Ricktalife's EPIC fails and maybe a build thread too

[Dpwhitehead1]

So I need a new radiator. Surprisingly they are still available through the dealer, so I'm just going to order from them since I don't want to deal with aftermarket fitment and I can get the OEM at dealership cost. Still gonna be just over $300 with tax though...

One of the causes for my leaky radiator seems to be the slims fans digging into it. Anybody know where I can get some sort of spacers to prevent this from happening again? I know one of them is a Spal, so I guess I will start checking their website.

you can get the mishimoto rad for cheaper than that man..

 

[Ricktalife]

you can get the mishimoto rad for cheaper than that man..

I wouldn't doubt that, but that is a full size rad isn't it? I need the MSP size because my FMIC runs the hot pipe through the SMIC hole. Yes it is a stupid routing and yes I would love to redo it, but this is my daily driver. I can't afford the down time to fabricate a new FMIC setup on the fly or else I definitely would. I think I will look into a new piping kit by this Spring, but before this leak appeared I was really hoping to pay the car off first.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

ahh. yeah. it does route that way. i can't imagine it being that hard to fab a pipe. but i get what you're saying.

 

[justanothermp5]

Yea, I got my mishimoto for 215 shipped from amazon. Its a pretty nice piece

 

[Ricktalife]

Well I had the new radiator installed a few days ago and haven't noticed any missing coolant since. Glad that's taken care of. Next on the agenda is to put my Injen back to the CAI style with a new filter and hydroshield, then to check for boost leaks, reset the fuel trims and see how it runs. Then I am going to put this AEM project in full swing now that I should have all the sensors I need.

 

[HKPRO5]

Nice!

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

nice!

 

[Ricktalife]

Bought a Boost Sciences reflex diverter valve. This is the first step towards a better FMIC setup.

 

[Speed3.5]

are you going to control boost with ems 4 ?

 

[Ricktalife]

Well I have the Greddy EBC, but the EMS-4 does offer advanced boost control. I'm not sure if I need to hook up the boost solenoid to that instead of the Greddy, but either way I will be able control it lol.

 

[jdwk]

Picked up a short shifter the other day just to see what all the rage is about. Today I ordered a new Injen filter and a hydroshield to go with it. I'm also thinking about buying a new IAT sensor and having a bung welded onto the cold pipe so it screws in. I was browsing a writeup by Sam and he made a good point that having it measure the air coming from the filter is not the same temperature as what goes into the manifold, considering it goes through the turbo and then the intercooler. I want my tune to be as accurate as possible, so this should definitely help out.

Also noticed when I popped my hood today that the coolant overflow tank was nearly empty. I haven't seen any leaks lately, so I must be burning it. Would this be a symptom of a thermostat going bad? I've heard people have issues with them occasionally on our car, but I have no clue what to look for.

The IAT location is probably a huge factor in why our cars run so poorly and inconsistent. It would be a good idea to move it to the cold pipe as close to the throttle as possible. I think I am done buying parts though, otherwise I would definitely give this a shot.

Don't worry if the overflow is empty, worry if your radiator itself is low. And if you aren't seeing a bunch of white smoke while driving or foam in your oil when you change it, you don't have any internal leaks. A bad thermostat would not cause any of these situations. A bad thermostat is either stuck open (most often) or stuck closed. If it's stuck open your car will take a long time to warm up, if it is stuck closed it will continue warming up until you overheat. Pretty easy to diagnose.

My radiator leaked very slowly for about a year before I finally bit the bullet and bought a Ron Davis radiator. With the CustomMSP SMIC next to it there is close to a grand of aluminum at the front of the car.

 

[Ricktalife]

The IAT location is probably a huge factor in why our cars run so poorly and inconsistent. It would be a good idea to move it to the cold pipe as close to the throttle as possible. I think I am done buying parts though, otherwise I would definitely give this a shot.

Don't worry if the overflow is empty, worry if your radiator itself is low. And if you aren't seeing a bunch of white smoke while driving or foam in your oil when you change it, you don't have any internal leaks. A bad thermostat would not cause any of these situations. A bad thermostat is either stuck open (most often) or stuck closed. If it's stuck open your car will take a long time to warm up, if it is stuck closed it will continue warming up until you overheat. Pretty easy to diagnose.

