My Vortech S/C install guide!, Lots of pics!

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Hi all,

I did this diary a while back, original thread is here:
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=325803&st=0

Hopefully this thread will help anyone looking to fit a Vortech S/C, as the vortech guide isnt that great.

Basically I never finally put the belt on for a few reasons, and its all removed now - but hopefully if nothing else this will help others doing it. I found XVipers thread a real big help when doing mine, but hopefully the extra pics here will help! Some of it might not read too well because it was a day by day diary - but there we go! Also note this is a RHD car

MB

Right, its Friday and none of my mates are going out so I thought I would begin a long term post into the trials and tribulations of a Vortech install.

Ive had the car 6 months now and really love it. My only gripe is that I love performance modding, and I hit a brick wall with this straight away. N/A mods are stupidly pricey, and while I envy people for going down this route (takes a lot of thought) its not for me.

Here is where I looked into S/C's, got scared off, and came back again

Spent a lot of time on the US forum as it would appear you are nobody unless you have 6 turbo's and a shot of nitrous Those boys dont do thing by halves. So, as I normally do, I spent a few months working out how the cars's ECU and engine worked, and what S/C I wanted. I really wanted the Comptech S/C as it didnt require any drilling into the oilpan for return. But... a Vortech came along at a great price (Thanks Simon ) and I had to have it. Bit earlier than I wanted but I couldnt miss out.

Picked the kit up a few weeks back and have been busy listing a cunning plan before installing it. Its not as simple as bolting it on....

You need to consider:
New plugs and what type (gap is different for S/C)
New oil (its working harder and a bit hotter!)
More tolerant gearbox oil (as above)
Getting all the ECu wiring diagrams together
Insurance (incidetally its only £200 a year more!)

Then importantly there's the monitoring gear you will need to check the health of the car.

Hopefully this will be of interest to some people, and I plan to do the install in stages rather than in one weekend. This is possible but takes a bit of thought! Will take quite a few pics etc. It might take a while but I will get there!

Enjoy



MB

[MB]

So what's the idea behind it?

Well, A S/C is driven off an extra pulley, via a belt. Its basically an air compressor or turbine, which compresses air sucked up by the intake, and feed this into the engine. Simple theory is that the more air you can get in, the more fuel you can mix with it to increase combustion. And this means more power!!!!

The reason I like S/C is that its simpler than a turbo (not as efficient) and keeps the VTEC character of the car due to its power being linear with the RPM's

So what's in the kit?


Hopefully when finished it will look like this:


And hopefully it will do this :
http://videos.streetfire.net/Player.aspx?f...CC48F6&kw=3&p=2

MB

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First things first...

Ok, Im putting a device on the car which can potentially see pistons exiting the bonnet at varous angles and at £8k for a new engine fitted, I need to be a bit careful

I would have like to use an aftermarket ECU with the car, as that allows custom mapping, but quite frankly the experience in this area is very limited when it comes to the S2000. For that reason, I decided to fit the Vortech kit as the manufacturer intended, that is with a standard car and using its own Fuel Management Unit (FMU)

A lot of people in the US are using these with no problems. It basically wires into the Honda ECU and adjusts the fuelling and timing (to an extent) to allow for the extra air going into the engine. It also allows the standard MAP to cope with seeing posotive boost, which it can anyway, but the ECU is not exepecting this.

If there is loads of air going in, but not enough fuel (Air Fuel Ration - AFR) then it is said to be running lean and can easily cause pre-detonation of the fuel due to heat build up. this can really nacker the pistons etc, so is bad news. Ive seen many a scoob piston pop from running excess boost...

Not being the trusting sort, I need to monitor what the engine is doing before I fit this huge beast, so first things first are monitoring gear.

Most important is being able to monitor the AFR, as thats critical to engine health. Straight away I wanted to go for a wideband sensor. The standard Lambda Sensor is 0-1v 0 being lean and 1 being rich.

That doesnt allow for very accurate analysis of the fuel mixture, so a wideband is often used. These run from 0-5v. Many companies sell them with various displays and logging facilities. What I wanted to do was replace the stock primary lambda sensor, and replace it with a 0-5v wideband one, rather than have to drill and tap a new hole in the exhaust for it.

