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Checked on the car today and everything was installed, except for the VRP heat exhanger. It didn't fit, so they had to shave a bit off.
When it's all done, I'll have a new pulley belt and wrap kit - hopefully to eliminate the chirp or supercharger delay, a 76mm pulley, new filters, split cooling, heat exhanger, new radiator, new gaskets and hoses, new oil filter housing (stock housing was leaking), new Bosch pump (wasted $100 on that because it already had a Bosch pump), some new OEM intake pipes, some o-rings, yada, yada, yada...oh, and an ECU tune.
Had it in the shop today and they spent about 3 hours trying to fix a vacuum leak near the throttle body. In the end, they replaced some old tubes, but said that some plugs and gaskets or o-rings should be replaced as well.
They gave it back to me without installing the flash tune that I had requested.
I just paid them $2000 last week and it sounds like they want more money to fix the vacuum leak that wasn't there before they started working on it.
This is starting to feel similar to a relationship I had with an ex-girlfriend, so I think it's probably time to move on from this shop.
I'm done spendng time and money on this car for a while and am going to try to upload the flash tune myself.
I believe that hose should run under blower, between the blower and intercooler, under the blower snout. Last time I had my blower off, I actually bolted it all back, forgetting to run that tube back the way it was routed. I just routed it on top, very similar to your pic. It has been perfectly fine, and I actually ended up liking the fact that I can visually inspect it easier, and address any issues with it if they arise.
I believe that hose should run under blower, between the blower and intercooler, under the blower snout. Last time I had my blower off, I actually bolted it all back, forgetting to run that tube back the way it was routed. I just routed it on top, very similar to your pic. It has been perfectly fine, and I actually ended up liking the fact that I can visually inspect it easier, and address any issues with it if they arise.
....Just my .02, but I would leave it.
It's a minor aesthetic complaint, but it makes my brain hurt nonetheless.
I kept the fan plugged in, everything was fine, and the tune finished downloading within a few minutes.
I just got back from taking a nauseating test drive. On top of the gains from the pulley, Tony with RaceIQ said that the tune adds another 70hp.
It's so quick and aggressive now that I feel like I need to take a motion sickness pill before driving it.
If you want an insanely fast W211, I would highly recommend this stage 2 (?) kit from VRP. It includes a flash tune from RaceIQ.
I purchased this car last year for around $8,000 and have spent about $4,000 on repairs and performance upgrades. It feels like a lot of money, especially since there are some cosmetic issues (and that damn rear sun shade/visor) that need to be fixed.