S55 intercooler setup on an E90 N55

[9krpmrx8]

2011 E90, Shuenk N55+ turbo, Twisted tuning custom MHD E50 tune, Injen Intake, Shuenk/Midknight Motorsports inlet, FTP outlet, Rev9 5" stepped FMIC, FTP Boost pipe, VRSF CP, AEM water/meth, Shuenk/Midknight Motorsports catless downpipe, Circuit Werks catback exhaust, PR stage 2.5 LPFP, ET3 Designs EKPM3, Spool ethanol analyser, XHP stage 3, Nexsys B58 coil kit, NGK 97968's at .031", Bilstein PSS Coilovers, Dinan Camber Plates, Eibach sway bars F&R, M3 front and rear control arms, ECS rear trailing arms, Clark fab rear diff brace, etc.

So, any input would be appreciated, I know it has been done on a 135i N55 and an M235i and I have spoken to those guys and decided to try it my way with a much smaller turbo and thought I would share.

I am starting with an OEM S55 intercooler and reservoir, aftermarket dual pass heat exchanger that will mount where the front mount air/air was, and a brand new Ford Racing Mustang Cobrajet intercooler pump setup (Pierberg CWA50). I will be controlling the pump with Derale PWM fan controller and a temp sensor mounted to the intercooler core. I will of course have to fab a pipe from the compressor outlet to the intercooler. Once it is all working, I will upgrade to an aftermarket S55 unit.

 

[wheela]

Cool mod, I'm excited to see how this works out for you, thanks for sharing

As far as aftermarket options when you get to that point, I just saw Wagner came out with an s55 unit, this guy here supposedly has the first one:

F80 M3 S55 Single Turbo Build

F80 M3 S55 Single Turbo Build - Page 6

f80.bimmerpost.com

 

[9krpmrx8]

Cool mod, I'm excited to see how this works out for you, thanks for sharing

As far as aftermarket options when you get to that point, I just saw Wagner came out with an s55 unit, this guy here supposedly has the first one:

F80 M3 S55 Single Turbo Build

F80 M3 S55 Single Turbo Build - Page 6

f80.bimmerpost.com

Thanks, I am eyeballing the Garret one.

 

[CalvinNismo]

How do you find the Shuenk N55+? The housing looks very much like the new VTT GC, but maybe with smaller wheels judging by the photos.

 

[wheela]

How do you find the Shuenk N55+? The housing looks very much like the new VTT GC, but maybe with smaller wheels judging by the photos.

I was thinking and wondering the exact same thing. I hadn't heard of shuenk until you mentioned you had one. They didn't have many details on their site, I assume their manifold is larger ID than the oem turbofold?

 

[9krpmrx8]

How do you find the Shuenk N55+? The housing looks very much like the new VTT GC, but maybe with smaller wheels judging by the photos.

I am the alpha tester and it has been on my car three years but the final version has a different one piece cast manifold and a slightly bigger compressor wheel. The pandemic threw a wrench in manufacturing. This Turbo is not comparable in size to GC, PS2, etc. Think of it as a Pure Stage 1 but a completely brand new turbo, manifold, and dual force actuator (defaults closed instead of open, requires custom tuning). It is slightly larger than a PS1 (51mm) at 53.5mm compressor side with a 51mm turbine and cast tubular manifold. It has been released for beta testing and 10 or so people are running it and it comes with an upgraded inlet as well. Shuenk is also testing the F55 which will compete with the PS2, etc. Shuenk has also released the supercore, which is a cold side upgrade like the PS1 but a brand new unit. I have the final version of the N55+ on hand and I'll share results when I get this intercooler setup finished.

 

[wheela]

I am the alpha tester and it has been on my car three years but the final version has a different one piece cast manifold and a slightly bigger compressor wheel. The pandemic threw a wrench in manufacturing. This Turbo is not comparable in size to GC, PS2, etc. Think of it as a Pure Stage 1 but a completely brand new turbo, manifold, and dual force actuator (defaults closed instead of open, requires custom tuning). It is slightly larger than a PS1 (51mm) at 53.5mm compressor side with a 51mm turbine and cast tubular manifold. It has been released for beta testing and 10 or so people are running it and it comes with an upgraded inlet as well. Shuenk is also testing the F55 which will compete with the PS2, etc. Shuenk has also released the supercore, which is a cold side upgrade like the PS1 but a brand new unit. I have the final version of the N55+ on hand and I'll share results when I get this intercooler setup finished.

For that actuator that defaults closed vs. open, are you using the oem boost control solenoid but connected to boost pressure vs. vacuum, or did you switch to a different model solenoid? In a different forum, I saw hardparker was using traditional normally closed actuators, but he wasn't using the oem boost solenoid/pressure converter, and I haven't found a definitive answer of why one can't use the stock solenoid to do this.

 

[9krpmrx8]

For that actuator that defaults closed vs. open, are you using the oem boost control solenoid but connected to boost pressure vs. vacuum, or did you switch to a different model solenoid? In a different forum, I saw hardparker was using traditional normally closed actuators, but he wasn't using the oem boost solenoid/pressure converter, and I haven't found a definitive answer of why one can't use the stock solenoid to do this.

No it uses the stock solenoid, it is all done thru tuning the WGDC I think but honestly you would have to ask Steve at Wedge or David Shoup, they are the only two who have done it so far. My tuner is Justin at Twisted and he did my original E50 tune that I am on now but using a traditional HD actuator from Shuenk. I will get retuned with him once the updated unit goes in. I am at 440WHP now, hope to see some gains in response with this intercooler and this actuator should make boost come on a bit earlier even though now it still spools like stock .

 

[CalvinNismo]

Very cool, sounds like a reliable unit! Does the F55 use the same manifold? I’m not on Facebook, so I couldn’t glean much information about it.