Only problem there is that the ECU wants to see a 0-1v signal and a wideband is 0-5v. I found a few widebands that will allow you to replace the original, but will also send a simulated 0-1v signal to the ECU! Result! A few companies do this but I went for the PLX R500.



www.plxdevices.com

Delivered this morning for £400 and will be fitting this weekend!

The other key points to monitor are boost and knock, which this will also do, and more. It has a headphone jack for det cans too, so it really does satisfy my safety concerns. Also means I dont have to have loads of gauges everywhere...

MB

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Right, got the PLX wideband mostly installed today. I wired in the power and earth to the ECU, then wired in the main signals, Speed and Knock input from the factory sensors, and AFR will go in once the actual wideband sensor is installed. This is on a separate cable, as it replaces the stock narrowband sensor. Didn’t have time to fit this today!

I then spliced and soldered in my 4 other chosen signals that I have decided to monitor, which are:

1) MAP volts
2) Throttle pos
3) Coolant temp
4) Air intake temp

Uncovered the ECU on the passenger sidewall


Unbolted the ECU then pulled the 3 connectors


My scruffy homemade wiring notes


PLX installed and tested!


I now have to enter all the calibrations into the PLX, as it needs to know what all the 0-5 volts signals actually mean. For example, the min MAP is 0.32v = -13.9 psi, and max MAP is 4.84v = 10.9 psi and its linear - so enter this into the PLX and away you go!

Got to replace the lambda sensor next, will do this one evening soon!

MB

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I got the Wideband lambda probe installed and fitted the resistors that need to make the car run correctly and no CEL's etc. Its worth re-itterating at this point that the wideband is by no means essential, but for me its quite important and its what's been holding up the rest of the S/C install.

Right, first was to find and unbolt the primary lambda sensor. Found it easy enough but the connector plug was a bugger to get undone!


Once disconnected I put the new Wideband in. I also decided to put the 20 ohm 10W resistor into the old lambda plug, that goes back to the ECU. This is needed to stop you getting a CEL, by completing the heater circuit. I modified the resistor a bit



Once installed I ran the new wideband lead up through the engine bay (choosing a nice safe route)


Then threaded the connector through the bulkhead. You can just about see it in this pic and its the hole where all the ECU wires go through.


Did some logging sessions to record the AFR and Knock so will post these up when ive saved them to JPEG. I can then see how the car is running compared to when the S/C is on

The car actually feels much smoother now, with the simulated output from the wideband going into the ECU, instead of the old sensor. Bonus!

Edit - forgot to add that after some logging I cracked on with the fuel pump and got that done - a bit tricky and smelly! Will report back on that later, uploading pics is a pain in the butt!

MB

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Pic of the wideband unit in its new home!

Such a good bit of kit.

[MB]

Next the aftercooler install!

Removed the front bumper to fit the aftercooler matrix, coolant pump and coolant box. Getting the bumper off was ok, bit time consuming as there are about 20 fasteners / bolts holding it on. then it started to rain a bit! Carried on anyway



Note the washer fluid pouring out the headlamp washer pipes Tied these off to stop it flooding my work area!

Had to loosen the undertray to allow the new radiator to slip up past the AC pipe at the top. Its a VERY tight fit. Got it in and routed the hoses.

Next step is to add plumb in the ccolant box in the drivers side wing. This involves mounting it to the side divider and cutting a small hole to route the pipe through to the radiator area, where the new pump will live.

Completed that then fitted the coolant pump along the bottom of the main radiator. Led the +12v feed wire from the pump, and the coolant hoses up to the engine bay and tucked them away for now, until the main cooler goes in



Bumper back on and all done! This was trickier than I thought, but not too hard. Bit of drilling for mounting the bits but NO major surgery which is great for when / if I come to remove it.

PS - I shortened the main hose in the pic above afterwards, and secured the pump with the discharge pointing up as per instructions.

MB

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Here's some close up pics of the rad / pump and coolant box for info. Not off my car but mine now looks the same!

