[MKE_M3]

I can't wait to get it installed. Can anyone who's done it give me a estimate on the time? I'll probably have one or two buddies help and I am pretty handy. Also, any tips, things I should look out for?

THANKS!!!

[GaryS]

cp-e charged me 4 hours for install but it took 5 or 6. I heard a lot of chain saw noises. When it was done, they asked me to drive around for a while and then look for oil leaks. It was pretty obvious that oil leaks are 99% of what can go wrong. Well it did leak, so their senior intercooler engineer took a look at it. The junior engineer had fastened the passenger side oil hose with 2 o-rings, so the senior engineer removed one and tightened the other one as tight as he could, which fixed it. No leak ever since.

[infinitekidM2C]

ahh junior...young punk...

seriously do you have any review though?

[GaryS]

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

ahh junior...young punk...

seriously do you have any review though?

The oil cooler part is awesome for sure. In eight 24 minute track runs Saturday and Sunday in 55-75 degrees ambient, my oil temperature never reached 250.

I guess the intercooler part is awesome too, but I don't know how to tell for sure. When it was over 100 degrees ambient in June and July, the highest IAT I ever saw was 128. That's with a Dinan CAI. All I can say for sure is that my car feels totally reliable and consistent.

[MKE_M3]

Thanks Guys. I guess if it took CP-E 6 hours I should budget a full day. Anything from anyone that has done it themselves?

[I335]

I had a indy install mine and if I remember correctly they charged me 3 hours and that's about how long it took them to install it. I'm very impressed with it. I definitely noticed power gains, even in the lower RPM range. Very nice combo unit for the price of just an IC!

[topspin]

I'm thinking about installing the CP-E FMIC and OC in the next week. I was planning on doing it last weekend but found that my ramps didn't seem to provide enough clearance. My chest actually rubs against the engine cover when I slide under the car using a creeper so I'll need to get a jack and jack stands.

Can someone who's performed the install themselves speak up?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated by both the OP and me.

[FoxFire74]

My buddy and I started around 5 and got done around 11 so 6 hours is doable.. it will help to have a cutting wheel and a 3/4" bit or hole saw for the 2 holes the OC lines have to pass through the plastic shroud.. We did it on a lift and my friend has installed more IC's than he could count so that helped allot. I don't know if you will have to trim were I did to not interfere with the OC since I have an Mtech front and there were 3 plastic fins that impeded the mounting slightly.. The OC is the harder part of the install for sure.. Mount the OC and IC and then tap into the stock oil lines from the top.. Good Luck

[CT_335i]

One piece of advice I would give is check with CP-E if you have the correct instructions. They made some slight changes to their kit (I was part of the GB) and I had been given the old instructions. In their haste to get the orders out, some kits appear to have the old instructions. Install time at an indy was about 3 hours. No cutting, just some adjusting. You *can* cut the 2 vertical pieces that obstruct the flow (part of the Mtech bumper). Call them and get them to send you the latest.

As far as performance, what I've noticed that is most dramatic in day to day driving is the speed at which the temperature gauge goes down.

At about 75-90F weather daily driving, I'm seeing the temps hit 250 sometimes but never beyond that. Most of the time it hovers b/w 240-245. When stopped, the temps drop about 5F in about 1-2min. That is the most significant change I've seen based on the gauges and temperature control. I haven't had the chance to go long distance yet or do spirited runs, but the car feels more powerful past the 4000 rpm range.

[MKE_M3]

Thanks all. I just emailed them to see if I can get a copy of the most recent install instructions.

[topspin]

Originally Posted by CT_335i

One piece of advice I would give is check with CP-E if you have the correct instructions. They made some slight changes to their kit (I was part of the GB) and I had been given the old instructions. In their haste to get the orders out, some kits appear to have the old instructions.

Good advice. Thanks...

I was also part of the group buy as well. To estimate the install difficulty I asked them to post the instructions online before I signed up and they added a link to the instructions on the first post of the group buy. I've been reviewing them for a while to ensure that I have the steps down.

A link to the PDF instructions is below.

Do you know if these are the latest instructions?

FMIC BMW N54.pdf

I'd hate to base my install on old instructions.

