Ess supercharger questions

[eatsleepboost]

After searching many threads on here regarding the 550, 595, 625 and 650 kits I have some questions still unanswered.

All of the kits other than the 550 charger us a liquid intercooler however I have not found much information on these.
Is the intercooler the same on all of these kits?
What liquid does this use for cooling and is it self contained system? Also does it have a pump or something that flows the liquid?

I am a mechanic and will be installing the kit. Is there anything I need to know or tips/tricks for install. Also does somebody have a pdf or anything of the provided install instructions?

For those who have seat time with these kits do you have any recommendations on which kit to go with? I am leaning towards the 625 kit at the moment. The price difference is small between the kits and why not have more power.

Car is a 11 e92 comp 6mt. Not a daily driver. 36000 miles. I came from a 500hp evo and this m3 while it has been great has been far short on power that I miss from my evo. This is the main reason I will be supercharging. As far as why I chose ESS is it seems to be the most proven kit and at a decent price point.

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by eatsleepboost

After searching many threads on here regarding the 550, 595, 625 and 650 kits I have some questions still unanswered.

All of the kits other than the 550 charger us a liquid intercooler however I have not found much information on these.
Is the intercooler the same on all of these kits?
What liquid does this use for cooling and is it self contained system? Also does it have a pump or something that flows the liquid?

I am a mechanic and will be installing the kit. Is there anything I need to know or tips/tricks for install. Also does somebody have a pdf or anything of the provided install instructions?

For those who have seat time with these kits do you have any recommendations on which kit to go with? I am leaning towards the 625 kit at the moment. The price difference is small between the kits and why not have more power.

Car is a 11 e92 comp 6mt. Not a daily driver. 36000 miles. I came from a 500hp evo and this m3 while it has been great has been far short on power that I miss from my evo. This is the main reason I will be supercharging. As far as why I chose ESS is it seems to be the most proven kit and at a decent price point.

the intercooler is the same size, with water that is self contained.

as for install tips, there's a recent thread that a few people gave their tips that is very informative. there is an ess install pdf floating around the forum and internet as well as a couple of videos on youtube.

i have an ess 625 but with a tad smaller pulley (and no cats)

[Patrón]

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1448606

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by eatsleepboost

After searching many threads on here regarding the 550, 595, 625 and 650 kits I have some questions still unanswered.

All of the kits other than the 550 charger us a liquid intercooler however I have not found much information on these.
Is the intercooler the same on all of these kits?
What liquid does this use for cooling and is it self contained system? Also does it have a pump or something that flows the liquid?

I am a mechanic and will be installing the kit. Is there anything I need to know or tips/tricks for install. Also does somebody have a pdf or anything of the provided install instructions?

For those who have seat time with these kits do you have any recommendations on which kit to go with? I am leaning towards the 625 kit at the moment. The price difference is small between the kits and why not have more power.

Car is a 11 e92 comp 6mt. Not a daily driver. 36000 miles. I came from a 500hp evo and this m3 while it has been great has been far short on power that I miss from my evo. This is the main reason I will be supercharging. As far as why I chose ESS is it seems to be the most proven kit and at a decent price point.

There are (2) heat exchangers on the VT2 kits: one inside the manifold and the other (external) which is mounted behind the bumper in front of the oil cooler. Going the VT1-550 route and upgrading later will end up costing more in the long run in both labor and parts than just saving for the VT2-625.

VT2 systems use distilled water for cooling, with external pump for flow. Feel free to drop me an email and I can include a copy of the install instructions.

[FazerBoy]

What regular servicing does an ESS VT2 kit require?

Is there a maintenance schedule?

Jack

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by FazerBoy

What regular servicing does an ESS VT2 kit require?

Is there a maintenance schedule?

Jack

Very little maintenance required:

- OEM plugs change at 30K, use OEM plugs
- change supercharger fluid at 2500mi after installation, 7500mi thereafter
- follow standard intervals for belts/injector cleaning/O2s

[FazerBoy]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Very little maintenance required:

- OEM plugs change at 30K, use OEM plugs
- change supercharger fluid at 2500mi after installation, 7500mi thereafter
- follow standard intervals for belts/injector cleaning/O2s

Thanks for quick response Tom.

So the water coolant is sealed in and never needs topping up or changing?

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by FazerBoy

Thanks for quick response Tom.

So the water coolant is sealed in and never needs topping up or changing?

Shouldn't need topping off, unless you're losing water (ie: leak in hose/coupler/heat exchanger). Always good to check levels periodically.