Ive refitted ALL the plastic fasteners with some beefy jubilee clips and screwed everything back in place! I now have 2 open ended pipes in the engine bay and they will stay like that until the aftercooler unit goes in place, which can only go in once the main charger is installed!

Might put the S/C pulley on today too

Update later!

MB





MB

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Got my spare oil pan drilled and tapped yesterday, not welded it yet as the lads at work couldn't do aluminium. Just got to get the Honda sealant and I will have a crack at swapping the pan Got to give it a total clean up to make sure there isnt the slightest bit of debris in the pan.

This is probably the bit that will scare most off doing the install, but its really quite simple. As long as you get a v good seal on the thread and the pan mating face, all should be well. I will just check it very regular once its on and if it doesnt leak early on, its not really going to start leaking.

Dodgy camera phone pics




MB

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Fuel Pump!

Right, finally got the fuel pump pics uploaded! I put plenty of detail into this as it can be seen as tricky. Pretty straight forward tbh!

First of all, pull out fuse no 12 under in the fuse box the steering wheel. This is the fuel pump fuse. Then try and start the engine twice. This sucks all the fuel out the lines - hopefully! Then open the fuel cap to release any pressure, and replace.

Ok, the fuel pump lives behind the boot panel where the spare wheel lives, so first step is open the boot! Then remove the spare wheel panel.


The pump is to the left, out of shot.



Need to remove the rear tray behind the hood, as it creates access to the top of the fuel pump. This is a bit of a bastard as you have to work kneeling on the seat and reaching between the roll hoops. The black plastic clips you can see have a little round bit in the middle. Push these in and you can then pull out the whole clip. The hardest ones are behind the seat area as you cant see what you're doing! There are 3 white ones which have to be pushed up through from the boot. Dont try and prise them up.


Remove the panel below, through the boot.


Remove 3 screws to uncover the fuel lines and pump lid. Push the clips in on the fuel hoses and pull off the hose, and unplug the connector. The return on the right wont spray you, but the other probably will! Use a rag around it to keep it all contained.

Here's where the pump lives!

Unbolt the 8 screws and you can now carefully pull up the fuel pump assembly.




The fuel level gauge sits at the bottom and this needs "angling" a bit to get it out the hole.

Here's the fuel pump out.


And the old and new pumps side by side.


Disconnect the connector plug on the fuel pump and remove the white plastic retainer at the bottom, then pull the fuel pump down and out. Remove the half moon bit of rubber off the filter / pump.

Then remove the little retainer that holds the filter on, and push it down over the new pump / filter to secure the filter in place.

Then attatch the hose from the old one, onto the new one. You will need to shave off about 5mm from the existing hose, because the length of the new pump is greater than the old one - and that would mean it would stop the float hitting the bottom!

Once this is done, replace the plastic clip and half moon bit of rubber, and stick it back in the tank - be careful not to bend the level float!

All in all this took me 3 hours - and the fumes made me rather dizzy

MB

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Right - Quick update as ive been in Aberdeen on business all week

Doing the pulley and mounting FMU tomorrow! Then next weekend ive alloted a fair bit of time to finish the job off. Bit optimistic maybe, but im going to giv it a go. Got all the oil / coolant / wiring ready to go! Not got any new plugs yet but will see how the standard one's behave.

Here are some of the graphs from the PLX so I can gauge what the AFR and knock were doing. The screen is split into 2 windows and you can have multiple variable on them.
The 1st one shows RPM against knock, and the second one shows RPM against AFR and the final one is Throttle pos against AFR. Surprising how lean these cars run at part throttle... I basically got idle as 14.5 ish and WOT about 13 - the bits where is goes to max (20) is just on lift off of the throttle as the injectors close here.







All I did to do this was set the PLX to record and then went and had some fun! Also let the car idle and stuff just to see what the closed loop lambda control looked like (should bounce back and forward)

Any questions let me know!

Oh, ive also got an interesting one of the MAP voltage in "kangeroo" mode - i set it to record in traffic and luckily caught some data!