[GaryS]

Originally Posted by jdemetry

Thanks Guys. I guess if it took CP-E 6 hours I should budget a full day. Anything from anyone that has done it themselves?

I'm thinking it will take you less time, because cramming it into my 135i probably requires more cutting.

[CT_335i]

Originally Posted by topspin

A link to the PDF instructions is below. Do you know if these are the latest instructions?

FMIC BMW N54.pdf

I'd hate to base my install on old instructions.

Those look correct. On the old one, they had 3 couplings (I think) vs. the 2 listed here. That had us confused for a while because we assumed that the kit was incomplete. I tossed the old instructions so I don't have them handy to compare. To be sure, just call them and leave a message. They are quite prompt in their response.

[DR_E92]

depends on what they're responding to I guess...

[DR_E92]

it took them about a week to respond to my emails on what to do about this little package that I got.

their best solution was for me to take this to an exhaust shop and have them pop it out or ship it to them and wait for them to fix it and ship it back.

[CT_335i]

Ouch.. I would ship it back and have them pay shipping both ways. I wouldn't send it to an exhaust shop.

I was a little peeved though about the lack of care. They were rushing to fill the GB and used that as the reason why they had the wrong instructions. Rushed? I waited 3 weeks after payment to get the intercooler. I informed them that was sloppy handling on their part and they put the blame on AR design instead.

[topspin]

Originally Posted by DR_E92

it took them about a week to respond to my emails on what to do about this little package that I got.

their best solution was for me to take this to an exhaust shop and have them pop it out or ship it to them and wait for them to fix it and ship it back.

That sucks.

How did you ever get this issue resolved?

[DR_E92]

I haven't. I was dealing with cp-e directly as they weren't responding to the emails from ar

as soon as I mentioned them covering shipping charges, the emails stopped. Kinda makes me want to take a drive to their shop, dropping the box right on their lap and forcing them to fix it unannounced.

[topspin]

You may want to try calling CP-E directly. I too had some problems with the order fulfilment portion of my transaction with CP-E. I'll PM you the phone number and name of the person that helped solve my issues.

[euro_style]

Has anyone had oil overheating problems? Our car will go into limp home mode after 4-5 dyno pulls... Anyone else dyno more than once in a row and had it over heat?

[topspin]

I wouldn't recommend having so many pulls back to back with no cool down period. Heat is a problem when trying to dyno turbo cars.

When I dynoed my car I was stock except for tune and DCI. So with no aftermarket FMIC I knew heat soak could be a problem.

Make sure that...
1. Hood is open
2. High speed fans are positioned in front of the car to flow as much air as possible over the radiator and FMIC.
3. Allow 10 to 15 minutes of cool down between pulls with hood up and fans running.

Another thing to consider is doing pulls in 3rd gear instead of 4th. I did mine in 4th gear but a 4th gear puts the engine under load for a long time allowing more heat to build up. Plus toward the end of the pull my speedo indicated something like 130 MPH. I can't imagine that the fans could replicate 130 MPH wind speeds the car would have seen on the road.

I still think there was some heat soak in my case. though as the temperature was about 95 degrees. Next time I go will be after the installation of the FMIC and downpipes and I'm sure the temps will be a lot lower as well.

[MKE_M3]

Thanks for everyone's help. I spent most of today (about 6 - 6 1/2 hours) installing the intercooler and oil cooler. I'll post a review once I get some seat time. Right now I'm just happy I don't have any boost or oil leaks.

Install/product Notes and Rankings (lowest 1 - highest 5):
* Directions - 2 - Inadequate and I needed to do extra cutting to get the oil lines routed well. In the end, I got the job done.

* Seller: AR Design - 4 - Thanks for being flexible with my timing and always responding to my questions. Delivery took a while, but not too bad.

* Manufacturer: CP-E - 3 - Quality was not very impressive. There was a spot in one of the end tank castings that must have been too thin so they thickened it with weld material. I know they pressure test them, so I will just keep my fingers crossed it is a robust fix. The intercooler was perfect size, I would guess about twice the volume. Oil cooler is very simple and I won't comment too much on it until I get some track time on a warm day. The hose for the oil was a little weak and I had to pay a lot of attention to the routing to make sure it didn't crimp.