Have you seen the Turbosmart upgraded vacuum actuators? I’m probably going to try one out. This one measures up to what should be a drop in fit on my GC, but strangely enough has a longer threaded bar than what @wheela kindly measured on the standard turbo unit.

vIWG Wastegate Actuator Suit Mini Cooper S R56 - 6inHg

Turbosmart Upgraded Vacuum-operated Wastegate Actuators have been developed to provide the maximum possible boost response for your factory frame turbocharger. The Turbosmart vIWG Series of upgraded Actuators benefit from an increased 'Working Ratio' over the factory equipment resulting in...

www.turbosmart.com

What is your plan for the intake? The S55 charge cooler location surely rules out the factory style intakes. Can you get a compressor housing that points the outlet up? Would make for some clean piping.

 

[9krpmrx8]

Very cool, sounds like a reliable unit! Does the F55 use the same manifold? I’m not on Facebook, so I couldn’t glean much information about it.

Have you seen the Turbosmart upgraded vacuum actuators? I’m probably going to try one out. This one measures up to what should be a drop in fit on my GC, but strangely enough has a longer threaded bar than what @wheela kindly measured on the standard turbo unit.

vIWG Wastegate Actuator Suit Mini Cooper S R56 - 6inHg

Turbosmart Upgraded Vacuum-operated Wastegate Actuators have been developed to provide the maximum possible boost response for your factory frame turbocharger. The Turbosmart vIWG Series of upgraded Actuators benefit from an increased 'Working Ratio' over the factory equipment resulting in...

www.turbosmart.com

What is your plan for the intake? The S55 charge cooler location surely rules out the factory style intakes. Can you get a compressor housing that points the outlet up? Would make for some clean piping.

Cutting the injen up and I have a 2.25" 90 welded on the compressor outlet. I am using a combination of couplers and pipes to get it installed and then I'll have it welded up with all pipes and powder coated.

 

[wheela]

Very cool, sounds like a reliable unit! Does the F55 use the same manifold? I’m not on Facebook, so I couldn’t glean much information about it.

Have you seen the Turbosmart upgraded vacuum actuators? I’m probably going to try one out. This one measures up to what should be a drop in fit on my GC, but strangely enough has a longer threaded bar than what @wheela kindly measured on the standard turbo unit.

vIWG Wastegate Actuator Suit Mini Cooper S R56 - 6inHg

Turbosmart Upgraded Vacuum-operated Wastegate Actuators have been developed to provide the maximum possible boost response for your factory frame turbocharger. The Turbosmart vIWG Series of upgraded Actuators benefit from an increased 'Working Ratio' over the factory equipment resulting in...

www.turbosmart.com

What is your plan for the intake? The S55 charge cooler location surely rules out the factory style intakes. Can you get a compressor housing that points the outlet up? Would make for some clean piping.

Not to thread jack, but a note on that actuator bar I measured. That turbo was from ebay, and I recall it saying somewhere on the pack that it was from a 535. I didn't think much of it at the time, but since then i've seen pictures of units from 335's and the actuator seems to be in a different spot. Long story short, that junker ebay turbo may have a different actuator than an n55 from an e9x or e8x.

 

[9krpmrx8]

IIRC Steve from Wedge mentioned that the Mini actuator would not work. I plan on running a Turbosmart VIWG just to try it. I have a buddy that runs a Mamba adjustable vacuum wastegate actuator on his PS2 N55 with good results.

 

[CalvinNismo]

I think one of the Turbosmart ones will be a quality upgrade.

These are the dimensions of the Turbosmart R56 Mini actuator.

Here are the dimensions from my GC.

It looks like it will be a straight fit in my case.

Apologies for derailing your thread! I think the S55 cooler will be a good upgrade, and I’m curious to know how it goes and how you do it.

 

[9krpmrx8]

Yeah turbosmart makes the universal VIWG in two sizes and one of them is perfect.

https://830533.app.netsuite.com/core/media/media.nl?id=22600718&c=830533&h=J5cM_WMkO8f9-tKEjUhWkvIMPmghZTtDbpE1FUwV3R7apJqD&_xt=.pdf&fcts=20220707012534&whence=

 

[9krpmrx8]

Just need to slap everything together.

 

[9krpmrx8]

Still working on the mock up, but I should have it finished today so I can get it welded to remove some of the couplers. Cut the Injen MAF housing to use for the intake.

 

[houtan]

I’m just realizing I posted in your Facebook post and you posted in here as well. I’m not really on Facebook. Someone had sent me your post, which is how I found out about it there.

So is the outlet of your cache can just going to vent to atmosphere? I wasn’t sure if the PCV needed vacuum or not. Have you verify that it will function properly without any sort of vacuum from the intake?

 

[CalvinNismo]

@houtan the PCV system needs vacuum from the intake when under boost to function properly. There is a flapper internally in the valve cover that switches where the crank case gets its vacuum from. This is similar to the external flapper that N54’s have but in built into the valve cover.

The crank case gets the vacuum from the intake manifold (in fact head ports) when not in boost (AKA naturally aspirated mode) and intake tract when it is in boost.

@9krpmrx8 what coolant tank setup are you running with this hot side intake? Looks like the diesel one, no? What lines did you use to run to the coolant tank?

 

[houtan]

@CalvinNismo , thanks. Curious how @9krpmrx8 is going to get vacuum for the pcv.

 

[9krpmrx8]

She is running, only on revision 1 of the retune but intake temps seems to stay right at 80F or so even though ambients here were 80F last week and today it's rainy and in the 50's. But I have only gone to like 6-7psi. I will update when the tuning is done. Leaving it on E50 for now and then I will go full E85 when I install the Fog'r. @houtan @CalvinNismo