MB

[MB]

All the PLX is doing is showing me my air fuel ratio from a separate lambda sensor, but its got much better resolution. The other thing its doing is tapping into some of the key sensors in the car. When I press record it starts logging all the data from these sensors. All the sensors are 0-5v so the throttle position for example, is 0.4v closed and 4.5v open (roughly) so thats its 0-100%

The software shown above justs lets you trend all the different things you want so you can see how the car is behaving.

The key bits im interested in are the air fuel ratio (AFR) and knock from the knock sensor. Stoich AFR for normal gasoline is 14.7 parts to 1 and thats described as a perfect burn. you can be a bit either side of that with no real issue. With AFR a low number is Rich and a high number is Lean - ie 20 on my chart above.

Running lean does give more power, but too lean and your fuel starts to predetonate and causes all sorts of bad engine internal issues! so thats what I need to avoid with the blower on there.

There are 2 types of modes that the lambda sensor uses on these,and many cars. At idle and part throttle or on cruise the ECU is using the lambda sensor to judge the fuelling and it bounces a bit either side of stoich trying to find an even burn. This is called closed loop lambda control. Its quite an efficient method of controlling fuelling.

Open loop lambda control is when you put your foot flat to the floor (WOT or wide open throttle) - the MAP sensor takes over the fuelling and its here, or high revs that you are most likely to encounter det, and the place you least want to run lean on fuel. Which kind of goes hand in hand. At this point the lambda sensor goes passive and has no input. the ECU is using the MAP sensor to calclate the engine load, and uses pre programmed fuelling profiles that are written into the ECU programming.

If you look at the RPM vs AFR trend above you can see what the fuelling is doing and how it changes with RPM and throttle position.

A good example is when you can see ive let the throttle off, and its closed. The injectors close and therefore the lambda sensor is seeing mostly air - and the AFR goes to max of 20.

Sorry thats all long winded but hopefully if you have a read it will become a bit clearer!

MB

[MB]

Ok, been a bit lazy this weekend but I want to get the S/C pulley on.
Here's the new pulley, which is a double one therefore allows the original belt to be driven and also the S/C.


Here the big tool for removing the existing pulley


Today I got a reasonable amount of the SC done, and have loaded up the pulley pics so here comes the write up as usual! Today taught me that it is so important to have all the right bits and a clear idea what you're trying to achieve. I thought this through pretty well hence the time its taken. What you dont see on this write up is all the gathering of info from people, sourcing of Loctite, buying tools I didn't have etc... it really does take some thinking. Reading the S/C manual over and over is helpful too.

Tomorrow I will finish the SC off, fit the Aftercooler, and also fit the intake. I will do the fuel lines, FMU and the engine management wiring in the week all being well!

Ok, the pulley first - you need to remove this to add the Vortech one, which is a double and allows space for the S/C belt to go on, to drive the S/C itself. It was a bit of a bugger this and the right tools are really essential. You have to remove all the intake box including the pipe upto the throttle body, and all the little vac hoses and coolant pipes too. All gone! There's a vacuum box bolted to the chassis that is moved temporarily too. All very easy and as per the manual.

Here's the airbox out and you can see the pulley that needs to be removed:



To remove the pulley itself I would advise dousing it with Plus Gas or Release a day or 2 before hand. Then you need the pulley holder tool pictured earlier in this thread. This goes over the pulley nut (its a hex head) and allows you to keep the pullet from turning when you undo the nut. Totally esseantial tool. To undo the nut you need a 1/2" or 3/4" breaker bar with a 1/2 drive on the end. You then need an impact socket (must be an impact socket to get better drive) of 19mm. The pic below shows the pulley holder and breaker bar in place. I actually moved the pulley holder tool down onto the wing and had loads of cushioning on it. I then put the breaker bar socket on the pulley, and a 5 foot scaffold. You basically have to lever them apart!





Pulley off and new one goes on. The old one just slides off and is key driven. New one needs torquing to 181 lbs/ft.





The S/C has its own VTEC solenoid arangement so the old one all comes off (crap pic) You can see it on the top left of the engine.



