Lettuce Build Thread, Fast Cars and Fast Women: Stage 2 and Beyond

[Party_Marty]

I actually have one that came with the Snow kit:



Like you said it might not play nice out of the box with the ECU, but I should be able to break out the voltmeter and rig something up to make it work.

Ahh very nice, yea that sounds like a nice project!

[lettuce]

Just have to find a place to mount the dang thing.

That's exactly it. It'd probably have to go in the trunk, and then I'd have to relocate the pump there too, rewire it, run all the tubing, etc etc. Be easier just to install the new level sensor into the washer tank.

[blbroo]

That's exactly it. It'd probably have to go in the trunk, and then I'd have to relocate the pump there too, rewire it, run all the tubing, etc etc. Be easier just to install the new level sensor into the washer tank.

What about the area under the cowling on the passenger side?

[lettuce]

[QUOTE=blbroo;11733135]What about the area under the cowling on the passenger side?

I don't think it'd fit there. The tank is bigger than you'd think, and the cowl area is smaller than you'd think. Having a separate tank for each would be nice though. I've noticed I'm real stingy with spraying my windshield nowadays.

[bakedziti]

Not sure of the exact dimensions under the rain tray, but a generic coolant/fluid bottle may be an alternative, so you could have 2 tanks. This one is pretty compact.

https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-603-00...G2TA18W2K51CPX

[shaunm82]

I don't think it'd fit there. The tank is bigger than you'd think, and the cowl area is smaller than you'd think. Having a separate tank for each would be nice though. I've noticed I'm real stingy with spraying my windshield nowadays.

That is where I have my Snow tank mounted. Just to the right of that air duct, pretty much center of that duct and the positive battery terminal.

[lettuce]

That is where I have my Snow tank mounted. Just to the right of that air duct, pretty much center of that duct and the positive battery terminal.

And it fits in there? Nice. I wouldn't have thought that. There's even enough room for the tubing to come out of the bottom without bending, and you're still able to install the cowl cover?

My only gripe with that would be having to either 1) remove and reinstall the cover every time I need to fill up the tank, or 2) cut a hole in the cowl to access it.

[shaunm82]

And it fits in there? Nice. I wouldn't have thought that. There's even enough room for the tubing to come out of the bottom without bending, and you're still able to install the cowl cover?

My only gripe with that would be having to either 1) remove and reinstall the cover every time I need to fill up the tank, or 2) cut a hole in the cowl to access it.

Yeah, I had to trim a little bit of the underside of that cowl in order for it to fully seat, but nothing visible from the top side. But that is my issue now, having to remove the cowl every time I am needing to refill, which I have to do today actually.

I thought of cutting a hole in it for easy access, but I didn't the look of a gaping hole just sitting there.

[lettuce]

Yeah, I had to trim a little bit of the underside of that cowl in order for it to fully seat, but nothing visible from the top side. But that is my issue now, having to remove the cowl every time I am needing to refill, which I have to do today actually.

I thought of cutting a hole in it for easy access, but I didn't the look of a gaping hole just sitting there.

Hm. Maybe if you mounted the tank high enough so that the cap would protrude from the cowl, and cut a hole in the cowl perfectly to fit the tank opening, you could make it look almost like it came that way from the factory.

[zcspec]

Hm. Maybe if you mounted the tank high enough so that the cap would protrude from the cowl, and cut a hole in the cowl perfectly to fit the tank opening, you could make it look almost like it came that way from the factory.

I see a DIY PDF in the near future.

[blbroo]

Teamwork, getting things done!

[shaunm82]

Hm. Maybe if you mounted the tank high enough so that the cap would protrude from the cowl, and cut a hole in the cowl perfectly to fit the tank opening, you could make it look almost like it came that way from the factory.

Think you are onto something. Since I need to refill tonight I'm gonna give it a shot~ Will post results!

[lettuce]

Think you are onto something. Since I need to refill tonight I'm gonna give it a shot~ Will post results!

Awesome. First double check to make sure there's enough clearance between the top of the cowl and the hood for the tank cap. That's the only issue I can foresee with that. Something tells me there isn't a lot of space between the top of the cowl and the underside of the hood, but I've been known to be wrong about things like that in the past.

[Party_Marty]

Hm. Maybe if you mounted the tank high enough so that the cap would protrude from the cowl, and cut a hole in the cowl perfectly to fit the tank opening, you could make it look almost like it came that way from the factory.

Or, is there anyway to mount/epoxy a "neck" to the tank? that way you could put any kind of fitting you wanted on the end that you cut into the lid.

[Lambda13]

Or, is there anyway to mount/epoxy a "neck" to the tank? that way you could put any kind of fitting you wanted on the end that you cut into the lid.

I wouldn't do that because then if you want to take the cowl off...

What if you do something like they did with the windshield washer cap, cut a hole that's like the recess on that side?

[Party_Marty]

I wouldn't do that because then if you want to take the cowl off...

What if you do something like they did with the windshield washer cap, cut a hole that's like the recess on that side?

