Today I installed (most of the way) the driver’s side Turbo Concepts turbocharger. I have a few parts to tighten down still, but the oil and coolant lines are done, which are the most time consuming part.
Turbo Concepts Driver Side Turbocharger
I did have a few challenges to overcome.
One issue was the clearance between the compressor housing and the exhaust manifold on the driver’s side. I clocked the turbo to get the notch in the housing aligned with the exhaust manifold, but was still finding them to be in contact. After placing the Turbo Concepts turbo next to the BorgWarner K04 that I just removed I observed that the location of the indentation is different on the Turbo Concepts compressor housing.
I used a file to grind down the high point on the compressor housing so that I could see light between the exhaust manifold and compressor housing.
I also swapped out the fuel injectors, replacing the 72# EV14’s with a set of 60# injectors.
With the coilover suspension components off the rear of the Avant for some work I decided the time was right to replace the rear sway bar end links with a set of the 034 Motorsport length adjustable sway bar end links.
034 Motorsport Adjustable Rear Sway Bar End Link (Driver Side)
The Avant is equipped with the Neuspeed rear sway bar, arriving set at the softer setting, which I plan to keep, and what appears to be an Apiko Rear Differential Mount.
Neuspeed Rear Sway Bar
With easy access to the stock end links the swap was pretty easy.
I did initially forget that the lower bolts have the hex attachment located at the end of the threaded part of the bolt.
034 Motorsport Adjustable Rear Sway Bar End Link (Passenger Side)
Once I reinstall the coilovers I’ll work on adjusting the length of the end links.
I’ve had a set of SRM IC shrouds sitting in the basement for quite a while waiting for some attention. I have not used them because they don’t fit the SRM SMIC’s in their current state. I knew it was going to take a visit from Mr. Dremel to begin hoping to make them fit – and today I finally decided to try and get started on this undertaking.
SRM Driver Side IC Shroud
The primary problem with the driver’s side shroud is that the right portion of the shroud extended about an inch out past the mounting tabs, and also beyond the core itself. This meant there was going to be a 1 inch gap along the right side of the core, and failing to secure the shroud to the core there was likely to leave additional large gaps elsewhere.
The best option I see is to cut the shroud in half, and then use rivets, or nuts & bolts, along with some epoxy adhesive, to reconnect the two halves in an overlapping manner that should eliminate the majority of the perimeter gaps.
The passenger side has an additional problem in addition to poor fitment.
SRM SMIC Passenger Side Shroud
The cutout for the tow hook was not present, it was a solid piece. In the picture above the tow hook can be seen because I cut an opening for it to pass through.
On this side as well the shroud extends out past the mounting tabs leaving a gap along the edge of the IC core. I’m going to cut this shroud in half similar to the driver’s side, but with a good bit more curvature along the lower half of the shroud reconnecting these two halves in a clean manner is likely to prove challenging.
On a more positive note, the S4 is back up running again and after a couple of brief periods having the engine running I have not detected any leaks. My next endeavor will be to gather some K04 spool-up data in warmer temperature conditions and to log pre-turbine exhaust gas pressure.
I used a file to grind down the high point on the compressor housing so that I could see light between the exhaust manifold and compressor housing.