Ok, so once you've done that you can put the blower on! This is where it gets exciting. You have to assemble the whole supercharger to the mounting bracket assembly. On the pic of the new pulley above, you can see ive removed 2 bolts on the left of the sticker on the block. Theres some long threaded bolts that go in here and a solid mounting plate that goes over it. That supports the bottom of the blower. You can see it as a big black flat block on the bottom 2 pics, under the belt. I've loosely put the blower belt onto the assembly and mounted it on the engine bay!



Not finished bolting it up but at least its on! The only bother I did have, and I was lucky to spot it, was the jubilee clip on the oil filter shown below. It was sticking out horizontally and would have interfered with the S/C idler pulley.



I moved it out the way



So what now??? Ive got some pics of the oil feed to come and tomorrow will set about getting the car temporarily driveable. That means fitting the intake, aftercooler, refitting vac lines etc, and mouting the S/C properly. I will blank off the oil feed return as im not ready to do the sump yet. I will drive it without the pulley on which means I dont have to do the fuel bits yet.

It will just about suck air through that lot, and i will take it v steady...
More to come tomorrow!

MB

[MB]

What a day

I worked from 10am until about 7pm and skipped lunch. Im sore - tired and in a bit of a mood

Today's task was to harden down all the S/C bolts so it was totally fixed in place and to fit the aftercooler and intake, to allow me to drive the car.

Started by tightening up all the S/C bolts.

Now, if you are doing this yourself - fit the bloody oil supply before you fit the VTEC solenoid support / extension! You can see it in the pic below, its the black block / spacer between the engine block and the VTEC soleniod. The oil supply is under this and its a total bastard to get to with all that in place. Do the oil feed first is my advice!



Once I had got all that sorted I was ready to do the aftercooler. Now I have already fitted the new radiator / coolant pump / and reservoir early in thie thread. So I have 2 hoses up in the engine bay waiting for the aftercooler to be fitted. This is very straight forward so im not putting much info in about this. Here it is fitted:



Now that's done I can fit the Intake. Its immediately obvious that there's some things in the way here! the alarm for one, and a connector that sits on the left hand fan, and also the stock air box bracket down on the cross member. Here's a pic:



Moved / rerouted the bits mentioned above. The alarm is now further up in the engine bay. Airbox is very easy to fit. I am surprised ive not seen more issues with fitting, as this kit is menat for American left hookers. Some of the FMU and other wiring will be a bit different.

Ok, got all that fitted and here it is all done! Ive left the belt off and all seems ok apart from Ive got a check engine light, and I think I know what it is. The solenoid that used to live on the airbox - I connected it up wrong!



Frightening amount of tools involved in this, and it really isnt for the feint hearted. Right now I wish i had stayed N/A but im sure it will be worth it. It looks straight forward but some of it is very fiddly, and the pics in the manual could be better.

Now, one thing I have to mention (hence my annoyance today) is that I connected up the oil feed and intended to do the drain too. I decided by tea time to do it another day and blocked off the oil return with a plug. Due to what I can only put down to tiredness, I later moved the car off the driveway. Quite a large oil leak appeared I knew straight away what it was - the return line had built up pressre and had nowhere to go but out the blower casing. The car cant be driven in that way which I knew, but forgot! Die to other problems, I then needed to use the car tonight - so I had 2 options. Fit the spare sump with the oil return fitting meaning the blower had oil flow, or removing the oil feed.

To do the pan would have been a new job and there could have been issues, so I chose the remove the oil feed and have no oil to the S/C - ok as I dont have the belt moving it. This was a bastard to undo. Basically the VTEC soleniod that goes into the block now has an extension / adapter to allow the S/C to tap its oil feed into. had to remove all this (very fiddly) and return it to stock.

Ah well

Drove the car home, no leaks, took it steady but the car sounds reasonably happy sucking air through the stationary blower!

MB

[MB]

Seems like good news on my blower. Understand the sealing arrangement a bit better and will finish the supply and return off this weekend! It may leak, it may not but I will not have damaged the seal from what happened IMO.

One point of note - Vortech are totally useless at customer service and repeatedy told me it would have to be overhauled at $500. Weren't interested in helping with the problem. I emailed them weeks ago about something else and got a crap reply.