My radiator leaked very slowly for about a year before I finally bit the bullet and bought a Ron Davis radiator. With the CustomMSP SMIC next to it there is close to a grand of aluminum at the front of the car.

Yea I went ahead and bought an AEM IAT sensor so I can wire it straight into my EMS-4. I'm going to wait for my 505 intake manifold before I go ahead and drill a hole in the cold pipe. I think the 505 has threaded ports, so I could probably just screw it directly in there. I also replaced the radiator a week or two ago and it did have a leak. Haven't noticed any coolant under the car since then, so that's settled.

I keep telling myself I am done buying parts, but there are just a bunch of things that really bug me and I want to clean them up. My FMIC is the priority right now. The hot pipe routing is just really annoying and I don't care anymore if I have to cut a small hole to shorten it. To make up for the extra expenses, I've started to sell off some of the items that aren't performance oriented. I'm tired of having a ton of money wrapped up in this thing only to have it run poorly.

 

[Ricktalife]

I'm calling it quits with the MSP. Sorry to disappoint the few people that actually read this lol, but I never have time to fool with this car anymore so it's not worth having all this money wrapped up in it. Part out thread is in my sig, so go ahead and take a peek.

 

[bikingpro5]

WTF, sad to see but good luck

 

[justanothermp5]

sweet

 

[Ricktalife]

WTF, sad to see but good luck

Thanks man.

sweet

Lol?

 

[jdwk]

I made the decision to order a '13 S4 and pick it up in Germany this summer. I won't have room in my garage to keep the MSP unless I can convince my wife to drive it and get rid of her POS Impala, but I just don't see it happening. Not sure when I will put her up for sale, but whoever gets it will get a very rare and very loved and cared for MSP.

I know exactly how you feel Rick. I've still got my MSII, the JimStim and an oscilliscope laid out on my work bench, and I am wondering how far to go with the parts and projects I have left. I have a beautiful SS mid pipe that I can't keep from occasionally hitting my crossmember and subframe, and by my phone's accelerometer didn't even add a fraction of a horsepower, that has now been taking up space in my garage for months. I have a hot pipe that I was going to use as an experiment to get rid of the occasional hiccup on abrupt lift throttle that the car has done since new. I had it powder coated to look SEMA worthy, along with a valve cover that I then polished for an entire Saturday that even the PC shop was impressed by. Then of course, there is the MS flywheel and clutch I was going to replace mine with when I presumably outpowered the stock setup, but honestly, even my fairly sticky RE-760's are no match for the current clutch which shows no signs of wear. It would be a waste to install them.

I think I'll get as much done as I can in the next 6 months or so, just so I don't feel like I wasted all of this work, but the MSP will be 10 years old this year. It's time to move on, I just dread some kid destroying it with big subs in the trunk, CF hoods, ebay racing seats, chrome wiper blades, etc. It has to find a good home, someone who doesn't mind tightening down my ARP exhaust manifold bolts every 6 months since even threadlocker doesn't really help. Someone who knows what wax and armor-all is, and someone who will appreciate the amazing handling this car has that makes me choose it over my C6 every day for my drive to work.

 

[ajkulish]

damn :/

 

[Ricktalife]

Lol JD.. funny you mentioned the ARP studs, because I noticed when I had to replace the radiator that one of the nuts were missing at the manifold. I think I have an extra laying around though. Sadly there is a lot of stuff I won't be able to sell like my Exedy stage 1 and Fidanza flywheel that are only 6 months or so old. But I did find a set of stock intercooler pipes and a factory airbox, so I can sell the FMIC setup and Injen intake. Thank god I decided to go with an MSP radiator instead of a full size, so it will be a breeze putting that stuff back on.

 

[jdwk]

Yeah two of mine had come off when I noticed the exhaust leak tick last time. One was caught by the heatshield fortunately, the other is on the road somewhere. I just replaced it with a regular nut, since those 12 points are a pain to deal with anyway. I used threadlocker and put lock washers on all the studs that I could, but I am starting to hear a very faint ticking again. I haven't taken off the heatshield yet to see if they've come loose again or whether it's something else, but it's been 6 months so it is right on cue.