First up was the aftercooler. Wasn't very difficult but had to do the aftercooler plate twice because the one bolt you need to put in place beforehand somehow came out while putting the supercharger in place the first time. The second time I taped the bolt in place to make sure it didn't fall out. You have to heat the bolts to remove them due to red thread locker. Ran both hoses between the battery and the headlight. Plenty of room and no hose kinks. Tried a few times on the other side of the battery but kept getting kinks. You can get an idea of how the hoses are run. Filled it up and the flow looks good going through the reservoir.

 

Install documentation for the aftercooler. This kit has been discontinued for a while. Overall a solid kit. Props to the person I got it from that did a fantastic job bagging/labeling all the parts.

 

The DW400 pump install was fairly easy. This kit is a full cage replacement so you don't need to take the OEM cage apart to replace the pump just swap the whole unit. One tip, if you can get an extra set of hands, have someone put pressure on the pump when removing/installing the collar. The cage is spring loaded and adds pressure to the collar when trying to spin it. Had to move my 3 point strut brace as well to get to the pump. Not looking forward to getting the driver side bolt back in.

With this kit you have to run a new fuel feed line. The fuel regulator should fit nicely behind the aftercooler reservoir. Gauge on the regulator won't fit but I am going to have one on the fuel rail.

Have a bunch of these clips on hand for dealing with bumpers and under covers. Don't even try to remove them gently to reuse. Even if you get them out without breaking them they are pain to get installed again because they are so spread. Costs a couple bucks each for genuine or dirt cheap for generic ones.

 

All the new AN fuel lines are done except the one coming from the Flex Fuel sensor on the firewall into the fuel rail.

With the Acuity fuel rail and the Injector Dynamics fuel injectors the spacing for the fuel rail appears to be off by 1-2 mm using the CT-E injector spacer without the washer. It still feels seated pretty good but trying to find a spacer that is closer to get the seating perfect.

Without spacer to see what it looks like fully seated.

With the spacer.

 

New Merc Racing inlet installed. Tight fit to get the vacuum lines hooked up. Definitely going to have to cut the breather tubes to get them connected.

 

That will work much better.

Edit: I had to cut it back another 1/2 inch for the an fitting to clear the fuel rail. You can see the tight clearance in another photo further down.

 

New fuel rail spacers came in today. They could be a little larger for the OD but other than that fit great. It is the best I could find that wouldn't take forever or require me to buy a large quantity. So if you have an Acuity fuel rail with ID1050x's on a CT-E manifold this is what worked for me.

 

Fitment with the new fuel rail spacer. I know the fuel pressure gauge is not lined up. Going to remove it once everything is done to put the carbon fiber cover back on.

 

Fuel lines finally done. It took a few adjustments but everything finally fits in this cramped space.

 

After lots of cutting, trimming, and swearing I still have a CAI scavenging parts from my AEM install.

 

I want to see what you do with the fuel injector harness. I want to do something, but I don't have clue on what to do, since most posts I see of fuel harness tuck, they've just routed it under and through the RBC intake manifold.

 

I want to see what you do with the fuel injector harness. I want to do something, but I don't have clue on what to do, since most posts I see of fuel harness tuck, they've just routed it under and through the RBC intake manifold.

Supercharged gang !! 🥀🥀

 

How much power does that cte kit make, was the fuel return necessary?
I thought those only pushed out ~300

 

Fuel return is probably overkill but already had a bunch of stuff ripped apart so I figured I would do it anyway. I told my tuner I wanted around 350 safely and he said it should be easy with my new configuration. Old setup was only about 260 HP and was still fun. Adding close to another 100 HP should be a blast.

 

Finding the correct belt was a pain in the butt. Different manufacturers list the length in the part number differently. In the end I went with a Dayco 5070653. Feels pretty snug after installing.

 

For my 110mm pulley, I use gates k070721 and it fits perfect, gets a consistent 13-14psi, no belt slip and no mdp bracket. Trying to figure out what belt to use for when I downsize to a 105mm pulley but the belt companies are so confusing.

 

Been thinking of going to 3.2 pulley from 3.5, but too far lazy to look for different belt, lmao. Still have another Gates RPM belt to toss on at some point.

 

I need more power.