Comptech seem far better at this... I would seriously think about their unit over this one for that reason, and the oil return is much easier. I also like the fact it produes a bit less power.

This oil bit has pissed me off a bit and I was close to jacking it all in and buying some nice wheels and some ICE - but I will plod on There are a few more potential hurdles to come though!

The main headaches will be:
Any oil leaks
Coolant leaks - easy to sort though
Fuelling problems (FMU / spark plugs etc)
Fuel managment box not working

Hopefully it will all work!

MB

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I got so wasted on Thurs I spent the next day in bed. Trying to prove I could down 2 pints of stella in a row must have been the point it all turned bad!

Today I took the whole blower off and checked it for leaks. Ive got some pics to come of what I did and what fittings I resealed. Will put them up tomorrow. Didnt get time to hook up the supply and do the oilpan.

Going back to the pulley - V important note for anyone doing this, which is also highlighted in X Viper's post - The idler pulley you can see below has to come off too, which is very easy to unbolt. On the front of it there is a dust cap which you can see, being held on by the bolt. Behind that is a washer and then a bearing and sleeve that goes through the pulley. The Vortech manual says use none of this, which is not what you should do! You must use the bearing and sleeve, but not the dust shield and washer. It wont turn if you listen to them!



I will get a better pic of it with the S/C on, but basically you put a long bolt through the S/C bracket then through the idler pulley pictured above, and it acts as one of the supports for the whole thing.

Tonight im on the lash too so tomorrow will also be a write off!

Next weekend it is then...

One more point, I can really feel the weight on the front of the car. its not massive but I am noticing it.

MB

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Just some more pics of my leaking blower! I took it all off to make sure I hadn't missed anything.

First I wanted to check the inlet and outlet for any oil as that would mean a bad leak.

Took the outlet off and all clean - that bit of oil was me!


Inlet clean too - you can see the oil feed line tied up in the background


The offending cap head plug on the side - you can see a bit of oil leaking


Took it out and put a load of hard setting sealant on it!


Pray thats fixed it! That plug looks into the internal gears so not too fussed about a leak that side, its just not meant to take pressure!

PS - excuse the tie wraps, just a temporary measure!

MB

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Ok,

Yesterday I attempted to do the sump and realised I didnt have the right equipment or patience to do it. At that point I actually decided id had enough and convinced myself I was jacking it in - my last few weekends have been spent on the car

Woke up today and am a bit 50/50 - there's not far to go and its not that hard to finish, ive just run out of patience! The sump really needs a pit / car lift as I found it too tricky to do under axle stands. Guess I should have just taken a week off and done it all at once.

Will probably ring Honda Monday and just get them to do it later in the week. Will cost a bit but its that or I give up! Im sure the end result will be worth it....

After that all there is to do is connect the oil feed back up, wire up the coolant pump to the fuse box, and fit the fuel management unit.

Im going to get Honda to do it

Bear with me though!

MB

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Ok the oil pan is now finished thanks to Honda in Bournemouth. My only gripe is that I asked them to re use my fresh charge of Motul but they binned it by mistake! At least they told me and nocked it off the bill. One of the reasons I hate getting anyone to do anything on the car. Just over £100 so not too bad. Still a bit peed off I didnt do this myself, but my patience was wearing thin!

Regarding the sump, I ve been quesstioning if the oil return line from the charger can go to the oil drain hole. The Vortech kit requires you to drill and tap a hole, which sits just above the oil level in the pan, to ensure a resistance free return. The Comptech kit goes to the oil drain hole and its a massive plus point of their kit. It saves so much time and effort. It would appear that you can do it the same way as the comptech with little issue. The fact the oil supply is over 40psi means that even once its gone through the charger and out the return, it will still have plenty of pressure to overcome the few psi that is in the sump.

Well worth a thought to anyone doing this. At worst it will cause a slight level rise in the charger gear assembly.

So whats next....

I will hook up the oil supply and see if the charger leaks. If it does im going to cry. A lot.

If it doesn't I have the following bits to do:

Fill aftercooler and wire to fuse box
Fit FMU and vac hoses in the engine bay
Fit charger belt and tighten

Thats easy a days work to get it right. Its pissing down all weekend

Nearly there....

