that but I am fairly certain that its "par for the course" after seeing some other installs. Also make sure you are not crushing the wire that goes from the drivers side strut mount down towards the fuel rail. You will probably have to offset it to towards the back of the car. Move it about an inch.

[W Cole]

Originally Posted by JEllis

I found that installing the SC with the intake on it was best way to get the proper fitment. Instead of getting the SC in position and then trying to get the intake on, try putting them on as one piece. The fitment is going to be tight! I am pretty sure my intake rubs a little on my engine bay. I need to work on that but I am fairly certain that its "par for the course" after seeing some other installs. Also make sure you are not crushing the wire that goes from the drivers side strut mount down towards the fuel rail. You will probably have to offset it to towards the back of the car. Move it about an inch.

That makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for the reply. I actually already moved the wire you're talking about.

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by W Cole

That makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for the reply. I actually already moved the wire you're talking about.

Yeah my intake definitely slightly rubs on raised area of body filler on the wheel well. I don't worry too much about it but I do monitor the area for any kind of extreme rubbing.

I needed a buddy to get the SC/intake in the car properly. It was a giant PITA!

[W Cole]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Yeah my intake definitely slightly rubs on raised area of body filler on the wheel well. I don't worry too much about it but I do monitor the area for any kind of extreme rubbing.

I needed a buddy to get the SC/intake in the car properly. It was a giant PITA!

Got the car running and so far so good with the fender clearance but apparently the supercharger is rubbing the hood as evidenced by a small nick in the black paint on the supercharger.

Looking at photos of other people's cars many of them have these same marks so I'm guessing this is pretty common. I'm thinking I may be able to clock the supercharger slightly to fix this? Has anyone tried? Can it be done on the car?

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by W Cole

Got the car running and so far so good with the fender clearance but apparently the supercharger is rubbing the hood as evidenced by a small nick in the black paint on the supercharger.

Looking at photos of other people's cars many of them have these same marks so I'm guessing this is pretty common. I'm thinking I may be able to clock the supercharger slightly to fix this? Has anyone tried? Can it be done on the car?

Yes you should be able to move the SC enough so it does not hit the hood. Its common but its also fixable. Mine doesn't hit the hood.

[imstimpy]

The ESS instructions seem pretty dated (and wrong) compared to what I have in my used kit. I plan to note all differences over the next week.

In the meantime, I have a bumper fitment issue caused by two items:
1- The bumper cover touches the trim of the heat exchanger element. I trimmed two tabs that hold the hex trim, but it isn't perfect; I cannot trim the driver's tab any more or the hex trim will no longer be secured. The driver's side of the exchanger cannot go inward any further because the drain cock will contact the oil cooler. My exchanger is centered currently, but maybe shifting towards the passenger side slightly will help?
2- My brake duct was trimmed to let the air filter pass through the top and bottom. The instructions show trimming only the top of the brake duct. The brake duct is distorting from the pressure of the air filter and preventing the bumper cover from slipping around the brake duct. Additionally, it is applying pressure against the fender liner.

Is there a trick I'm missing to locate the heat exchanger in a way that does not hit the bumper cover?

Any suggestions of the best way to get the intake nestled into the brake duct area while allowing the brake duct to fit properly into the bumper cover and the fender liner to tuck in nicely?

Thanks!

[Beedub]

Harrop FTMFW.... some of these fitment issues are unacceptable imo.

[s85e90]

Originally Posted by Beedub

Harrop FTMFW.... some of these fitment issues are unacceptable imo.

Some or all? For the money there should be no issues.

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by imstimpy

The ESS instructions seem pretty dated (and wrong) compared to what I have in my used kit. I plan to note all differences over the next week.

In the meantime, I have a bumper fitment issue caused by two items:
1- The bumper cover touches the trim of the heat exchanger element. I trimmed two tabs that hold the hex trim, but it isn't perfect; I cannot trim the driver's tab any more or the hex trim will no longer be secured. The driver's side of the exchanger cannot go inward any further because the drain cock will contact the oil cooler. My exchanger is centered currently, but maybe shifting towards the passenger side slightly will help?
2- My brake duct was trimmed to let the air filter pass through the top and bottom. The instructions show trimming only the top of the brake duct. The brake duct is distorting from the pressure of the air filter and preventing the bumper cover from slipping around the brake duct. Additionally, it is applying pressure against the fender liner.

Is there a trick I'm missing to locate the heat exchanger in a way that does not hit the bumper cover?

Any suggestions of the best way to get the intake nestled into the brake duct area while allowing the brake duct to fit properly into the bumper cover and the fender liner to tuck in nicely?

Thanks!

1. So this is fairly common and the fix is really working the fitment until its acceptable for you. Adjusting the brackets on the HE will help. I have seen some people flip them around to get a slightly different fitment as well. Look at the brackets and how you have them attached and compare to some online pics. The HE should be super close (1/8 to 1/4 inch) in front of the oil cooler.

2. Okay so this has always been a big problem for me. Its especially painful when you have wide tires in front. Theres a couple fixes though.

First. Trim the brake duct so the filter can sit as close to the bumper as possible. Its hard to describe but the bottom of the brake duct needs to be trimmed as close to where it contacts the bumper as possible. Then make sure the filter is hanging as low as possible.

Second. ESS used to supply a much much smaller filter with their S65 kits. I heard that ESS changed to the much larger filter due to the smaller filter getting too dirty too quickly. I switched my filter for a smaller custom AFE filter and I am going to try what I believe is the original K&N filter soon. I will post up in my build thread when I do.

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by Beedub

Harrop FTMFW.... some of these fitment issues are unacceptable imo.

Originally Posted by s85e90

Some or all? For the money there should be no issues.

The fitment issues are admittedly caused but us DIYers having limited experience installing Super Chargers. The fitment is very tight, just like it is with the Harrop kit.

The Harrop kit uses an entirely different heat exchanger location behind the kidney grills. Mounting and fitment, from what I have seen, is just as tight and positioning is just as important.

What I liked about the Harrop kit when I saw one installed was the fact that the SC type and location allow for use of the OE or OE type intake systems, giving a much cleaner look.

[s85e90]

I was gonna mention a smaller filter. You could even mount it right off the back of the compressor housing like the g power and aa kits.

[imstimpy]

Originally Posted by JEllis

The fitment issues are admittedly caused but us DIYers having limited experience installing Super Chargers. The fitment is very tight, just like it is with the Harrop kit.

The Harrop kit uses an entirely different heat exchanger location behind the kidney grills. Mounting and fitment, from what I have seen, is just as tight and positioning is just as important.

What I liked about the Harrop kit when I saw one installed was the fact that the SC type and location allow for use of the OE or OE type intake systems, giving a much cleaner look.

Frankly, I would be quite surprised if there was a single kit out there that DIDN'T have fitment issues. As JEllis said, the more of these kits you install, the fewer fitment issues you will have. I, for example, fought the heat exchange hoses for hours, where an experienced installer would have just dropped them into the best place.

I'll pull off the bumper cover again here in a few days and see if I can find a touch more space. A slight shift in the heat exchanger might help one of my issues, and a different trim on the brake duct or even a different filter might help my other issue. Since I got this kit used, I have no idea what was from ESS and what was tweaked for a particular installer. Everything was reassembled, so I also had to determine how all the parts were to be reassembled even before installing to the vehicle.