VRSF chargepipe installation woes

[simonc1]

I'm having a hard time with the VRSF chargepipe installation. First off, the silicone connector was about half an inch too long so I had to cut that down in order to get it to even line up properly. I don't love that the sensor location is so far back/down and requires the sensor to be disconnected in order to install.

I'm having an issue getting the clamp to latch. When the clamp/clip is pushed all the way down the connection is still loose.

[simonc1]

I also bought a new o-ring with the VRSF chargepipe. Does it need to be greased or anything to get it to fit? On the OEM chargepipe I saw some sort or grease or oil on the o ring.

[simonc1]

So I lubbed up the oring but still couldn’t get it to work. I spent about 3 hours trying to get it to fit but no luck. Not sure if its my bad mechanic skills or this thing just doesn’t fit. Guess it wasn’t meant to be. Put the stock chargepipe back on pretty easily.

[sukhk527]

VRSF stuff is hit or miss as far as fitment goes. Might try a burger or a ER unit like I have.

[simonc1]

I reached out to VRSF support and they gave me some tips but nothing that I haven't tried yet.

Last comment from them was "These are machined and test fit prior to hitting the inside of a box. We have plenty successfully installed in the wild without issue."

[yupetc]

On any charge pipe you get, you should use a hard/viscous grease at the throttle body joint. For me either marine grease or ES-suspension grease works beautifully. On the worm-clamp rubber hose end, you'll want to do it without any greasing because that joint will be put to test against the oncoming air which wants to find the weakest place to escape. And greasing it only helps it to do so. Further more, the more grease you apply there, the more slippage, therefore, you'll absolutely need to tighten that rubber joint. This is where it gets interested. Don't know about you all, but I've had experience where the "round" end of the metal charge pipe experience so much "clamp", it actually collapsed, and becomes a source for a leak. Something that took me by surprise and it's very hard to think that joint will become the culprit of a air leaking code to address.

[simonc1]

I’ll give the grease at the throttle body a shot this weekend.

[shuckleberries]

I had the same fitmenf issue at the throttle body point. Greased up the o-ring and still couldn’t get the chargepipe to fill sit in. In cold weather, the rubber rings gets stiff. Trick I learned from a few mechanics is to heat up the o-ring which they put them in hot water prior to installing. I didn’t want to lose the lubrication by letting it sit in water, I used a heat gun to gently warm up the o-ring while it’s resting in the chargepipe. Careful not to over heat it directly. I spent more time heating up the outside of metal chargepipe, then right before plugging into the throttle body, I quickly heat up the o-ring. And then, voila! Popped in just like how the OEM plastic crap popped in.

In summary, place the o-ring in the chargepipe and connect it to the intercooler side. Before attempting to plugging into the throttle body, heat up the o-ring to soften the rubber.

[simonc1]

This is a great tip and the first I haven’t heard of yet. Gonna give this a shot and will let you know how it goes.

[shuckleberries]

When trying to figure out why I was struggling, I cupped the chargepipe without the o-ring and found out that it fits almost perfectly. The o-ring was the only thing that prevented the perfect fitment and I’m talking about 0.5mm difference. Even after heating up the o-ring, it will still require some bicep strength.

Also make sure you mount the sensor with the pins facing up towards you before you put the final C-clamp on. OEM chargepipe has the pins facing down. With the VRSF chargepipe, the pre-drilled holes for the sensor aren’t in the same location as OEM and once you install the pipe the sensor will be angled further away from you making it slightly difficult to reconnect the sensor.

[simonc1]

Update - I tried to grease and heat up the o-ring but there is just no way I can get this thing on. The angle is a bit odd to get really good force on it as well.

The VRSF charge pipe did fit without the o-ring but with the o-ring it just does not want to go on. I just don't see how this is going to fit.

[shuckleberries]

Is the connection to the intercooler loosely connected (not clamped down)? Remember when taking off the OEM chargepipe, it did take some effort to pull it off the throttle body. A bit more force is needed to pop the VRSF back in. What are you using to heat up the pipe and o-ring?

I’m not a tall person, I did asked my neighbour who’s 6’3” who was able to stay planted on the ground. I was standing on a workout bench just trying to get enough leverage. Let’s say to get the pipe back on, it shook the entire engine.

[simonc1]

Originally Posted by shuckleberries

Is the connection to the intercooler loosely connected (not clamped down)? Remember when taking off the OEM chargepipe, it did take some effort to pull it off the throttle body. A bit more force is needed to pop the VRSF back in. What are you using to heat up the pipe and o-ring?

I’m not a tall person, I did asked my neighbour who’s 6’3” who was able to stay planted on the ground. I was standing on a workout bench just trying to get enough leverage. Let’s say to get the pipe back on, it shook the entire engine.

I've tried to install it without the coupler just to see if it I can get it to fit and it didn't. Interestingly enough, the coupler was way too long by about an inch and with it on and connected to the intercooler pipe, no way it lined up. I ended up trimming down the coupler to get it to line up properly.

I used a hair dryer to heat up but not sure if that was enough to heat it up properly. I also tried putting the o-ring in hot water as well. Temperature outside was low 60's here in California.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

VRSF stuff is hit or miss as far as fitment goes. Might try a burger or a ER unit like I have.

Evolution Racewerks (ER) charge pipe would get my vote as well. No fitment issues.

[simonc1]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

Evolution Racewerks (ER) charge pipe would get my vote as well. No fitment issues.

What was your experience with the installation of the ER? Any tips/tricks?

[JaviDrama]

Originally Posted by simonc1

What was your experience with the installation of the ER? Any tips/tricks?

I used the vrsf one originally and it fit decent with a little elbow push. But recently switch to ER upper and lower for the n55. Fitment was about the same. But I recently had lower pop off the intercooler while running BM3 stage 2 93oct.
Seems c clips aren’t good enough.

[simonc1]

As part of the installation, did everyone remove the airbox? I didn't but wondering if that helps. I was able to get the chargepipe in place without removing it and didn't feel like I would get any extra space/leverage by removing it.

[simonc1]

Just an update, I ended up removing the airbox and does seem to provide more space. I still couldn't get the charge pipe on. I thought, let's take off the throttle body and see if I can put the charge pipe on that one and install both together.

ended up dropping one of the throttle body bolts into the engine bay and can't find it. This is proving to be a complete nightmare. Not sure it's possible for me to install this thing myself and I think if I was taller and heavier maybe I could get it on.

Likely will end up having to tow the car to a shop and get it fixed. Never had to do that before...

[shuckleberries]

Oh man, that’s brutal. I’ve watched enough general BMW tutorials to mindfully make sure I don’t drop any bolts because it just gets lost in the shadow realm. At the same time, all the chargepipe tutorials on the N55 motors made it look so simple.

I did remove the airbox, for me it made no difference. I did have to ask my neighbour who’s taller and weighs about 230 lbs. Having longer arms helped.

Combination of the X5’s height plus how far down and back the throttle body did me no favors.