MB

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Well it doesnt leak!

I got the whole oil system hooked up and working today so im quite chuffed at that, and that it all works!

Here's how the oil supply is hooked up, not too tricky apart from putting the new adapter in place.

Note, the manual says dont use any thread sealant, but im buggered if im following that advice! I used a touch of loctite on the threads to make sure. Their concern is that some selant may come off and bung up the SC oilways....

Ok, in this pic you can see the oil feed braided hose that needs to go into the block under the VTEC solenoid assembly that you can see (its the assembly with the rusty lid on it) You can see that it it used to go straight onto the side of the block, but now it has the big plack piece sandwiched in the middle, which is part of the support for the supercharger.


Best to remove 3 bolts on the heatshield and tilt it upwards, that allows you to get onto the 2 allen bolts. You need an allen key with a head on it that allows you to unbolt at an angle, or you will be there all day Unclip the sensors from the VTEC assembly.


VTEC assemblt removed, you can see the rubber O ring which seals up against the SC support bracket. Underneath the support bracket is the oil pressure sensor, which is threaded into the block. Removed with a 15/16 socket.


Here's the pressure sensor out.


Here it is in its new home. Its basically an adapter so the pressure sensor can bolt into the end, then the adapter goes into the block where the sensor used to go. Also has the threaed hole for the SC oil supply.


Now installed into the block, and the elbow that allows the oil hose now in place too.


And all back together again! No leaks....


I also mounted the FMU in the engine bay, ready for the fuel hoses to go on. This is the part that alters the fuel pressure. Also placed the Vortech timing / map controller in the passenger footwell and ran the boost hose through the bulkhead ready for mounting. Filled the aftercooler with coolant and hooked up the electrics apart from the live. Not redy to start it yet! Pics of all that to come.

So not much to do now!

I got to hookup the FMU which is pretty straight forward, put the new spark plugs in, wire in the Timing / Map controller (tricky) and then put the belt on! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel

MB

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Some pics and write up of the coolant system wire up. The coolant sys was the 1st bit I did and thats all in, but left the wiring of the coolant pump til now.

Because this is on a UK car, the fuse box is on the other side, which means I have to route the power wire across the car. That power wire then goes into the supplied little junction box thing with spade connectors. One is an earth, one is a link to the relay so the pump only comes on with ignition, then a final one goes to the battery live.

Ok, I have run the main power wire across the cross brace.



Neatly ran it up through an existing wiring route.



Yellow wire needs to go into the fuse box. It needs to tap into one of that block of 4 female sade connectors. A little fuse box used to sit on here (see next pic) and that needs modifying to allow the yellow wire to come out the fuse box. Vortech manual is crap at this point!



Corner of the fuse lid needs cutting to allow the wire to escape.



Mod completed!



Lid back on and wire installed, and routed out of the fuse box. I just pushed the end of the yellow wire into the female spade, and forced the fuse lid back on, so the wire is sandwiched in the spade connector.



Power and earth now connected.



Filled the powercooler tank with coolant and started up, no leaks!

I did aim to finish it today - but Im stuck on the fuel system. Need to go and ask for some help from one of the US guys. The Vortech manual is pretty crap in places hence im putting a lot of detail in this for others.

Once I know exactly what im doing with the FMU I can finish it!

MB

[MB]

There's a bolt come loose on the charger sandwich plate!

That might not sound like much bit if I told you the whole thing, including the oil return line, had to come off to get at it im sure you would share my frustrations. I would even have to unbolt the charger from the mounting plate

Must have not nipped it up enough and its worked loose...

Really pissed off!

Im in that boat that says, if I have to take it all off, I might effing leave it off

Any takers for one low mileage Vortech kit?!

MB

[MB]

Ok all, that was basically it!

I have no patience and put the car back to stock

Hope this thread helps though

MB

[smitdog]

My kit gets here on monday cant wait for all the fun .. hope everything works out for the best for you ..

[00S2K01S4]

Thanks for the write up. Will help me when I install my CTSC. After reading a few of the SC install write ups, I'm thinking of taking my SC to Comptech to have them install it.