Oh I didn't mean mount it to the cowl! I just mean so that you could have the tank recessed farther down into the opening there, maybe raising the tank to close to the top would give you issues with getting the cowl back on that's all. I'm really interested in running meth myself but I would want to run it from a different reservoir so that way I could retain my windshield washer ability. Or are you just using the water/meth mixture as washer fluid as well?? haha

[poweredbyaudi7]

I wouldn't do that because then if you want to take the cowl off...

What if you do something like they did with the windshield washer cap, cut a hole that's like the recess on that side?

This is what I was thinking. So happy yous guys are finding answers before I order my snow kit. Hell, i need the time to install my ko4 kit!

[lettuce]

Oh I didn't mean mount it to the cowl! I just mean so that you could have the tank recessed farther down into the opening there, maybe raising the tank to close to the top would give you issues with getting the cowl back on that's all. I'm really interested in running meth myself but I would want to run it from a different reservoir so that way I could retain my windshield washer ability. Or are you just using the water/meth mixture as washer fluid as well?? haha

Water/meth is windshield washer fluid, essentially. They are interchangeable depending on concentration. The lower temp the washer fluid is rated for, the more methanol content it has. So yeah, you use one tank for spraying both the inside of your engine and the outside of your windshield.

[Party_Marty]

Water/meth is windshield washer fluid, essentially. They are interchangeable depending on concentration. The lower temp the washer fluid is rated for, the more methanol content it has. So yeah, you use one tank for spraying both the inside of your engine and the outside of your windshield.

Thanks for clearing that up!

[ddun]

You mean like this?


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[Party_Marty]

You mean like this?


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Nice!! How big is the tank??

[Rollin Thunder]

You mean like this?


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Just ordered the Snow Performance 212 MAF kit. Will be doing the install exactly like this. Not going to tune for meth at this point. Going to run a 225 nozzle in the IE throttle body plate. Using the kit to cool IAT's while running a APR K04 kit. Down the road I may get the 100oct file and utilize the kit to its full potential.

[lettuce]

Just ordered the Snow Performance 212 MAF kit. Will be doing the install exactly like this. Not going to tune for meth at this point. Going to run a 225 nozzle in the IE throttle body plate. Using the kit to cool IAT's while running a APR K04 kit. Down the road I may get the 100oct file and utilize the kit to its full potential.

If you're looking to cool IATs then you're going to want to use a post-intercooler nozzle, not the throttle body plate nozzle. The way the IATs get cooled is by the mist from the water/meth sapping heat from the intake charge as it evaporates. There isn't really enough time for it to do this when you're injecting post-TB. Injecting so late is mostly for the octane-boosting properties, so would be good to add once you do start running the 100 octane file.

[The Infiltrator]

You mean like this?


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I wonder how big of tank you could fit in that area. Blbroo told me to put my tank there a few months back when I was looking into the water/meth kit. Great spot and looks clean man!

[shaunm82]

If you're looking to cool IATs then you're going to want to use a post-intercooler nozzle, not the throttle body plate nozzle. The way the IATs get cooled is by the mist from the water/meth sapping heat from the intake charge as it evaporates. There isn't really enough time for it to do this when you're injecting post-TB. Injecting so late is mostly for the octane-boosting properties, so would be good to add once you do start running the 100 octane file.

Ditto to that. Run it just after the intercooler if you just want to drop temps

[Rollin Thunder]

If you're looking to cool IATs then you're going to want to use a post-intercooler nozzle, not the throttle body plate nozzle. The way the IATs get cooled is by the mist from the water/meth sapping heat from the intake charge as it evaporates. There isn't really enough time for it to do this when you're injecting post-TB. Injecting so late is mostly for the octane-boosting properties, so would be good to add once you do start running the 100 octane file.

I did buy the silicon house tap as well. Appreciate the input. Does the post intercooler injection also help with boosting octane properties as well?

[lettuce]

I've gotten used to seeing the little yellow oil light pop up on the dash, but the red one was a first for me today. Yellow = oil level and red = oil pressure. So this = very bad.



Replaced the pressure switch with one I had lying around and it didn't do anything. Also scanning for codes pulled up a P15CE. Not a lot of literature on this one on the internets except for a couple forum links regarding low oil pressure. So it's not looking too good.

[lettuce]

So, I just bought this. 25k miles out of a 2013 A4/Allroad. No more oil burning, no more waiting for my timing chain to blow, no more mysterious high-pitched gear whine, no more EPC light when I'm bombing down the highway, no more oil pressure problems, no more oil spots on my garage floor from blown out seals, no more bullshit. Going to pick it up in a few days and toss it in ASAP.

The lettuce mobile is moving on up.

[hyperunion]

So, I just bought this. 25k miles out of a 2013 A4/Allroad. No more oil burning, no more waiting for my timing chain to blow, no more mysterious high-pitched gear whine, no more EPC light when I'm bombing down the highway, no more oil pressure problems, no more oil spots on my garage floor from blown out seals, no more bullshit. Going to pick it up in a few days and toss it in ASAP.

The lettuce mobile is moving on up.

