Advice on Intake, Vacuum, Oil, Water ports with build setup

[Mayor West]

Hey friends,
I'm on the plumbing side of my build with the engine in and things starting to need connecting. I've put off a lot of these decisions because things evolve as I progressed and I didn't want to put myself in a corner with the wrong design.

Some notes on what's different about my build:

• I am using 16AN fittings for the majority of the radiator lines
  • Normal hoses at the engine then connecting to adapters to get to AN through the frame tubing
• I have an S252 turbo with a ZZP T3 manifold
  • There are no water lines
  • There are only oil lines
• I have an external GFB 38mm waste gate
  • I intend to use the factory boost control solenoid if possible
• I do not have the DF air/water intercooler, I am running an air/air intercooler.
• I have an atmospheric venting BOV, I believe this requires a blow-through MAF but I am not sure on the specifics
• I plan on running 93 octane with the stock fuel system
• My downpipe has two O2 bungs and I plan on eventually running a wide band when I get to that point.
  • No cat
  • No muffler
  • Waste gate vents to atmosphere

I wanted to ask a few questions and make sure my assumptions/concerns are set straight:

1. Since my turbo doesn't have coolant lines:
   1. I need to plug the two ports on top of the radiator inlet on the head... there's a two-in-one fitting, should i remove this dual port and plug it?
   2. I need to plug the side port on the thermostat housing that used to go to the K04. Threaded plug for this as well.
2. Since I am not using the DF supplied intake pipes/etc for the intercooler, what ports do I need to add and for what?
   1. My donor came with a K&N intake pipe that I'm going to modify to reuse the MAF section. I think it has a vacuum line port on it as well but I'm not certain of its location or if I'll be able to reuse it.
   2. ZZP's custom tune section asks for the location of the MAF for tuning purposes, what am I likely to end up going with given my options?
3. Regarding the MAF and the atmospheric BOV, what are the do's and don'ts for this? I believe the tune can accommodate for a blow-through MAF but I am not certain. I've also been told that I can run without a MAF if tuned for it. Thoughts? Pros/Cons?
4. With a maximum power goal of no more than 380-400ish rwhp (regardless of mods, that's as high as I'd care to go)
   1. Is the 3 bar map sensor necessary?
   2. Are the Opel injectors necessary?
5. Since I am using an external waste gate, can I still reuse my factory boost control solenoid as long as its tubed up correctly?
6. Since I don't have the stock turbo, can any open ports be avoided, such as on the valve cover?
7. Should I run a catch can?

Seeing what I'm working with above, do you have any thoughts/advice/etc for me? This isn't my first rodeo in building a car but it is my first pieced together turbo build with everything randomly selected rather than coming together as a kit. I am comfortable with what I've gone with but I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes if I can help it.

Thanks everyone for any advice/help!

Also, I do not plan on tracking this build. That's not the type of driving I'm going for. This is a nice-weather "just-for-me" sorta car. I'm not shooting for peak performance or top-of-the-line specs. I only upgraded the turbo because my stock compressor contacts the housing and I enjoy the build process, so a custom setup is a bonus for my pleasure. That being said, I don't want to do anything incorrect or set myself up for disappointment, failure, or future financial hardships due to something I could have avoided earlier in the build.

 

[OptimizePrime]

1. Since I am not using the DF supplied intake pipes/etc for the intercooler, what ports do I need to add and for what?
   1. My donor came with a K&N intake pipe that I'm going to modify to reuse the MAF section. I think it has a vacuum line port on it as well but I'm not certain of its location or if I'll be able to reuse it.
   2. ZZP's custom tune section asks for the location of the MAF for tuning purposes, what am I likely to end up going with given my options?
2. Regarding the MAF and the atmospheric BOV, what are the do's and don'ts for this? I believe the tune can accommodate for a blow-through MAF but I am not certain. I've also been told that I can run without a MAF if tuned for it. Thoughts? Pros/Cons?
3. With a maximum power goal of no more than 380-400ish rwhp (regardless of mods, that's as high as I'd care to go)
   1. Is the 3 bar map sensor necessary?
   2. Are the Opel injectors necessary?
4. Since I am using an external waste gate, can I still reuse my factory boost control solenoid as long as its tubed up correctly?
5. Since I don't have the stock turbo, can any open ports be avoided, such as on the valve cover?
6. Should I run a catch can?

Seeing what I'm working with above, do you have any thoughts/advice/etc for me? This isn't my first rodeo in building a car but it is my first pieced together turbo build with everything randomly selected rather than coming together as a kit. I am comfortable with what I've gone with but I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes if I can help it.

Thanks everyone for any advice/help!

Pick up HP Tuners and go Speed Density and run without a MAF or catch-can (put a breather on one of the ports on your VC and plug the other port). Going SD you can run your external BOV without any issues as well. So, no intake ports and no maf means you'd basically just have a filter on the compressor (or not).