 

@TenZen How do you like the Merc Racing belt tensioner? Does it still use the stock tensioner or does it get removed? Looks much easier to do than the adjustable idler pulley with the stock tensioner.

 

It's alright. Still uses the OE tensioner also, losses the idler pulley.

 

Finally got my first base map for tuning. Started up first try but found a small leak at my fuel pressure regulator. Appears to be on the plug for the unused gauge port. Redid it twice and still leaks. Maybe the O-ring is messed up. Ordered a new one and we shall see.

Edit: New AN plug fixed the leak.

 

I keep getting tighten gas cap alert. Cap is definitely tight. Not sure if from changes or if the seal went bad on gas cap. Ordered a replacement and we shall see.

 

It's usually the seal.

 

Still get the warning with the new gas cap. No CEL but checked for codes anyway. I have P0455 and P0456. Evap system leak.

Edit: Fixed it was a bad connection on an evap hose off the fuel pump.

 

Once I fixed the evap issue I started having an issue with fuel pressure. The fuel pressure gauge is bouncing across a 10 psi range that you can hear and feel in the fuel pressure regulator. Contacted DW and they said it is air in the fuel system.

They said to fix it, crank up the PSI on the FPR to 80 and jump the fuel pump relay. Then turn it down to desired PSI. Does that make sense? How is the air supposed to escape? I have done it at least 10 times now and have not noticed an improvement.

 

Once I fixed the evap issue I started having an issue with fuel pressure. The fuel pressure gauge is bouncing across a 10 psi range that you can hear and feel in the fuel pressure regulator. Contacted DW and they said it is air in the fuel system.

They said to fix it, crank up the PSI on the FPR to 80 and jump the fuel pump relay. Then turn it down to desired PSI. Does that make sense? How is the air supposed to escape? I have done it at least 10 times now and have not noticed an improvement.

Since you have a DW FPR I’m assuming you have their fuel return sustem (i also have it).
Since you posted about the relay, did you also install their recommended fuel pump hardwire kit? I see a ton of people have fuel pressure issues and it’s because they are still running stock wiring, and it makes the pump act funny, even with the FPR. If you haven’t done that upgrade, do so and it will make a world of a difference in the pumps behavior. The pumps are made to run at about 40-45psi at idle, and go up with each psi of boost, so leaving it high at the 50’s and 60’s + will only make the pump tweak out and jump pressure. Also throw away that DW gauge, it’s a load of crap (it popped on me and caused a leak), got a Nippon power one and it’s very stable, doesn’t go wild like the DW did with the indicator flying around.

 

Forgot to update.

I got the fuel pressure more stable by jumping the fuel pump relay and slowly loosening the end of the fuel rail and letting it bleed out. Made a mess but the range of the needle bouncing is down to 3-4 psi.

If you ever need to run the fuel pump without running the car this is what you jump.

 

Supercharged bastards!
I envy your power and your engine bays - not your problems 😝😝😝

 

So many mods at once without being able to test them before starting the tuning process was a big stressor for me. Luckily all the issues were minor.

Updated engine bay pic. Changed the intake piping from the last one. Also started cleaning it up a bit knowing everything is working. Still tuning.

 

Tuner told me belt is slipping or the bypass valve needs to be adjusted. Checked the belt and it does have a little bit of play to it. I will try and get it tighter tomorrow when I can get an extra set of hands. Adjusting the idler pulley is a huge PITA because of how tight the area is. I ordered the Merc racing tensioner a while ago but still haven't received it yet. Hopefully that's the issue because I don't know how to adjust the bypass valve yet.

 

Question, and this may sound dumb so don’t flame me but I’m unaware hence why I’m inquiring.. So supercharger belts, why is it that this seems to be a common issue (belt slack)? Like I know there are different sized belts and pulleys which effect the amount of boost being pushed through the engine but why is it that folks whom install supercharger ‘kits’ are constantly having to play with belt tension and/or switch belts etc?
Especially if you bought a ‘kit’ — shouldn’t everything just work as designed? Is it because the supercharger is making things spin that much faster the stock tensioners can’t keep up? Just curious…

 

Running different sized crank and SC pulleys will require different sized belts. Kits come with pulleys already on the SC, but who knows what crank pulley people will run.