This will be metal intake e85 compatible.... First b8 in the world with this b8.5 flex fuel transplant????

[lettuce]

This will be metal intake e85 compatible.... First b8 in the world with this b8.5 flex fuel transplant????

Nah, that'd be too much trouble. I'll be tossing on my plastic manifold. I'd probably have to swap out ECUs and my tune can't make use of E85 anyway.

[OzeyeruZ]

Damn Lettuce!

Sorry to hear, but with this new engine all the positives may be worth it!! Good luck and keep us posted.

Oz

[OzeyeruZ]

@rollingthunder

Are you planning on placing dual Nozzles as stated? Let me know how it goes! About to pull the trigger on this as well! I'll hit you up soon, just got busy with work this past few days.

Oz

[Project Quattro]

Damn, sorry to hear about that. Looks like you've definitely made the best out of it, though.


Sent from the Pedal Responce boardroom

[lettuce]

Damn, sorry to hear about that. Looks like you've definitely made the best out of it, though.


Sent from the Pedal Responce boardroom

Damn Lettuce!

Sorry to hear, but with this new engine all the positives may be worth it!! Good luck and keep us posted.

Oz

Yeah, I mean I knew I was going to have to do this eventually. I was just hoping to be able to enjoy the car this summer purely from the driver's seat instead of underneath the thing.

It'll definitely be worth it though. A complete engine swap won't even be the most difficult thing I've done to this car (valve seals FTL), and will solve literally every single problem I have with it. The oil burning and timing chain have been like a black cloud hanging over my head. I want to do things like go on road trips and drive my car to far away lands, but then I come back to reality and I'm like, okay, here to Chicago and back my car will consume literally 10 quarts of oil. And if it blows up a tow will cost me a few months rent. Fuck that.

New engine with 25k miles will mean that not only will I be able to enjoy this car worry-free for years to come, but if I do want something new down the line I'll actually be able to sell the damn thing for more than scrap value. Back when I bought it I got a crazy good deal on it (barely paid 5-figures for it, roughly $10k below comparable CPOs in the area), and this was why, seeing as everything else is tip top, lots of options (namely P+ with nav), and was really well-maintained. So even with this engine swap I'm still in the black on this car.

[shaunm82]

I did buy the silicon house tap as well. Appreciate the input. Does the post intercooler injection also help with boosting octane properties as well?

You'll have to run a nozzle at the TB to help boost the octane. A few of us are running a dual nozzle setup to achieve both.

@lettuce man, you've seen some journeys with this car! This seems like one that will be def well worth it in the end. Looking forward to the end result!!

[lettuce]

I did buy the silicon house tap as well. Appreciate the input. Does the post intercooler injection also help with boosting octane properties as well?

Yeah, it does a little. Technically in this context water has an infinite octane rating, as it doesn't burn, while Methanol has an octane rating of around 98 in the freedom unit scale. Octane rating is just resistance to detonation. Adding straight water to 93 octane fuel will reduce its chances of detonation, thereby effectively increasing its octane rating. Adding meth will accomplish the same thing but with an actual high-octane fuel. But methanol evaporates a lot easier than water so doesn't have quite the cooling properties. That's why people mix the two, to get the best of both worlds, since adding too much water is prone to quench since it doesn't burn. The meth offsets that.

Basically if you're just looking for cooling your IATs and you're not tuning for the higher octane, just inject a higher water blend right after your intercooler. I'm doing this at a 75/25 water/meth blend right now. Then if you want to tune for it, add a post-TB nozzle and up the meth content to avoid quench with the higher overall volume of spray, and go nuts. 50/50 water/meth is usually a good ratio when going this route.

You'll have to run a nozzle at the TB to help boost the octane. A few of us are running a dual nozzle setup to achieve both.

@lettuce man, you've seen some journeys with this car! This seems like one that will be def well worth it in the end. Looking forward to the end result!!

Yep, pretty excited about this. Other than these nagging internal engine issues this car has been everything I dreamed it could be. My ideal daily driver. So finally fixing them once and for all will be pretty amazing.

[johnnySV]

fantastic build thread, i just subscribed!

[lettuce]

[hyperunion]

That metal intake!!!!!

[lettuce]

Pretty excited, everything looks good. The aluminum is a bit oxidized and there are some spots of rust around some bare metal areas, so I'm guessing this was sitting on a shelf for a bit. Nothing a wire brush can't clean up. Every hole to the inside of the engine was properly plugged and I bought this from LKQ which is a pretty big nationwide used auto parts (aka junkyard) chain so I'm not anticipating any issues.

Going to have to swap over my intake and fueling system. I'll take that opportunity to do a carbon cleaning on it as well. The accessory/oil filter housing bracket is definitely different as well and will need to get swapped out with my old unit. Although I haven't pulled my motor yet to compare, I'm told that the newer motors don't have provisions for a power steering pump due to them having an electronic steering system.

I'll probably take care of some more basics too, like a rear main seal and maybe swap over the new water pump I recently tossed on my old motor. Other than that though it should be pretty much plug and play.











Can't wait to get this thing back on the road.