You'll want a 3Bar map sensor for anything over 15psi. You'll see if you need injectors in HP Tuners looking at the injector duty cycles while in full boost.

Your biggest gain from a catch-can is going to be taking your PCV off the intake mani external > catch-can > valve cover. Honestly I'd just clean the valves every 30K miles.

Also, get a wideband broskie.

 

[Mayor West]

Anyone else want to weigh in on my questions above? I also have some questions about tuning and HP Tuners:

I'm a little confused on the uses/abilities of HPTuners & Pro as well as how all of this goes with the ZZP Remote Tune.

I am putting an AEM 30-4900 Failsafe wideband on my gob and (as of right now) plan on doing ZZP's remote tuning option.

1. Who's done remote tuning with ZZP before? Can you fill me in on the processes, steps, etc? Don't they have loaner tools that you can pay a rental fee for?
2. I don't need HPTuners to use my wideband as a gauge, but I do need if it I want to use it in data logging
   1. Do I have to have the PRO HPTuners for this, or does standard work? I've read mixed reports of people saying you can do WB on non-pro.
3. Do I need HPTuners Pro?
   1. Non-laptop logging and sensor input are the pro pluses, right?
4. I plan on doing a blow-through MAF so I can run an atmospheric BOV - speed density tuning seems too convoluted to maintain.
   1. Can HPTuners handle this?

I don't expect to ever manually tune my car myself, I don't feel comfortable doing it, but I know there are other generic things you can do with one as well. I have an OB2 scan tool that can clear codes but that's about it.

I plan on getting the VXDIAG tool to do sensor relearn stuff, but that's different in and of itself.

Can someone just fill me in on what they use their HPTuners for, what the real differences are with Pro and non-pro, how my wideband plays in to this, and how the zzp remote tune worked for you?

 

[ctuinstra]

My notes in blue.


"Anyone else want to weigh in on my questions above? I also have some questions about tuning and HP Tuners:

I'm a little confused on the uses/abilities of HPTuners & Pro as well as how all of this goes with the ZZP Remote Tune.

I am putting an AEM 30-4900 Failsafe wideband on my gob and (as of right now) plan on doing ZZP's remote tuning option.

1. Who's done remote tuning with ZZP before? Can you fill me in on the processes, steps, etc? Don't they have loaner tools that you can pay a rental fee for? I have not use the remote tuning. I am only guessing here but you have to have the MPVI2 yourself and they can remote into your HP Tuners directly or via a cloud connection. You have to actually hook it up to your vehicle so the tune can be written to the car.
2. I don't need HPTuners to use my wideband as a gauge, but I do need if it I want to use it in data logging
   1. Do I have to have the PRO HPTuners for this, or does standard work? I've read mixed reports of people saying you can do WB on non-pro. You only have to use PRO if you need analog inputs. So if your gauge only output an analog signal, you would have to have PRO in order to include the AFR in your scan. My AEM 30-4100 gauge (and now 30-0300) have a serial data output. There is a way to send the serial data to you computer and have HP Tuners pick up the serial data and add it to your scan. This is what I do and it works well and doesn't cost any more (other than a serial to USB converter for $15) A quick glance at your AEM gauge and I do NOT see a serial data output. It did say that is has an analog output, so, YES, you will need the PRO version in order to interface into HP Tuners. There may be other "tricks" to use an analog output, but I can't help you with that.
3. Do I need HPTuners Pro?
   1. Non-laptop logging and sensor input are the pro pluses, right? Yes, if you want the MPVI2 to all of the logging without a computer. However I don't think it's available yet. People are starting to get pissed that they went to the new version and it's been over a year and they still can't do something they used to be able to do with the original MPVI. Also there is something about Bluetooth, but I haven't seen it yet.
4. I plan on doing a blow-through MAF so I can run an atmospheric BOV - speed density tuning seems too convoluted to maintain.
   1. Can HPTuners handle this? All HP Tuners can do is change settings in your PCM/ECM. If your PCM/ECM is not designed to do that, it's not possible. Others can correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't expect to ever manually tune my car myself, I don't feel comfortable doing it, but I know there are other generic things you can do with one as well. I have an OB2 scan tool that can clear codes but that's about it. While you are smart person to not mess with things you don't understand when it comes to tuning, there are a lot of little things in there you might want to "modify" that are perfectly safe and do deal directly with the tune of the car. There are a few of us on here that are getting pretty comfortable with it. We are not experts and don't pretend to be though.

I plan on getting the VXDIAG tool to do sensor relearn stuff, but that's different in and of itself."

Can someone just fill me in on what they use their HPTuners for, what the real differences are with Pro and non-pro, how my wideband plays in to this, and how the zzp remote tune worked for you?