[JsL]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Shouldn't need topping off, unless you're losing water (ie: leak in hose/coupler/heat exchanger). Always good to check levels periodically.

You mentioned using distilled water, did you mean 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water?

[eatsleepboost]

Thanks patron. I have seen that thread before and did save it for install tips. Thanks Tom at eas for the quick reply and PDF of the 625 install.

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Very little maintenance required:

- OEM plugs change at 30K, use OEM plugs
- change supercharger fluid at 2500mi after installation, 7500mi thereafter
- follow standard intervals for belts/injector cleaning/O2s

I've always heard 10k mi plug change intervals with the supercharger. What is the 30k mi recommendation based on? FWIW, I replaced mine at 15k mi and they looked very good still, so I will probably go for 20k mi next.

Originally Posted by JsL

You mentioned using distilled water, did you mean 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water?

I use premixed 50/50 coolant. It's currently 0 degrees outside so....

[JsL]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

I've always heard 10k mi plug change intervals with the supercharger. What is the 30k mi recommendation based on? FWIW, I replaced mine at 15k mi and they looked very good still, so I will probably go for 20k mi next.



I use premixed 50/50 coolant. It's currently 0 degrees outside so....

I change my plugs every 7500 miles, I don't want to have degraded ignition with crap California 91 gas.

I'm using 70/30 in my vf620 kit. I was going to do more % distilled water then read coolant prevents rust, corrosion etc, so I stuck with 70/30. I may move to 80/20, as it's never lower than 32F here. Probably negligible difference in Intake Temps with 10% more distilled water.

[eatsleepboost]

Are you able to do the plugs with the sc on? I read a couple threads where people removed it then others when they did not remove it. Seems like the ones that did not remove the charger had left off some covers for the coils. ?

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by eatsleepboost

Are you able to do the plugs with the sc on? I read a couple threads where people removed it then others when they did not remove it. Seems like the ones that did not remove the charger had left off some covers for the coils. ?

Yes, leave the covers off and the plugs can be replaced without removing anything.

[Fearce]

Originally Posted by Patrón

i have an ess 625 but with a tad smaller pulley (and no cats)

Ever had it on a dyno? How much of a difference does the pulley make with the 625?

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by Fearce

Ever had it on a dyno? How much of a difference does the pulley make with the 625?

Never had it dynoed, with cat deletes and 1,000 ft elevation, I am just trying to make up for boost loss.

[Datka]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Yes, leave the covers off and the plugs can be replaced without removing anything.

I wouldn't leave those covers off, they are there for the reason.
I did modify my covers and now they are easy to remove/install.

[W Cole]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Very little maintenance required:

- OEM plugs change at 30K, use OEM plugs
- change supercharger fluid at 2500mi after installation, 7500mi thereafter
- follow standard intervals for belts/injector cleaning/O2s

I thought we should be doing plugs every ~10k on the supercharged cars?

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by Datka

I wouldn't leave those covers off, they are there for the reason.
I did modify my covers and now they are easy to remove/install.

They may keep the area a little cleaner but they are absolutely not necessary IMO. A lot of people leave them off with the supercharger and I've not heard of anyone having problems. Plenty of other cars don't come with covers over the coils and are also just fine.

[spr]

I run/ran mine with 100 water and water wetter. It drops the IAT a little lower and has the corrosion prevention. It doesn't get cold here though. I never had the covers on. Too much of a PITA to do plugs. You cannot use another plug unless you use the NGK racing plugs at $75 a piece. You follow normal plug replacement at 35k or whatever it is. You want to ensure your coils are all up to snuff. Some of mine started showing signs and I ended up replacing almost all and 2 sets of plugs after about 15k because I had some old coils.

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by spr

I run/ran mine with 100 water and water wetter. It drops the IAT a little lower and has the corrosion prevention. It doesn't get cold here though. I never had the covers on. Too much of a PITA to do plugs. You cannot use another plug unless you use the NGK racing plugs at $75 a piece. You follow normal plug replacement at 35k or whatever it is. You want to ensure your coils are all up to snuff. Some of mine started showing signs and I ended up replacing almost all and 2 sets of plugs after about 15k because I had some old coils.

What signs were your coils showing and how did you know which ones to replace? Did you get a CEL?

[spr]

They DON'T throw lights unless they are completely dead. I had misfire codes which pointed to the cylinder. There was a loss in power. The idle wasn't silky smooth and hunted about 100rpm or so. It was evident on the top end that there wasn't the full pull.